Rosalind Chow's "The Doors You Can Open" explores the concept of sponsorship as a crucial tool for fostering inclusivity in the workplace. The book differentiates sponsorship from mentorship, highlighting how sponsors act on behalf of their protégés to influence external audiences. Chow emphasizes the importance of trust in sponsorship, arguing that sponsors must trust their protégés' abilities, while the protégés' trust in the sponsor is less critical. The book provides practical strategies for individuals to become effective sponsors and advocates for others, ultimately contributing to a more equitable and inclusive work environment. It challenges traditional networking approaches, advocating for a collective problem-solving model that prioritizes the group's success.
Success isn’t just about how hard you work. It’s also about who’s advocating for you even when you’re not in the room.
In this episode, Debbie talks with Rosalind Chow, an associate professor at Carnegie Mellon University, about her new book, The Doors You Can Open A New Way to Network, Build Trust, and Use Your Influence to Create a More Inclusive Workplace.
They get into the real difference between mentorship and sponsorship, why both matter, and how having the right sponsor can completely change the game for your career.
Rosalind shares her perspective on the challenges of systemic racism and inclusion and how being intentional about sponsorship can actually create real opportunities for people who need them.
Concluding the interview, Debbie and Yael give their take on what it means to build relationships that open doors, not just for ourselves but for others, too.
Listen and Learn:
- When systemic solutions fade, what can individuals do?
- How sponsorship, not mentorship, breaks barriers for marginalized professionals
- How power dynamics in mentorship can shape careers and why sponsorship may be the real key to success
- Rethinking networking and how shifting from power moves to collective problem-solving can build real influence
- Sponsorship vs. mentorship: why trust flows differently, and why sponsors take the biggest career risks
- Can sponsorship fight bias, or does it reinforce it?
- How Kristin became the unlikely leader of a program for Black professionals and won over skeptics
- How sponsoring a colleague led Kristin to a Harvard Business Review article and a career boost
Resources:
About Rosalind Chow
Rosalind Chow is an Associate Professor of Organizational Behavior and Theory at Carnegie Mellon University, where she studies the power of social hierarchy and its impact on diversity and inclusion efforts within organizations. She uses her research expertise to direct executive leadership programs aimed at accelerating participants' careers, with a particular focus on the advancement of women and members of marginalized groups. Her forthcoming book, The Doors You Can Open (PublicAffairs, April 8, 2025), introduces the concept of sponsorship as a way we can use our social connections to change the relationships we have with other people and the relationships that other people have with one another in the service of creating greater communal good.
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