Becoming more "sponsorable" at work: CEO Action for Racial Equity & PwC leader Roy Weathers explains how to attract the right sponsors

“You can’t pick your sponsor, but you can work at being more sponsorable.” This is one of my most memorable quotes from Roy Weathers , head of CEO Action for Racial Equity and member of the U.S. 普华永道 leadership team. Roy joined me for my latest episode of #OnPurpose and covered a number of important topics, including the difference between a mentor and a sponsor.

“A mentor is someone that can be assigned to you…. Sponsorship goes a bit deeper, and I learned this at a very early point in my career. My sponsor was someone that never really was warm and fuzzy to me…. But I came to appreciate that in a room with others, he was a significant influencer. He was always asking about my career to the right people. He was always willing to put his personal credibility on the line to help me succeed.”??

?According to Roy, we don’t just knock on someone’s door and ask them to sponsor us.

“Sponsors find you. This motion of being sponsorable makes it really about you. What are the things I’m doing on a day in and day out basis to demonstrate that I’m someone worth investing in? If you’re asked to follow, you follow with energy, you follow with zeal. If you’re asked to lead, you lead with energy. You lead with zeal.”

Roy has been leading with zeal every step of his journey.?He is a strong voice for diversity, inclusion and belonging in the workforce. As part of CEO Action for Racial Equity, I witness firsthand the impact Roy and this group have on our workplaces. CEO Action is a united community of 125 companies, focused on issues like education, economic empowerment, public safety, and health – and from a racial equity perspective.

Roy’s desire to give back to the community can be traced to his early days growing up in a small town in South Carolina where he learned the lessons that have shaped who he is today and grounded his life in purpose.

“I was very fortunate to grow up with two incredible parents… What they shared… was the notion of caring for others…. I wake up doing that for my kids. The legacy we leave is based on the life we live every day. And, so, I believe in giving back. I do believe that we all have a role to play. And the beauty of the corporate community, the personal life and doing good all fit together for me personally. That’s where my purpose lies.”?

Thank you, Roy, for your friendship and the inspiration for each of us to embrace the responsibility we have to help others and society thrive.