Career Supercharge: ERG Leadership and Self-Promotion

A few years ago, I participated in a panel discussing how ERG (Employee Resource Group) leaders could leverage their experiences to propel their careers. My co-panelist shared his journey to becoming Chief of Staff - Office of the CEO, attributing his success to his time as an ERG leader. Similarly, I transitioned to a Director role in DEI (Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion) by leveraging my ERG leadership experience. Our stories illustrate the potential for employees to use ERG leadership to build their personal brand, demonstrate their abilities, and attract sponsorship.

Building a Personal Brand

Personal brands are extremely important. They tell other people what you’re great at, what you value, and what you’re passionate about. Brands allow people to “get to know you” even before they’ve met you. When you are an ERG leader, you are in a unique position to shape and amplify your brand through your role.

You are a community builder, champion for inclusion, organizational leader, and Diversity + Inclusion thought partner. The question is: do you act like it? Do you lean into the opportunities being in a role like this affords you? Do you have a scorecard that tracks your impact? Are you sharing your wins with your managers, and senior leadership team? Do you publicly celebrate your wins in team chats and social media? Are you reaching out to other ERGs to build relationships and collaborate across efforts?

When you do any of these things you are building a brand. The people around you (i.e. your peers, senior leaders, your manager) are getting to know what you’re capable of, the outcomes you are achieving, your leadership style, etc. They will see you and notice the skills you bring to the table.

Demonstrate your Abilities

A few of my strengths include fostering community, embodying authenticity, and delivering results. As an ERG leader, I consistently leveraged these strengths to cultivate a community where members felt valued and celebrated, to foster an environment of authenticity and transparency, and to achieve impactful outcomes in our collective efforts.

For example:

• Given my focus on community: our ERG was the first ERG to actively include allies in our programming
• Given my focus on authenticity: our membership doubled in my first year on the ERG leadership team
• Given my focus on delivering results: we delivered more events than any other ERG in the company, collaborated with all other ERGs at least once, and expanded our representation to 5 more regions.

These outcomes not only made my ERG one of the best at the company, it demonstrated the capabilities I brought to the organization. If I could use my strengths to make an ERG thrive, surely I could leverage some of these same skills in other parts of the organization.

Gaining Sponsorship

You will often hear people talk about how no one gets promoted without an advocate who speaks their name in rooms where decisions are being made.

How many times have you had an opportunity to connect with a senior leader, and allow them to get to know you better? When was the last time you had access to someone who could speak your name in rooms where important decisions were being made? That’s what an Executive Sponsor is, and if you are not taking advantage of this type of access you are missing out.

Typically, they don’t have a lot of time to meet, and when you finally get on their calendar, conversations can feel awkward or rushed. One of the reasons the conversation can feel uncomfortable is because they don't have a good idea of how to support you. It’s really important you address this early on so that your Executive Sponsor understands the issues that are top of mind for members, advocates for the ERG in executive spaces, and is able to mentor/coach the ERG’s leadership team.

Your role as an ERG leader is to:

1. Make sure your Executive Sponsor knows what’s top of mind for your members (be specific):

• Our members feel they are being overlooked for promotions
• Our members feel like outsiders on their own teams
• Our members feel like they are constantly being undermined because of their accents or appearance

2. Make sure your Executive Sponsor knows how to advocate for you:

• Increase representation of ERG leaders and members at company events, off-sites, and customer-facing conferences
• Secure executive coaching for ERG leaders
• Support employee advocacy programs
• Endorse medical/wellness/professional development benefits that will enhance the employee experience of our members

3. Make sure your Executive Sponsor knows how to be a good mentor/coach to the leadership team:

• Break the ice and allow them to get to know each leadership team member individually
• Schedule regular check-ins that include both ERG and professional updates
• Make sure everyone on the leadership team gets air time and exposure
• Reach out to your ES to celebrate wins

My hope is that these strategies offer you a fresh perspective on your role as an ERG leader. You possess a unique opportunity for growth and impact. Embrace it, prioritize the bigger picture, and boldly pave your path to career advancement. Remember, you've got this!