The Art of Securing Sponsorship In Your Workplace
Getting sponsorship is the ultimate career multiplier people underinvest in. Here's what it looks like and how to get it.
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If there is one thing you could do to accelerate your path to executive, it is to secure a sponsor at your company. Here’s what to look for, how to get on their radar, and how to build a sponsorship relationship.
What is sponsorship?
Sponsors are senior leaders in your organization who are invested in your career growth in the company. They show you how politics and people operate at a higher level, and help you identify new areas for growth. Most importantly, sponsors unlock opportunities. They openly advocate for others to take a chance on you on stretch assignments or high-visibility projects that accelerate your growth.
Decisions are made regularly among senior leadership about who should take on a new project. A sponsor is someone who is in those rooms, knows the players and the rules, and can put your name in for consideration. They get you opportunities that move you toward your goals. They may even challenge you with opportunities you don’t think you can handle but they believe you can.
Sponsorship is different from mentorship or coaching. Sponsors have power and influence in an organization in a way that mentors and coaches do not. Rather than helping you try to get there yourself or showing you what is possible, sponsors find and get you those coveted leadership opportunities.
The more senior you aspire to be, the more senior your sponsor needs to be. While mentors and coaches may be peers, sponsors need to be at least two or three levels above you. Their authority and influence allow them to make a case for you to be chosen for stretch assignments and to move to the next level. This is also why in many cases, your direct manager is not senior enough to also be a sponsor.
Sponsorship Increases Promotion Rates and Job Satisfaction.
Sponsorship increases the chances of promotion for any aspiring executive in the workplace. A study by the Center for Talent Innovation found that ~70% of those with sponsors feel satisfied with their career progression, compared with ~50% of non-sponsored employees. Research indicates that women with sponsors are 22% more likely to ask for stretch assignments and pay raises than those without sponsors, leading to higher rates of promotion.
There is also a large sponsorship gap for women and minorities. 62% of white men reported having an advocate at work, compared to only 55% of Black and Hispanic women. Companies with formal programs to support sponsorship for minorities report a 23% increase in retention rates among minority employees, likely due to higher promotion rates for the group.
What Do Sponsors Look For?
To get sponsorship, you need to build a case for your candidacy. To attract sponsors, you’ll need to consistently demonstrate the following:
High performance in your role.
Reputation as a rising star in the company.
Alignment with your potential sponsor’s goals and ambitions.
Sponsors are looking for emerging leaders who they believe have the potential to do well with increased responsibility. Being a high performer in your current role is the first step to convincing potential sponsors that you can do well in bigger projects. As you do well on projects and make it known, you begin the catch the attention of other leaders in the organization.
Sponsorship is a two-sided relationship. Your sponsor is putting their reputation on the line when they sponsor you for a stretch project. If you perform badly, it damages your sponsor’s reputation and career potential as well. It is not enough to be a one-trick pony. You’ll need to demonstrate that you can learn and grow with increasing scope or complexity. Invest in your relationships and ability to learn quickly, and aim to consistently deliver wins on bigger projects.
Finally, sponsors are looking for leaders who are aligned with their own goals and ambitions. When you do well in the organization, it strengthens their reputation and helps them in their career. As you choose a particular area of expertise, build your beliefs and principles as a leader, and invest in your internal reputation, take the time to strategize who you are aligning your career with, and build “what you’re known for” accordingly.
How To Attract A Sponsor
Some executives proactively seek out high-potential future leaders to build sponsorship relationships. Remember, it’s good for their career too. If you have the factors listed above, you may be getting outreaches from leaders to “get to know each other better”. That is your in! Don’t hesitate to take them up on the offer. Here are some conversation starters for those nervous about an informal meeting with an exec.
If you are not getting outreaches, focus on building your network and making your work known. Prioritize relationships with leaders with shared interests and goals.
Much like venture capital investing, sponsorship is rooted in identifying potential. This is where similarity bias creeps in. Potential sponsors often favor Rising Stars who look like them, come from similar educational backgrounds or companies, or demonstrate shared philosophies and values. They over-index on these similarities against demonstrated impact and performance.
Use this to your advantage. Find leaders who you are more likely to “click with”. If you are a woman or minority and not naturally a part of the “in-group”, look for shared leadership values, strategic direction, or execution philosophy. Find shared professional interests as a basis for the relationship.
This is also where companies with more formal sponsorship programs can help combat this bias and help more diverse candidates get sponsored. If you’re feeling truly stuck and undervalued, consider moving to companies with more diverse leadership or formal programs for high-potential leaders.
Caution: Choose Wisely
When are get a sponsor, you are opting into their coalition. In large companies, this means backing your sponsor’s strategy and priorities among competing priorities and initiatives.
Sometimes, people end up on the wrong side of company politics. Their sponsor doesn’t get promoted or land their big initiative. Or they are forced out of the company. With them goes their chances for promotion as well.
Some leaders simply take what comes for sponsorship. If you are not strategic about whom you build sponsorship relationships with, you may end up repeatedly backing the “losing horse” and slow down your career as a result. So, it’s not just about having any sponsor, but also about having ones with the best chance at success themselves.
Do your due diligence on who you believe will be successful in their careers at the company. And if you have the choice, choose wisely.
Sponsorship relationships happen as a culmination of doing everything else right — nurturing your superpower, advocating for your ideas, and building your influence. Sponsorship is the fuel on the fire that helps boost your career to the next level. It is a relationship that does not usually come naturally, so make time to build the network and have sponsorship conversations!
Great post Yue.
Sponsorship, I’ve seen people be “successful” but don’t get the promotion they think they deserve. One of the “rules” that helped me was “it’s 50% scorecard and 50% sponsorships”.
Good metrics alone won’t get you there, but neither will sponsorship alone. Cultivating both helps grow a career.
Great dive into sponsorship Yue, really good guide for professionals building their career.
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