Sponsors can further your career even more than mentors!
Mon 28 February 2011
, Maurice Eykman, Blog Sylvia Hewlett for Harvard business Review
Sponsors can further your career even more than mentors! Find yourself one!
Recently the study "The Sponsor Effect: Breaking Through the Last Glass Ceiling" by the Center for Work-Life Policy was launched in New York. What's been holding women back, the study found, isn't a male conspiracy but rather a surprising absence of advocacy from men and women in positions of power. Women who are qualified to lead simply don't have the powerful backing necessary to inspire, propel, and protect themselves on their journey through upper management. Women lack, in a word, sponsorship.
What exactly is a sponsor? How do sponsors differ from mentors? Clarifying the definitions was an eye-opener for many who, until now, lacked the vocabulary to articulate the issue. "The Sponsor Effect" defines a sponsor as someone who uses chips on his or her protégé's behalf and advocates for his or her next promotion as well as doing at least two of the following: expanding the perception of what the protégé can do; making connections to senior leaders; promoting his or her visibility; opening up career opportunities; offering advice on appearance and executive presence; making connections outside the company; and giving advice. Mentors proffer friendly advice. Sponsors pull you up to the next level.
Women have more than enough mentors but are only half as likely as their male peers to have a sponsor. Consequently, they miss out on the measurable impact of the sponsor effect. Why do women fail to either access sponsorship or to make better use of it?
The majority of ambitious women underestimate the pivotal role sponsorship plays in their advancement. More important, the study pointed out, even women who do grasp the importance of relationship capital fail to cultivate it effectively. Many feel that getting ahead based on "who you know" is an inherently unfair — even "dirty" — tactic, a sentiment reinforced by the toxic assumption that sponsor relationships between powerful men and their female protégées must involve sexual favors. Even as they're passed over for a plum assignment, pay raise, or promotion, too many qualified women persist in believing that hard work alone will merit them the rewards and recognition they deserve.So find yourself a sponsor! Or recognize the sponsor you already have.
Interesting to read in the comments on the blog from Sylvia Ann Hewlett about this study on Harvard Business Review is that not everybody knows that they have a sponsor, while they actually do! Are you a secret sponsor?
Do you have a known sponsor? Let us know!
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