It often seems like team meetings result in some voices being heard, while others are completely overlooked. Similarly, sometimes credit is misassigned to someone who didn’t actually offer up the idea.
The phenomenon is a concern to many, and particularly women and people of color. However, the use of amplification, publicly endorsing someone’s idea while giving credit to that person, can give underrepresented voices their proper due.
Amplifying someone’s ideas has three impacts: It makes the original contributor’s ideas seem better, it makes the amplifier look good, and it helps underrepresented voices to be heard.
That’s according to a new article in the Harvard Business Review co-authored by Elizabeth Tenney, assistant professor of Management, and three of her colleagues at schools across the country.
“These findings suggest that women — and potentially members of other groups underrepresented in organizations, particularly at the highest levels — can use amplification to improve equity and inclusion. When a woman amplifies a woman, two women benefit: both the one whose contribution now has a vocal supporter, and the one who looks magnanimous and generous for recognizing a colleague,” the authors write.
Read the full article here.