Issue link: https://beckershealthcare.uberflip.com/i/1242957
62 62 THOUGHT LEADERSHIP critically important that you spend a lot of time listening to your caregivers to understand what they're doing. In addition, I always keep an eye on my schedule for the upcoming two or three months to keep tabs on what we're doing and when. I constantly ask myself, am I doing what the organization needs the most? CEOs spend a lot of time externally, so I want to make sure I am contributing to what we're doing. So, I reflect oen about what we have on the calendar and what else we should be doing. Q: How much time do you spend with direct reports? RH: Generally, we have an executive council meeting every Tuesday morning for about three hours. is meeting is with my top direct reports. en each month, we expand that executive council meeting to include my direct reports' reports. is meeting typically will last a full day. It allows us to ensure we stay organized in an organization that's 120,000 people. A lot of people ask me: How do you keep up with a sprawling organization? My answer is: I have a cascade of great people. My expectation is that if you're here, you know what your job is, and you›re going to do it well, and you don't need me to tell you everything that you have to do. Q: What is the last thing you do before you leave for the day? RH: At the end of the day, my chief of strategy and I will talk. If we are not in the office, we will call each other from the car and assess how we did that day. It's a really good way for us both to kind of analyze how we're doing and to keep things on track. e absolute last thing I will do before leaving the office is to take a deep breath, reflect on the day from beginning to end. Q: How do you unwind at the end of the day? RH: When I get home, I try to completely flip it off. I go home to my CEO at home, my wife. We have been married for 41 years and have two daughters, who are employed and married. Typically what I'll do when I am home, is throw on my jeans, and me and my wife will go for a long walk and usually end up at one of our restaurants somewhere in Capitol Hill in Seattle. n Sponsors vs. mentors: How to find them & why both are critical for your career By Jhaymee Tynan, Assistant Vice President of Integration, Atrium Health O ne of the biggest mistakes I have observed by pro- fessionals of all career levels is not investing the time or energy to find and secure a sponsor. Specifically for women, I too often see female professionals, and especially women of color, being over mentored and under sponsored in the workplace. Mentors are colleagues that you go to for advice when you are dealing with a diffi- cult workplace situation, trying to negotiate a salary or hop- ing to create better work-life harmony. While mentors are critical for career development, there comes a time in every career journey that a sponsor will truly help catapult a per- son to that next level of success. One of my former colleagues was going through her annu- al review, and the senior leaders in the organization were discussing her body of work in comparison to her peers. All of the senior leaders knew her, as she had established a professional brand in her field of expertise that was known on a national level. In fact, a few were even her mentors. While these leaders were discussing her performance, one or two leaders (male executives) were concerned about the outcomes of her projects not meeting their expectations and questioning the value of her accomplishments. In fact, their comments were truly less about her performance and facts and more about their perception of her. To her surprise, not a single leader in the meeting advo- cated for her, truly championed her work or brought to light how her work was being received outside the walls of the organization. As a result, only the loudest voices in the room were heard and she was denied an opportunity for a high-visibility project that would put her on a path to promotion. She ended up being stuck in her position for another year, and she ultimately left the organization. Having someone be vocal, courageous and advocate on your behalf can be transformational. How to find a sponsor Sponsorship relationships are not transactional. They are developed and nurtured over time and require intention- ality on the part of the protégé. Successful protégés have developed their personal value proposition, and specifical- ly, have articulated what unique impact they bring to the or- ganization based on past and current performance. Some of my best sponsors began as mentors, and our relation- ship changed as I progressed in my career. I began sharing my career aspirations and accomplishments with them on a regular basis, and my sponsors started to appreciate and notice my skills, knowledge and abilities. However, those relationships took time and continual follow-up and fol- low-through. I also had to be strategic in finding the right sponsor for me, particularly as a woman of color. I wanted someone who understood my unique challenges as an Af- rican-American executive and was willing to navigate those challenges with their peers. Distinguishing a sponsor from a mentor The single most important sign of a great sponsor is cour- age. To be successful as a sponsor, you must be willing to give away your political capital and your leadership pow- er to lift others. In many ways, sponsorship can be a risky endeavor for senior-level professionals as it requires faith on their part that you will continue to exceed their expec- tations of performance. Great sponsors are willing to take that risk proudly and speak about you in spaces where you are not. They champion not just your performance, but your potential. As a result, sponsors have high expectations for their protégés, which differs from a mentoring relationship. Mentors tend to focus on providing advice and supporting you as you navigate the unwritten rules of the office or a difficult situation at work, to name a few. Sponsors focus on advocacy and ensuring that you have the needed visibili- ty to take on that special strategic project or ultimately get promoted to the next level in your career. n