DIVERSIFYING LEADERSHIP
E P I S O D E T H R E E K E Y T A K E A W A Y S G U E S T : S A R A H M C K E O W N - C A N N O N
SARAHMCKEOWN-CANNON
SarahMcKeown-Cannon,isanexpertinClinicalTrialExperienceandPublicis Health’sVPofGrowth.
Sarah’shealthcarecommunicationscareerbeganatLanglandin2016,where shewasquicklyinvitedtomoveacrossthepondandbuildPublicisHealth’s firstofficeinNewYorkCity.
As a rare disease patient herself, Sarah’s passion for human-centred researchispersonal.Shechallengesclientstothinkbeyondtheboundariesof “traditional”clinicaltrialdesigntosolvetheirnumberonechallenge-patient recruitment - by recognising patients as individuals and building truly inclusiveclinicaltrials.
S P O T L I G H T P R O F I L E VP OF GROWTH P U B L I C I S H E A L T H
KEY INSIGHTS
Do job titles really matter?
Job titles are rarely standardised across companies. They vary and evolve depending on an organisation's size, structure, and even culture! How many "Chief Happiness Officers"existed20yearsago?!
While different job titles can keep things exciting and interesting, the variety has createdseveralhiringchallenges.
Firstly, hiring managers must now look beyond the job title they expect their ideal candidate to have. Instead of exclusively seeking a "Senior Manager" to step into your "Director"vacancy,whynotmapoutyouridealcandidateprofilebasedonqualitieslike:
> Their lived experiences.
> The skillset they've developed.
> The challenges they've overcome.
> The contributions they could make.
> The alignment of their goals with your company's.
The second challenge is to source qualified candidates without solely searching for specific job titles. This is where a specialised recruitment partner with a wealth of industry-specificknowledgecanbeincrediblyvaluable.
Thethirdchallengeistoengageyouridealcandidate.Iftheircurrenttitleisnotaligned with your vacancy, this can be tricky. Some Senior Directors, for example, might be reluctanttostep"down"intoaDirector-levelroleeveniftheresponsibilitiesarelaterally equal or more challenging. Society has conditioned professionals to "climb the career ladder"rung-by-rung,so,unsurprisingly,somecandidatesarefearfulthatamisaligned jobtitlemayinterferewiththeirfuturejobsearch.
" D i f f e r e n t j o b t i t l e s m e a n d i f f e r e n t t h i n g s i n d i f f e r e n t o r g a n i s a t i o n s … I t ' s a c t u a l l y t r u l y u n d e r s t a n d i n g w h a t s k i l l s a n d c a p a b i l i t i e s a n i n d i v i d u a l h a s a n d w h a t t h e y c a n b r i n g t o y o u r o r g a n i s a t i o n " .
To mitigate this, consider adding an overview of your organisational structure and levellingframeworktoyourcareerspageandjobadverts.Also,considerincludinga salary range for each vacancy. This could help you attract suitable candidates who mayhaveotherwisebeendeterredbytheadvertisedtitle.
Some of Apsida's most successful placements have been candidates with job titles different from our client's initial expectations. By ignoring the fluidity and flexibility of jobtitles,youmightinadvertentlylimityourtalentpoolandhiringcapabilities.
How can sponsorship empower aspiring leaders?
Lack of representation is a huge challenge for women in STEM. Aspiring female leaders rarely have female role models within their organisation, with mentorship and sponsorship opportunities lacking, too. Mentorship and sponsorship are supportive relationships between professionalsofdifferentseniorities.
Three things that can make sponsorship particularly difficult for womeninSTEM:
- Most female professionals are, understandably, inspired by female rolemodels.Ifyourorganisationlacks diverse leadership, junior employees may struggle to connect with a sponsorandmaylookelsewhere.
In many organisations, junior individuals are assigned a mentor, and mentorship is a formal agreement in which a senior employee is tasked with sharing knowledge and guidance with their mentee.
Sponsorship, on the other hand, is a more organic, less formal, longerterm support mechanism that evolves naturally. Typically, it begins when a junior professional approaches an inspirational senior leader. Over time, they share value and knowledge with one another, and the sponsor naturally becomes an advocate for their sponsee They may speak positively about them behindcloseddoors,championtheir ideas, and support efforts to further theircareer.
- Junior female professionals are generally less confident than their male colleagues, which makes it daunting to approach a senior male leader about sponsorship. In our podcastepisode,Sarahofferedsome greattipstowardsapproachingthis!
- As many successful female leaders are naturally empathetic, they may become overwhelmed by the pressuretoactasasponsorandrole model for other women in STEM. To avoidburnout,theymustnotsacrifice their own development and work-life balancetohelpothers.
"People look for sponsors who inspire them and have qualities they respect. That's what I look for when I'm looking for sponsors in my career, and I try, as a leader, to be the kind of leader that I'm looking for myself."
No matter how diverse your existing leadership team is, it's important to encouragemaleleaderstobeallies.Inamale-dominatedboardmeeting,for example, ideas from female leaders are often overlooked, ignored, or used without credit. By encouraging men to speak up and support their female colleagues, conversations will become more well-rounded, cultivating an environment in which everyone feels comfortable and confident voicing their ideasandopinions.
" B e i n g f u l f i l l e d a t w o r k c a n l o o k l i k e c l i m b i n g t h e c o r p o r a t e l a d d e r . B u t , i t c a n a l s o l o o k l i k e g r o w i n g w i t h i n y o u r r o l e , a n d l e a r n i n g m o r e s k i l l s . N o t e v e r y o n e i s m o t i v a t e d b y p r o m o t i o n s . "
S A R A H M C K E O W N - C A N N O N
KEY INSIGHTS
Every employee is different, so when it comes to growth and development, there's no one-size-fits-all approach. Sarah didn't follow a "traditional" straight-lined career path Instead, she navigated her way through client services,projectdelivery,anddevelopedagreatportfolioofskillsthatshaped herintotheleadersheistoday.
Acknowledgingeveryemployee'suniquegoalsandrequirementsstartswith transparenthiring Duringyourhiringprocess,askeachcandidatewhatthey'd reallyliketogainfromtheirnextrole.Iftheiransweralignswithwhatyoucan offerasanemployer,fantastic!Butifitdoesn't,behonest.
Overselling development opportunities and promotion pathways in a bid to secure your favourite candidate isn't a sustainable strategy. Overpromising and underdelivering leads to disappointed employees, high turnover, and a poorreputation.
Onceyou'veonboardednewhires,checkinwiththemregularly.Ourpriorities, goals, and ambitions fluctuate more often than most of us would like to admit! As a leader, it's your responsibility to create an environment where employees are comfortable discussing their development and asking questions about "non-traditional" routes, such as moving laterally to experiencedifferentdepartments.
H O W C A N Y O U L E A D A G R O U P
O F I N D I V I D U A L S W I T H D I F F E R E N T G O A L S ?
KEY INSIGHTS
HOW CAN LEADERS EMBRACE UNCERTAINTY?
Inherearly20s,justoneyearafterjoiningLangland'sUKoffice,Sarahwasinvitedto move to New York City and open Publicis Health's first US office. Terrified but determined,shetookaleapoffaiththatlaidthefoundationsofhersuccessfulcareer.
Whetheryou'realeader,anindividualcontributor,oragraduatetakingyourfirststep intotheworldofwork,self-reflectionisanimportantskilltomaster.Ateverystepof your career journey, you'll face discomfort and self-doubt. Everybody is constantly learning,growing,andevolving,evenseniorleaders!
You'll rarely face two identical scenarios during your career, and that's okay. Resilienceisbuiltbyincorporatingwhatyou'velearntfrompastexperiencesintonew, unknownsituations Leadershipisaboutnavigatingthisuncertaintywithconfidence
Throughout our personal and professional lives, we all accumulate a catalogue of experiences and lessons. Successful leaders won't have all the answers, but they'll know where to look Through self-reflection, they can identify exactly which hurdle they'refacing,whattheidealoutcomeshouldbe,andwhichpastexperiencesthey canextractinsightsfromtoguidethemtowardsasolution.
"You'regoingtofeeluncomfortableateverystep ofyourcareer…Noonehaseverything completelyfiguredout.Iftheytellyoutheyhave, they'relying."
Confidentleadersarealsohappytoaskquestions.They'renotafraidtoadmitthat they don't know everything and are always open to advice from colleagues, regardlessoftheirseniority.Theyadoptthemindsetthattheycanlearnsomething fromeveryone,andtheyneverstopgrowing.
Additionally, whether you ' re a leader or not, it's important to recognise that it's impossibletocontroleverything.Youcandoyourbesttoshareyouropinions,voice yourideas,andbepersistent,butyoucan'tcontrolotherpeople'sabilitytolisten.You can work hard to support and nurture your team, but you can't control whether or nottheyputintheefforttobesuccessful.Channelyourenergyandeffortstowards thingsthatyoucancontrol,andyou'llfeelmuchmorefulfilled
You cannot pour from an empty cup
S A R A H M C K E O W N - C A N N O N
CANWORK-LIFEBALANCEEXISTFORLEADERS?
Being a leader is a huge responsibility. You have targets to hit, people to manage,employeestodevelop,andmore.It'seasytogetsweptinandmake yourowngrowth,development,andhappinessyourlowestpriority.Thetrouble is,youcanonlyhelpothersafteryou'vehelpedyourself!
Being a female leader is particularly challenging because women are expected to absorb a huge amount of emotional labour compared to their malecounterparts,bothintheworkplaceandathome.
"Youcannotpourfromanemptycup.Justdoingsomethingfor10-15minutesin themorningformyselfsetsmydayoffreallywell.Itgivesmealittlebitof balancetoensurethatI'mgivingmyselftimetofillupthatcup."
To champion women and build more diverse leadership teams within your business,youshouldencourageeverysingleemployeetoprioritisetheirworklife balance. Of course, businesses ebb and flow, and sometimes, having all handsondeckisnecessarytoreachacertaingoalordeadline.Butthisshould be a minority, not the norm, because burnout is the biggest threat to employeeengagement.
Simple suggestions to make a healthy work-life balance more accessible includeextendedlunchbreaksthatallowemployeestovisitthegymwithout skipping or rushing lunch You could also encourage regular refreshment breaks to prompt employees to get up from their desks, move around, and maintaincreativity.
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