The legendary W. Edwards Deming once said “A bad system will beat a good person every time.” Playing Batman: Arkham Shadow recently, this quote kept resonating as I watched Commissioner Gordon - a dedicated public servant - struggle against Gotham’s broken system.
This made me reflect on what effective executive sponsorship really looks like. Early in my career at Comcast, I experienced transformative sponsorship. Our development team needed Macs for coding (this was pre-WSL - yes, I’m dating myself here). Corporate policy prohibited Macs on the network. Instead of telling us to “make do,” or intentionally violating corporate IT policy, our executive sponsor recognized the systemic barrier and took action. They funded and built a parallel network infrastructure that enabled our success. Our team went on to deliver exceptional results because we were properly empowered.
Contrast this with Batman’s approach to “sponsoring” the GCPD. Despite his resources and influence, he chooses to operate as a lone vigilante, using Commissioner Gordon merely as an intelligence source before pursuing his own methods. Rather than addressing systemic issues or empowering Gordon to reform from within, Batman circumvents the system entirely. When successful, he emerges to claim credit, leaving the underlying organizational dysfunction intact.
Even his leadership of the Justice League demonstrates this pattern - his first action was developing contingency plans to neutralize his own teammates. That’s not building trust or systems of accountability; it’s institutionalizing paranoia.
Imagine if Bruce Wayne had instead invested his considerable resources into strengthening GCPD’s internal affairs, modernizing their technology, and supporting systemic reform. Boring comics, but that would have been far more impactful for Gotham’s citizens.
The lesson?
True executive sponsorship isn’t about being a superhero who swoops in to save the day.
It is about recognizing systemic barriers and using your position to create sustainable change that empowers others to succeed.