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Access is the most important currency in our world. Those who are able to increase their access over the course of their life will have the doors opened to resources they could never have imagined.
I grew up in Cleveland, pretty close to East High School. My father was a laborer, my mother an aid at a retirement home. I did not have access to a spectrum of possibilities beyond what I could see in my immediate environment. When I was asked what I wanted to be when I grew up, I would reply “fireman.” Even as a student in junior high, I didn’t have exposure to the full breadth of career opportunities that were possible.
By luck, happenstance, or fate, I started meeting mentors. The first influential mentor I had was my high school track coach, Michael Bailey. Coach Bailey was the first person I came across who helped me to consider a wider array of possibilities. In addition to that, Coach Bailey’s wife was a director at Inroads (a program that supported minority internships). That relationship gave me access to internships (Kaiser Permanente & General Electric) that I would have never even attempted to pursue.
My boss at General Electric was Jackie Biesinger. General Electric had a hiring freeze when I was exiting college, so I couldn’t begin my career there. Jackie had access to other organizations, shared my resume with an executive at Lubrizol (a company I had never heard of), which led to the beginning of my career there.
As I have progressed through my career, I have either found or been given access to opportunities time and time again. I would like to think that I have been faithful to the amount of access I have received and provided value in those situations. The access to these opportunities has allowed me to grow both personally and professionally to a level that I would have never conceived of earlier in my life. This level of access is in short supply for many people.
There are countless people who grew up in my neighborhood or went to my schools who didn’t receive anywhere near the level of access I have received. So many of these people are caring, intelligent people that I am honored to call friends to this day. I never had any magical qualities or special abilities that made me something utterly different from the pack. How many of these people, who are just like me, could have flourished with greater opportunities if they’d had a few folks provide them access early in life? Is there a Coach Baily or Jackie Boesinger for everyone? If not, shouldn’t there be one?
Some people have significant levels of access from the moment they are born. They know a life where they are surrounded by supportive friends and family, they have great schools, reliable transportation, etc., etc. My kids have this. My wife and I have done well for ourselves, so our kids eat what they want, have the latest gadgets, play all the sports they want, go on vacations. When it’s time for them to start looking for internships and jobs, my wife and I will use our access to help them land the best opportunities possible. We can do that because we now have access.
Why should access like this be limited to a section of our population? Can we, as a community, band together to provide greater access to a wider range of people? Can we give a broader range of people access to more resources, more knowledge, more relationships? While it is true that the internet has made many things easier to access, it’s impossible to find something that you don’t even know you should be looking for. The access provided by mentors and guides includes broadening the scope of what people think is possible for them.
I work for the Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland. One of the most important programs we have going is our Program on Economic Inclusion. The premise: Our entire economy is stronger if everyone who wants to work has the opportunity to do so. How do we accelerate the skill-building and credentialling needed to capture these positions and achieve this goal?
Access, when one enters an organization, is another story altogether. If the demographics of an organization don’t match the demographics of its community, it might have an access problem. If the demographics of the organization’s managers and leaders don’t match the demographics of its overall workforce, it might have an access problem. Promotions are usually tied to performance. Performance is usually tied to high visibility, high-impact assignments. Receiving high visibility, high-impact assignments are tied to a person’s level of access within the organization.
There are a few tools organizations use to increase access for their underrepresented groups.
Sponsorship and mentorship programs provide access
Leadership cohort programs are a good tool for providing access.
· Inclusive workforce and succession planning efforts provide access.
The most important access within an organization is the access to high visibility, high impact assignments. These assignments are where true growth happens, both for one’s skill set and reputation.
Access is the most important currency in our world. The access impacts the education we receive (formal or informal), the career paths we take, and the resources available to us. However, access is not evenly distributed. As long as those with access hoard it only for themselves and a select few friends and family members, our overall communities will be less prosperous. We benefit as a community when all have access, so let’s work together to make access a reality. ●
