The Last Mile
The Last Mile
Podcast Description
Listen to a series of six interviews featuring women in equity positions within the Champions of Change Architecture Group practices. All have in common an ability to shift their mindsets and facilitate personalised sponsorship techniques crucial for success. By sharing stories, successes, and failures, these leaders can influence others and drive positive change.Why does this matter? The architecture industry widely misunderstands the value of sponsorship as an equaliser and accelerator, particularly when it comes enabling more women to progress in their professions and cover the "Last Mile" to practice ownership. This podcast aims to change this narrative. We seek to empower architectural professionals in leadership positions to embrace sponsorship as best practice.Through the direct experiences of the women who graciously participated in this podcast series, we hope to illustrate how these strategies can result in meaningful cultural shifts towards a more equitable industry. The Last Mile is published in collaboration with Parlour.This podcast is an initiative of the Sponsorship Action Group from Champions of Change Architecture Group. BVN, nettletontribe, Bates Smart, PTW and Woods Bagot were all involved.For complementary material, read / watch the Stepping Up on Sponsorship resources.
Podcast Insights
Content Themes
The podcast primarily focuses on the themes of sponsorship, professional growth, and gender equity within the architecture industry. Topics discussed include the importance of flexible sponsorship, the role of culture in supporting quiet achievers, and strategies for overcoming the challenges women face in their careers, as seen in episodes featuring insights from leaders like Sally Campbell on unlocking potential and Georgia Singleton on workplace dynamics.
A series of six interviews focusing on the ‘The Last Mile’ – the challenging transition from being an outstanding second-in-command to becoming an owner.
Developed by the Champions of Change Architecture Group, these interviews with six women in leadership illustrate how sponsorship strategies can support meaningful cultural shifts towards a more equitable industry.
The Last Mile is an initiative of the Sponsorship Action Group of the Champions of Change Architecture Group. BVN, nettletontribe, Bates Smart, PTW and Woods Bagot were all involved. Interviews were conducted by Brian Clohessy, Isabella Aliberti, Tia Soulakellis and Sam de Jongh and are published in collaboration with Parlour.
Listen to The Last Mile with Christina Cho, a lively conversation about supporting the ambition of quiet achievers.
I believe sponsorship grows out of mentorship. It’s a relationship that needs time to develop, to mature, because it involves a champion who’s willing to share more of themselves to help someone else progress in their career. And for me, it’s a really powerful form of advocacy in the workplace that builds trust and mutual respect with my staff to help them advance a career. But most importantly, their advancement aligns with their own ambitions and values. The important aspect of this is that they’re happy. They’re content, they have a sense of purpose, allowing them to reach the full potential, which then equally contributes to the positive growth of our practice.
The term sponsorship is probably not one that was overtly used through my own career, and reflecting back on my experience, sponsorship came to me in many forms at different times of my career and through many people
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Those of us who are more reserved, soft spoken or appear less proactive in perusing professional goals aren’t necessarily lacking ambition. Christina speaks about how sponsorship can cultivate a culture of support, mentorship and advancement that provides recognition for ‘quiet achievers’.
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Christina Cho is a Director of Cox. She is passionate about creating active, inclusive and inspirational environments and leads projects using an open and collective design process. She is a third-generation architect, born in Seoul and raised in Brisbane. Her Korean-Australian heritage has significantly shaped the way she perceives the world and her practice in architecture. Christina is the winner of the 2018 Australian Institute of Architects, National Emerging Architect Prize and recipient of the Australian Financial Review Young BOSS Executive.
The Last Mile is an initiative of the Champions of Change Architecture Group Sponsorship Action Group. Interviews were conducted by Brian Clohessy, Isabella Aliberti, Tia Soulakellis and Sam de Jongh and are published in collaboration with Parlour.
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