Pay. Progression. Accountability.
Cultivate Sponsorship: Activating visibility, advocacy, and advancement for underrepresented and high-potential talent – so organisations retain and promote leaders from within.
Inside This Month’s Edition
- Why fairness is designed in conversations, not policy
- Laing O’Rourke Australia reaches the programme mid-point
- Cultivate launches in the EU
- What we’re paying attention to this month
- Exclusive with Sam Trattles: How to make the ask that shifts pay and progression
From the Desk of Katriina Tähkä, Founder & CEO
Pay. Progression. Accountability.
Why I think we need to talk about this now.
Over the years, I’ve sat in hundreds of conversations about work.
Some were brave. Some were overdue. Many never happened at all.
And almost every one of them, when you strip it back, came down to the same quiet question: Is this fair?
Not just “am I paid enough?” But am I seen?
Is there a path for me here? Do the decisions being made about me make sense?
What I’ve learned is this: pay and progression are rarely decided in policy documents. They’re shaped in everyday conversations. The ones we have and the ones we avoid.
I’ve watched incredibly capable people wait patiently, assuming their work will speak for itself.
I’ve watched leaders want to do the right thing, but feel constrained, unclear, or unsure how to respond without opening a door they can’t close.
And I’ve watched fairness quietly erode, not through bad intent, but through silence, ambiguity, and lack of accountability.
Here’s the uncomfortable truth. Most people don’t lack capability. They lack visibility.
We know from national data that many women discuss their career aspirations with friends over dinner or at a BBQ – not with their managers. Not because they don’t care, but because the pathway doesn’t feel clear, safe, or real.
So pay and progression become something people hope for, rather than something they can meaningfully navigate.
And leaders? They’re often left balancing individual expectations, team equity, and organisational constraints – without shared language, clear principles, or practical tools to guide the conversation.
This is where accountability matters. Accountability isn’t about saying yes to everything.
It’s about clarity on what’s possible, how decisions are made, who needs to be involved, and what happens next, even when the answer is “not yet.”
When accountability is present, fairness becomes something we can work toward, not something we debate emotionally after the fact. When it’s absent, people fill the gaps themselves with assumptions, frustration, and disengagement.
I believe we need to stop treating pay and progression as private, awkward, or reactive conversations.
They are leadership conversations. They require courage, influence, and responsibility on both sides of the table.
And when we get them right, something powerful happens. People stop guessing. Leaders stop avoiding. And fairness stops being abstract – it becomes something you can actually feel.
That’s why I think now is the time to talk about pay, progression, and accountability, not as a slogan, but as a practice.
Because fairness doesn’t happen by accident.
It’s built, one conversation at a time.
Why This Matters Now
As IWD approaches, we’ll hear a lot about empowerment.
But empowerment without structure creates frustration.
If we’re serious about Balancing the Scales, we must prepare leaders for the conversations that shape outcomes:
- Pay reviews
- Promotion readiness
- Retention risk
- Budget constraints
- Perceived inequity
This is where leadership maturity shows.
Midway Milestone: Inside Laing O’Rourke’s Sponsorship Journey
This week we reached the mid-point of the Cultivate Sponsorship Programme with Laing O’Rourke Australia.
We’re incredibly proud of what has already been achieved – the growth we’ve witnessed, the confidence building in the room, and the tangible wins participants are already sharing.
Participants travelled into the North Sydney office for an in-person workshop – creating space for deeper connection, reflection, and alignment as the cohort moves into the second half of the programme.
At this stage, something shifts. The structure remains, but the conversations deepen.
By the mid-point, Sponsors and Sponsees consistently share themes of deeper connection, meaningful support, increased visibility, and assumptions being challenged.
Past examples include:
“We all make assumptions about how people think about themselves – until you ask the questions.”
“Preconceptions were far off… we’ve peeled back more layers than we thought we would.”
“How easy it was to get deep – we got talking straight away with no barriers.”
And perhaps most powerfully:
“I wouldn’t have got this through without Cultivate.”
Conversations moved beyond capability into narrative, brand, and how opportunity is shaped inside an organisation.
One previous insight stood out:
“How I wanted the world to see me is how I’m being seen.”
The second half of the programme now turns toward intentional exposure, advocacy in action, and building momentum that lasts beyond the formal structure.
Mid-point isn’t about slowing down.
It’s about sharpening focus.
See how targeted tracking of promotions led to construction site employees at Laing O’Rourke being twice as likely to have a female leader.
Cultivate Launches in the EU
This month, the Cultivate Sponsorship Programme officially launched in Europe.
We are incredibly excited to see Cultivate take this next step – expanding into the EU with a cohort ready to lead with intent and shape what sponsorship looks like across borders.
Katriina travelled from Australia to England to lead the onboarding workshop for Laing O’Rourke EU – bringing together 24 sponsors and sponsees to begin the programme.
Pairs met in person to start building their sponsorship relationships from day one.
The full cohort aligned on expectations, shared their hopes, and surfaced the questions that matter at the beginning of a sponsorship journey.
This launch builds on the strong momentum already established in Australia and reflects Laing O’Rourke’s continued investment in driving gender equality in construction through structured, intentional sponsorship.
New region.
Same ambition.
Sponsorship that shifts outcomes.
What We’re Paying Attention To
This month, we’re focused on how fairness becomes operational – not aspirational.
🎧 Coaching Real Leaders – Harvard Business Review
Real coaching sessions that show how leaders hold boundaries without losing trust.
📚 Are Your Reviews Fair, or Familiar? – Cultivate Sponsorship
Performance reviews determine who advances and who disengages. This piece unpacks how to spot familiarity bias before it costs you talent.
📹 Light at the End of the Tunnel session – Cultivate Sponsorship
Drawing on her PhD research in construction, Sophie brings direct experience of participating in the Cultivate program.
Exclusive: Sam Trattles on Balancing the Scales
This month, we’re honoured to share an exclusive contribution from negotiation strategist Sam Trattles.
Sam works at the intersection of influence, clarity, and courageous asks – the very terrain where pay and progression conversations are won or lost.
As IWD approaches, the noise increases. Messages multiply. Slogans circulate.
Sam brings us back to something more powerful – practical action.
Her piece, Balancing the Scales without the Slogans, is a sharp reminder that fairness doesn’t move because we say the right thing. It moves when we make the right ask – with clarity, preparation, and conviction.
We’re proud to share her exclusive article in full below.
Balancing the Scales Without the Slogans
Slogans are nice, but if you want progress let’s talk practical action.
With the much-anticipated arrival of the Fire Horse – this is a moment to keep your focus narrow – deciding what you want and making clear asks that create real impact.
Here are 3 steps you can take to get what you want:
- Get clear on what you want.
Clarity builds your belief that you’re worth the effort of asking for it. Block out half an hour.
No phone, no fixing, just stare out the window ruminating on the question – what do I really want?
Then, couple your responses by naming – what I really do not want? - Build your plan for impact.
Whatever you want will require something of someone else. It’s time to research what it will take.
Do you need to: delegate more? request more resources? have a conversation about your worth?
Take the time to map out the who, the how, and what you need to ask for. - Making your ask from someone with influence.
It’s not an emotional or confrontational affair, it’s a fact-finding mission. What will it take to change [this, that or the other]? How do we make it happen? Are we in this together?Balancing the scales is not about saying the ‘right thing’.
It requires clarity on what you want, a plan for impact, and the conviction that you are worth the effort of advocating for yourself and make the ask.
To explore more of Sam’s work on negotiation and influence, visit her website.
Final Thought
Fairness isn’t a statement.
It’s a system of conversations.
Pay.
Progression.
Accountability.
One leadership discipline.
If you’re ready to move from intention to action:
- Book your Pinpoint Strategy Session
- Explore all Cultivate Services
- Download the Social Impact Report
Prepared conversations shape outcomes.