I recently had the honor of speaking to Sylvia Ann Hewlett, who is the author of many books including her latest Forget a Mentor, Find a Sponsor. She is also President and CEO of the Center for Talent Innovation and a Manhattan-based think tank where she chairs the “Task Force for Talent Innovation”—75 global companies focused on fully realizing the new streams of labor in the global marketplace. She is also Co-Director of the Women's Leadership Program at the Columbia Business School. For more insights go to sylviaannhewlett.com or follow her on Twitter @SAHewlett.
In this interview, Hewlett talks about why sponsors are more important than mentors at work, the latest research on how sponsorship can help employees succeed, tips for finding the right sponsor and more.
What is the difference between a mentor and a sponsor?
In short, mentors advise; sponsors act.
Mentors shine as you start to define your dream. They can see and put into words for you what you may not see about yourself or be able to articulate. They can help you determine your strengths: what you do exceptionally well and what sets you apart.
A well-chosen mentor will also know the lay of the land in your firm and help you learn to navigate the corporate ladder. Research from the Center for Talent Innovation (CTI) shows that the vast majority of women (85 percent) and multicultural professionals (81 percent) need navigational help. Mentors can help you understand the unwritten rules, provide a map for the uncharted corridors to power, and reveal “the business behind the business.” Most important, by assisting you with this essential assessment, they prepare you to attract sponsors.
If mentors help define the dream, sponsors are the dream-enablers. Sponsors deliver: They make you visible to leaders within the company -- and to top people outside as well. They connect you to career opportunities and provide air cover when you encounter trouble. When it comes to opening doors, they don’t stop with one promotion: They’ll see you to the threshold of power.
Haven't companies always had sponsorship programs, especially with their rotational programs (GE, Raytheon, EMC, etc)? What are you suggesting to them?
While rotational programs offer an opportunity for potential sponsors and protégés to connect by chance, companies have only recently recognized the need to become more intentional about creating pathways to sponsorship, especially for the talented women and people of color who most need the opportunities a sponsor can provide. To build a sustainable approach to nurturing sponsorship relationships, company programs should include the following four elements:
- Make sponsorship robust. Companies must take a comprehensive approach to building and leveraging the sponsorship relationship with end-to-end solutions that incorporate senior leader support, enrichment, and education for women and people of color, and a structured approach to ensure that sponsorship grows as a function of proactive talent management.
- Lead from the top. Engaging the C-suite is a critical success factor. Visible and active support from a company’s most senior leaders – both women and men – often signals the difference between good intent and real outcomes.
- Pay attention to the pipeline. The seeds of sponsorship can be planted at all levels. In fact, smart companies understand that women and people of color need sponsorship most at each career transition point – which can be as early in their career as when they join the company or move from manager to director.
- Make sponsorship safe. Barriers to sponsorship come in many forms, not the least of which is comfort in seeking advice and counsel from someone who does not look like you. Programs that make it safe and simple for new relationships to form help to bridge a gap.
What did you find in your research to prove the power of sponsorship in the workplace?
Research we conducted at the Center for Talent Innovation (CTI) shows that sponsors, not mentors, give you real career traction and put you on the path to power and influence by affecting three things: pay raises, high-profile assignments, and promotions. When it comes to asking for a pay raise, the majority of men (67 percent) and women (70) percent resist confronting their boss. With a sponsor in their corner, however, nearly half of men and 38 percent of women will make the request – and, our focus-group research suggests, will succeed in getting the raise. When it comes to getting assigned to a high-visibility team or plum project, some 43 percent of male employees and 36 percent of females will approach their manager and make the request. With a sponsor, the numbers rise to 56 percent and 44 percent, respectively.
Our research also shows that individuals who are most satisfied with their rate of advancement are individuals with sponsors. Fully 70 percent of sponsored men and 68 percent of sponsored women feel they are progressing through the ranks at a satisfactory pace, compared to 57 percent of their unsponsored peers. That translates into a “sponsor effect” of 23 percent for men and 19 percent for women. The sponsor effect on professionals of color is even more impressive. Minority employees are 65 percent more likely than their unsponsored cohorts to be satisfied with their rate of advancement.
That’s a business case that can’t be ignored.
What are your tips for finding the right sponsor?
Be strategic as you search for would-be sponsors. Efficacy trumps affinity; your targeted sponsor may exercise authority in a way you don’t care to copy but it’s their clout, not their style, that will turbocharge your career. Their powerful arsenal includes the high-level contacts they can introduce you to, the stretch assignments that will advance your career, their broad perspective when they give critical feedback – all ready to be deployed on behalf of their protégés.
Look beyond your immediate circle of mentors and managers. While you should, of course, impress your boss – who can be a valuable connection to potential sponsors – seek out someone with real power to change your career. Would-be sponsors in large organizations are ideally two levels above you with line of sight to your role; in smaller firms, they’re either the founder or president or are part of his or her inner circle.
How can you best manage the relationship with them when you have them?
Sponsorship is a two-way street. Protégés have to deliver, too: through stellar performance, loyalty to the sponsor and the organization, and by contributing a distinct “value-added” that helps burnish the sponsor’s brand across the organization. For example, a protégé might contribute gender smarts or cultural fluency on a team that’s mostly white males; he might provide social-media skills on a team unaccustomed to connecting via the Internet or language skills on an international assignment.
In short, career success is never a solo endeavor, either for protégés or their sponsors.
What is the major take-away for millennials and their managers?
Sponsorship is the route to success, both for people entering the workforce and those who find themselves stalled in their careers, as well as managers whose best protection against the vagaries of corporate restructuring is a well-knit network of protégés.
Dan Schawbel is the author of the new book, Promote Yourself: The New Rules For Career Success (St. Martin’s Press).
