Why DEI Leaders Need To Be "Promotion-Ready"

For this end-of-summer newsletter, we're focusing on how to close out your 2023 powerfully and promotion-ready.

In addition to training and speaking, I coach leaders.

90% of the participants in my leadership programs are professionals of color earning six- and multiple-six-figures in a corporate environment. When I hear their shared struggles, it feels personal, and it is.

We NEED to stay promotion-ready.

When we think about success, there's typically a path we know we want to follow to achieve it, but for some groups, the path isn't straightforward, and the roadblocks might even be deliberately erected to keep you right where you are.

• There will be organizations that won't acknowledge your contributions, will underpay you, and will knowingly limit your growth.
• Some bosses will refuse to catch you winning and feel better when you struggle as much as they did.
• There will be those who believe that for you to win, they need to lose, so there's no way they're going to help you win.

The more outside obstacles arise to limit your impact, career, and legacy, the more critical it is that you get and stay promotion-ready.

Promotion-ready means you have the confidence, skills, and plan you need to pivot on a dime when YOU decide it's time for a change, not when someone else decides FOR you. n-ready means

Promotion-readiness does NOT dismiss the very real and unique obstacles that leaders who have been "othered" in corporate spaces might face compared to their counterparts, yet promotion-readiness equips you to replace those obstacles with OPTIONS.

But Asia, why bother? Isn't it the same everywhere? Nope.

It's no secret that DEI is under attack, but there are organizations out there who walk the talk and want to see you AND DEI win.

Yes, many organizations spend more on publicizing their DEI efforts than funding them, but that's not ALL of them.

When you bet on yourself and invest in your growth, you'll find the organizations and opportunities that align with you.

No external force will have the power to curtail your success or your legacy or to dictate your value and impact.

They'll definitely try, but when you're promotion-ready, you're in the driver's seat. You get to decide.

There are so many reasons to be promotion-ready.

- You're eyeing a next-level executive position or pivotal career move.

- You want to transform your team's performance.

- You want to take back your nights and weekends (and sanity!)

- You want real leadership confidence and a presence that opens doors and brings out the best in others.

- You want to command your market value rather than having it dictated.

Those are all fantastic reasons to stay promotion-ready, and still the top reason you want to be promotion-ready has nothing to do with a promotion:

Promotion-readiness equals freedom.

Leaders who aren't centered in the corporate experience want to be promotion-ready because you don't want to settle for anything less than feeling seen, supported, and valued, especially when you're doing work that really matters.

Once you get and stay "Promotion-Ready," you don't have to settle for feeling stuck or like our role is performative propaganda for an uninvested organization.

Promotion-readiness gives you the freedom to go where you're able to make an impact and where your work matters.

Continuously up-leveling your leadership effectiveness is the work of top-tier executives. This is how you STAY "promotion-ready".

It's important to equip DEI leaders (and everyone, really) to navigate strategically, lead peacefully, and position themselves for endless opportunities, even when they're not looking for them.

You'll gain not only professional acumen and leadership growth but, more importantly, personal freedom, so you're aligned with what YOU want for your life and legacy vs. the limits an organization, boss, or your own self-doubt might have assigned to you, especially when DEI is under attack.

Once you're promotion-ready, you'll manage your career, priorities, and teams, knowing you're choosing to be there vs. tolerating staying.

You're afforded a different way of carrying yourself and dealing with difficulties.

Whether you're in your dream job and ready for your next promotion or need an effective exit strategy, you want to get and stay promotion-ready.

When you're in a role that, by its very nature, creates discomfort and resistance in others, promotion-readiness is how you maintain your power.

For DEI professionals, the journey is undoubtedly challenging. But with the right skills, support, and mindset, you can turn these challenges into catalysts for the kind of change you want to be a part of.

Ok, so where do I start?

Alternative one: You can create a list of the competencies you think you'll need to stay strategic, aligned, influential, confident, peaceful, and sought-after, and tackle them one by one. All progress is good progress!

Alternative two: If you want a proven process for becoming promotion-ready, start by booking a call with me. (ok, a little heavy-handed, but I'm not wrong!)

Kidding aside, I’ll walk you through how our Intentional Leadership Framework will help you get and stay promotion-ready. Let's start with a conversation whether you work better in groups or one-on-one or you want to bring this approach to your organization or ERG.

Schedule a complimentary consultation.

You have the passion and commitment. We have the framework to help you leverage them effectively.

Are you leaving money on the table?

Leaders, don't miss out on $$$ and growth! Professional development funds must be used by the end of the fiscal year, and you either use them or lose them. Invest in your growth and that of your teams or ERGs. Take advantage of these resources to sharpen skills, foster innovation, advance inclusion, and drive success. Remember, unused funds don't carry over!

Ready to discuss your ERG challenges? Schedule a strategy session to learn how we combine leadership development and strategic planning to up-level your ERG results.? Bridgewellpro.com/erg.

Let's Meet:

1:1 Strategy Session for Executive / Leadership Coaching

Private ERG Strategy Session

Speaking / Corporate Training Inquiry

That's it for now, but we'll be back next month with more actionable strategies to up-level and amplify your ERG program and your impact as a leader.