While in the Yorkville Branch of the Toronto Public Library I noticed Forget a Mentor, Find a Sponsor by Sylvia Ann Hewlett on a display shelf. I was intrigued by the title, so I decided to borrow the book.
It’s based on research and is the wisdom and experience of 12,000 full-time workers in the private sector. I enjoyed the book but found a few things surprising. And it made me look at sponsors in a new way.
For instance, in the book, Sylvia Ann Hewlett says that “Mentors give, sponsors invest.” When you think about it for a second, that’s a very profound statement. Additionally, I've always read that you choose your mentors, but sponsors choose you. That's not the advice in this book. “Mentors may pick you, but you pick your sponsors by committing yourself to their best interests.”
In the New York Times article, Mentors Are Good. Sponsors Are Better, Sylvia Ann Hewlett writes:
“Our two-year study, which sampled some 12,000 men and women in white-collar occupations across the United States and Britain, shows how sponsorship — unlike mentorship, its weaker cousin — makes a measurable difference in career progress…. Sponsors advocate on their protégés’ behalf, connecting them to important players and assignments. In doing so, they make themselves look good.”
If you’re interested in how sponsors are different from mentors, Sylvia Hewlett’s book, Forget a Mentor, Find a Sponsor will help you to gain clarity. The World Economic Forum consistently reports on the skills you need to thrive in the future. And that’s a good thing because professionals need to know what skills they need to learn. However, you also need the skill of global awareness, as well as the skill of cultivating a sponsor and leveraging the relationship for mutual benefit. You need sponsors to open doors for you. And you need someone to advocate on your behalf. You need people with power and influence to help you to accelerate your career.
In the book, the author writes that,
“Many women don't make it to the C-suite because they have mentors, not sponsors. Women often do not cultivate relationships with those who can help them to accelerate to leadership positions and protect them from other contenders.”
If you’re seen as a high potential at work, sponsorship can accelerate your career into senior leadership. High potentials are likely to attract sponsors, but to keep them you have to be loyal and continue to perform at peak.
Looking at my life, as a black woman, I had mainly informal mentors in the form of books. I call them invisible mentors. The one formal mentoring relationship I had was a disaster. I’ve never had a sponsor – no one to champion for me – and always had to work hard to succeed. The organization, Ellevate Network has been very helpful to me in my career. And one of its mandate is to close the gender achievement gap. The organization offers a program, Ellevate Squads, which is a mastermind group that I’ve participated in a few times. Everyone needs support to succeed.
Mentors vs Sponsor: What You Need to Know
Attributes of Great Mentors
- Counsel you because they like you and you discuss things with them.
- Offer advice.
- Give generously of their time.
- Experienced person who is willing to help you.
- The best mentors decode unwritten rules and explain how things work. Every organization has unwritten rules and you can jeopardize your career if you do not know what they are.
- Help you to navigate the organization.
Attributes of Great Sponsors and What You Need to Do
Great Sponsors
- Take an interest in you and your career.
- See furthering your career as an investment in you.
- Main role is to develop you as a leader.
- Want you to earn their investment in you.
- Expect you to deliver impeccable results. This helps to build your, as well as their personal brand and make them look good.
- Want you to drive the relationship so that whatever benefits you receive, you've earned it.
- Ensure that you get what you've worked hard for and deserve.
- Encourage you to take risks.
- Give your career traction.
Throughout your career, it’s advantageous to have sponsors, mentors, role models, and supporters. And you need to know the differences among them. You also need more than one person in each of the roles. Remember the adage, “Don’t place all your eggs in one basket.” What happens if your sponsor leaves the organization?
Whether you’re are a business owner like me, or you work for an organization, think about people who would fit in any of the roles. You can also join professional organizations and get involved, so others can get to know about you and your abilities. Your LinkedIn network is another source for sponsors, mentors, role models, and supporters.
Forget a Mentor, Find a Sponsor: What Sponsors Can Do for You
- Expand your perception of what you think you're capable of doing. There are many times that others can see things in you what you cannot see in yourself.
- Connect you to other senior leaders.
- Boost your visibility in the organization.
- Provide you with stretch assignments, which also helps to give you visibility.
- Give you honest, critical feedback so you can make changes in your life.
- Connect you to clients/customers which helps to expand your network of contacts.
- Advise you how to present your best self.
Forget a Mentor, Find a Sponsor: What a Protege Can Do for a Sponsor
- Watch your sponsor's back.
- Work hard and deliver impeccable results.
- Be trustworthy and discreet.
- Deliver what the sponsor considers valuable, but may lack.
- Give loyalty and the sponsor will take more of an interest in your success.
- What you bring to the table must help to build the sponsor's personal brand.
- Sponsors go out on a limb, show that you're not a liability to them.
Questions to Ask to Assess Yourself
- Do you know where you want to take your career?
- Success, what does look like for you?
- What kind of dream do you have for your career?
- Are you the best kept secret or do influencers and people with power know about your contributions to the organization?
- What large scale change do you want to be part of?
- Are you trying to impress the wrong people?
- What accomplishments are your proudest of that is a value add?
- How can you do work that matters? What causes are important to you? Who can help you to get started?
- What do you have to offer a sponsor that will benefit him or her professionally?
Assessing yourself helps you to zero in on the direction you want to take your career. Once you decide, perform at a level where influencers will take notice of you. To get decision makers to notice you, take on projects that others find too difficult to work on. Make sure that the project aligns with where you want to take your career. Write for the company’s newsletter, and if the organization doesn’t have one, find out how you can start one. Interview senior level executives to feature in the newsletter. These are some of the ways that you can get sponsors to notice you.
Final Thoughts on Forget a Mentor, Find a Sponsor by Sylvia Ann Hewlett
There are lots of information in Forget a Mentor, Find a Sponsor that I have not touched on. Information that will help sponsors to notice you. One of the things that I like about the book is that the author provides a roadmap for you to follow. And she gives you ideas on how to find a sponsor. If you are looking for a sponsor, make sure that others perceive you as a leader.
in Forget a Mentor, Find a Sponsor by Sylvia Ann Hewlett complements One Minute Mentoring by Ken Blanchard and Claire Diaz-Ortiz.
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