Riverstone Books is pleased to host a book launch for The Doors You Can Open by local author, Rosalind Chow. Following the discussion with Evan Frazier, we will have a time for Q&A with the audience and book signing. Refreshments will be provided.
Want to pre-order your copy of the book? You can do so here.
About the book:
“Chow revolutionizes our understanding of how careers advance” (Daniel H. Pink, #1 New York Times best-selling author of Drive), taking readers on a transformative journey beyond the standard model of mentorship to embracing sponsorship.
The way we currently network and engage in mentorship isn’t working. Given the ever-evolving nature of the workplace, transactional networking and company-enforced mentorship programs simply don’t help make our professional relationships more authentic or our workplaces more equitable. What we need instead is sponsorship.
What’s the difference between mentorship and sponsorship? Mentorship involves helping a mentee change their behavior, while sponsorship involves changing how other people see a protégé. Sponsorship is as important, if not more so, than mentorship in determining who gets ahead, making it a more effective way to promote social equality and inclusion in the workplace.
In The Doors You Can Open, organizational expert Rosalind Chow shows readers that they likely already engage in sponsorship in their personal and professional networks—and how they can channel those skills to build more authentic professional relationships. We all have more agency and deeper networks to act as sponsors than we might think, and sponsoring others can lead to mutually beneficial lifelong connections rather than merely transactional interactions. Given the ever-evolving nature of the workplace, intentional and equitable sponsorship is more important now than ever for overturning traditional social hierarchies.
Based on decades of original research, The Doors You Can Open makes a bold case for completely changing the way we network. Reading it will change how we see and use our relationships in the service of creating stronger workplaces for all.
About the author:
Dr. Rosalind Chow is an associate professor of organizational behavior and theory at Carnegie Mellon University, where she directs executive education programs that advance the careers of Black and Latino professionals and advises corporations on their sponsorship programs. She lives in Pittsburgh with her husband and their two children.
About the conversation partner:
Evan Frazier is a corporate executive, nonprofit leader, entrepreneur, author and family man. He has extensive experience in both the public and private sectors. He is currently the president and CEO of The Advanced Leadership Institute and sits on the Dollar Bank Board of Directors. Frazier has served as a trustee or board member for more than 30 community agencies and civic organizations over the years. Current nonprofit board affiliations include Carnegie Museums of Pittsburgh (Life Trustee), Bender Leadership Academy, the Pennsylvania Society, and board advisor to the Alliance for Hospitality Equity & Diversity (AHED).
In addition to receiving formal degrees from Cornell University and Carnegie Mellon University, in March 2017 Frazier completed the Wharton Executive Development Program at the University of Pennsylvania. Over the years he also earned executive education certificates from Harvard Business School's Strategic Perspectives in Nonprofit Management and the Program on Negotiation at Harvard Law School.
In 2008, Frazier launched his first book entitled Most Likely to Succeed: The Frazier Formula for Success®, which introduced his personal success framework to inspire youth and young adults to achieve. He is a graduate of Leadership Pittsburgh, a BMe Community leader, member of Sigma Pi Phi Fraternity, Co-founder of the National Society of Minorities in Hospitality (NSMH) and he currently serves as Chair of the NSMH Legacy Fund Group. Evan lives in the Greater Pittsburgh area with his wife Dr. Holly Hatcher-Frazier (educator and national television personality) and their children Evan Jr, Nia and William.