Charlotte Otter explores how L&D can move beyond hiring commitments to support genuine career growth for diverse talent. With visibility, support and structured development, learning professionals can help underrepresented leaders step into their power—and the C-Suite—at a time when some companies are pulling back from their DEI promises.
Hiring diverse talent is only the start. It’s much harder to create pathways for promotion so that diverse leaders can grow into increasingly senior roles. Some of this responsibility lies with individuals themselves and how they perform; however, L&D have a role to play in providing the necessary tools and training to help diverse leaders take concrete steps up the career ladder and towards the C-Suite.
The onus is on individuals and to be seen and heard as the leaders they are
This is even more urgent in the current climate, as companies are reneging on or toning down the language of their diverse hiring commitments. As the systemic response to inequality falls away in some companies, though thankfully not all, the onus is on individuals and to be seen and heard as the leaders they are.
The role of L&D
Learning teams can help by taking an intentional, systemic role in ensuring that everyone has the opportunity, visibility and support to lead – not just those who form the typical leadership majority.
Opportunity means fixing the hiring, remunerating and promoting processes – and this is usually the remit of the wider HR organisation. However, L&D can support diverse candidates with training on salary negotiation and other key skills, and by training the manager cohort on inclusive hiring practices.
The arenas where L&D really come to play are visibility and support. These are places where systemic barriers and unconscious bias tend to privilege people who are not from diverse backgrounds or identities. By creating systemic programmes, L&D can shift intentions to do better into genuine change.
Why visibility matters
For leaders from diverse backgrounds and identities, doing a great job is not enough. It is important for them to be both seen and heard, doing the good work and talking about it.
In his book Let Them See You, founder and MD of True Search, Porter Braswell, says “a critical mistake that many young professionals make, especially to those new to an organisation, is waiting until their annual review to highlight their achievements.” He recommends that people from diverse identities track everything – including training, information they sought from people outside their department, extra hours worked, collaborations and anything they initiated – and update this list weekly. Even more important is to show how these activities helped support and drive company strategy.
L&D can include visibility training in onboarding or new hire programmes. Another aspect of visibility is where should new or diverse hires show up: which internal platforms and channels are important for them to be seen doing good work. External channels are also important. Include LinkedIn and social selling training for your diverse hires.
Getting the support they need
New hires are often told to find mentors or sponsors, but this usually happens in an incremental or unstructured way. Set up structured mentorships, in which mentors are trained on what their role means in terms of being an advocate for the diverse candidate.
Many organisations talk about psychological safety but very few truly know what it means or how to implement it. Managers require training on how to run inclusive teams that lift up all voices; not just those of a few.
Creating clear leadership pathways is another systemic method to help individuals from diverse backgrounds and identities. When the path to leadership is unclear, it is much harder for people to see themselves in a leadership role. With a clear path, they can set themselves goals and work with their managers to achieve these.
Challenge, chance and real change
Hiring diverse talent is just the beginning. Real progress will only come when every future leader is seen, heard and empowered to feel both ambitious and supported in their ambition. Leaving it up to chance is not enough.
L&D can be a strategic lever for change. By equipping underrepresented talent with the skills, confidence, and visibility they need to lead, and by challenging the systems that prevent them from doing so, L&D can transform organisations into places where leadership truly reflects the diversity of their people.
Charlotte Otter is an executive communications expert, speaker, advisor and author of We Need New Leaders: Mastering reputation management to reshape the C-Suite
