The Deepest Wound

Dear Friends,   

If you’ve read The Waymakers book or have heard me speak or participated in a learning experience with one of the consultants here at The Waymakers Change Group (TWCHG), you’re probably familiar with the phrase “When you heal the deepest wound, you heal the body.” All of us at TWCHG are firm believers in that statement. Today, I’m going to share with you what it means and how one of our clients became a believer too.

THE SITUATION

Our client—a large academic health system in the Mid-West comprised of hospitals, clinics, and physician practices—serves a significant Black population. And although the system employs many Black women, it had very little Black female representation in leadership. This disconnect between decision makers and patients was hindering the system’s ability to effectively understand and serve the Black community. To help improve Black patient outcomes, our client needed to bring Black healthcare perspectives into the rooms where decisions were made. That meant identifying and removing barriers—perceived and actual—that were stalling or stopping career advancement for high potential Black women across the system. It also meant equipping its leaders, who were mostly white and male, with the skill and confidence to intentionally lead more inclusively. 

OUR APPROACH

Seek Understanding

The client leveraged their data and internal expertise to identify mid-level Black women across the system and C-suite leaders to include in a pilot sponsorship program. We interviewed and surveyed participants up front knowing we could administer the same diagnostics at the end to understand any sentiment change. During this discovery phase, we learned of the leaders’ initial level of confidence and competence leading across differences and uncovered how mid-level Black women perceived their career growth opportunities—or lack thereof.

Take Responsibility

After gaining an understanding of what we were facing, we collaborated with the client to design a path forward. We decided to measure whether Black women’s careers were positively impacted by the program with the number one metric being promotion or movement that would facilitate increased readiness. We also knew there would be other leading signals to watch, those that indicated increased visibility and access to opportunity—i.e. being introduced to leaders you wouldn’t usually encounter, attending upper level leadership meetings, presenting at an event on behalf of your sponsor, getting selected for roles/projects that had not yet been posted, etc. We also identified ways to measure the impact of the program on white male leaders—their ability to identify and dismantle bias, to successfully intervene when witnessing bias or –isms in the workplace, and their ability to recognize when and how to successfully advocate for employees whose lived experiences differ from their own.   

OUR SOLUTION

Build Relationship

We created a unique shared learning journey for the participants. The participant group was comprised of pairs—a high-level white male executive sponsor, and an aspiring Black woman leader—the sponsee. Our team at TWCHG created multiple educational touch points for the group, including facilitated, interactive discussions and experiences, specifically, The Black Experience at Work and in the World (data, discussion, and experiences specific to the client’s workplace); Defining Great (a guided aspiration session); Barriers to Success (identifying what was preventing the advancement of Black talent and the associated risks); and other topics. Additionally, TWCHG provided coaching sessions for the sponsors and their sponsees separately, discussing pointed challenges and opportunities, and providing guidance on choices and behaviors to unlock greater potential.  

CLIENT OUTCOMES

In the first six months of the program, Black women participants were able to increase their visibility opportunities by 100%, were given stretch assignments aligned with their career aspirations, and were recognized by other leaders for their strengths and contributions. Within a year, the majority of the Black women in the program were promoted or moved into positions more aligned with their interests and talents. These successes were a direct result of the behaviors and actions of their sponsors, the leaders who got to know them—what they aspired to do, the skills they had and wanted to attain—and who used their power and position to open doors of opportunity.  System leaders were made aware of the effect of structural racism on their organization and their employees. They also acquired the skills and confidence to identify, call out, and root out bias. They reported a 36% increase in comfort intervening when Black colleagues felt excluded and an increased understanding of the moments when their support and advocacy were most needed and most important.  

“When you heal the deepest wound, you heal the body.”

So, what does the success of mid-level Black women at the organization have to do with workplace wellness for the entire health system? Everything. We helped our client focus on the population most at risk and whose perspective was needed most to positively impact patient outcomes—Black women. The mid-level Black women in the organization were already strong performers. But proximity bias had them stuck. By equipping executive leaders with the skills and confidence to intentionally use their power to open doors for people they may have otherwise overlooked, we successfully disrupted proximity bias within the system. Mid-level Black women benefitted from this effort first, but the health system and the patients and communities it serves also benefit long-term from more diverse perspectives and experiences influencing approaches, strategies, operations, and outcomes.

Which populations in your organization hold the keys to better business outcomes? What is causing "dis-ease" in your company? Is it proximity bias? A lack of exposure? Status quo bias? Too few cross-boundary relationships? Reach out. Let us show you the way to a healthier workplace culture. Because when you heal the deepest wound, you do heal the body.

Together in Waymaking, 

Tara Jaye 

& The Waymakers Change Group 

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Tara Jaye Frank is author of The Waymakers: Clearing the Path to Workplace Equity with Competence and Confidence and founder of The Waymakers Change Group, a human-centered management consulting firm that supports mid-sized and large companies who seek to transform their employee experience and build capacity to lead all people well.  Our proprietary approach, grounded in behavioral research and decades of inclusive leadership expertise, challenges and equips leaders to unleash the potential of all people, thereby promoting healthy workplace cultures and fueling sustainable businesses. Visit www.twchg.com to learn more.