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Transcript

Mentors Give Advice, Sponsors Open Doors: The Missing Link in Women’s Leadership Advancement · The Executive Reset

• 0:41
  SPEAKER_00: Today we're going to talk about sponsorship gaps.
• 0:44
  SPEAKER_00: We all know how incredibly important it is to have a really strong network in your work life.
• 0:51
  SPEAKER_00: I remember talking to a marketing professional quite a while back, and they said to me essentially that I could be doing everything right in terms of marketing, but if I don't have a strong network, it's not going to get me very far.
• 1:03
  SPEAKER_00: That has really stuck with me because it's so true.
• 1:07
  SPEAKER_00: We actually grow in relationships, and we need our relationships to leverage in our work, not just as a means to an end, but also for our sustainability.
• 1:18
  SPEAKER_00: So I want to talk about the difference between mentors and sponsors today, because most women seek out mentorship, but don't necessarily seek out sponsors.
• 1:28
  SPEAKER_00: Mentors give advice, and sponsors are people who advocate for you.
• 1:33
  SPEAKER_00: A mentor helps you think through how to get ahead, and a sponsor is more likely to be in the room when decisions are made about whether or not you will get ahead.
• 1:42
  SPEAKER_00: They're putting their own reputation behind your name.
• 1:47
  SPEAKER_00: The Center for Talent Innovations did some research on this, and they found that women tend to have plenty of mentors, but fewer sponsors than men, and that sponsorship is what correlates with promotion and high-profile assignments.
• 1:59
  SPEAKER_00: So at senior levels, nearly every consequential move runs through someone who has vouched for you.
• 2:06
  SPEAKER_00: And this is why it can be incredibly powerful to have a sponsor.
• 2:11
  SPEAKER_00: So a lot of women have had plenty of coaches, but very little advocacy.
• 2:16
  SPEAKER_00: And so it takes a lot more for them to get ahead.
• 2:20
  SPEAKER_00: Maybe you get thoughtful feedback and encouragement, but when the succession slate or the big assignment is discussed, no one with power names you.
• 2:30
  SPEAKER_00: Maybe you're known for your work, but not your potential.
• 2:34
  SPEAKER_00: Sponsors tend to back people that they see as future leaders.
• 2:37
  SPEAKER_00: And women are overall more often evaluated on past performance, while men are more often evaluated on perceived potential.
• 2:47
  SPEAKER_00: So it's really important to position yourself, to be perceived as having potential.
• 2:53
  SPEAKER_00: And one of the ways to do that is to have someone in the room who's in a more advanced position than you who can speak up for you.
• 3:01
  SPEAKER_00: I also want to talk a little bit about relationship gaps.
• 3:04
  SPEAKER_00: Sponsorship usually grows from trust, obviously, affinity, and that informal access that we've talked about.
• 3:12
  SPEAKER_00: That thing where shared interest creates conversations that help with relationship building, like when the guys go golfing.
• 3:22
  SPEAKER_00: So when the power is mostly in the hands of men and informal networks form around shared backgrounds, you just naturally have fewer entry points.
• 3:39
  SPEAKER_00: And they're taking that risk with considerable calculation.
• 3:44
  SPEAKER_00: Backing someone costs them political capital, and sponsors often choose people who feel familiar or safe.
• 3:52
  SPEAKER_00: So some men are going to hesitate to sponsor junior women out of worry about how it's going to be perceived on them.
• 4:00
  SPEAKER_00: This also narrows your access.
• 4:03
  SPEAKER_00: So we can't just wait around to be noticed.
• 4:07
  SPEAKER_00: High-performing women often assume that great work will speak for itself, that your hard work and your dedication and your long hours and your perfection are going to be the thing that promotes you.
• 4:19
  SPEAKER_00: And they're not as much actively cultivating the relationships that help turn performance into advocacy.
• 4:27
  SPEAKER_00: And that's what I'm talking about today.
• 4:30
  SPEAKER_00: These sponsorship gaps are kind of hard to see, which makes them really easy to internalize.
• 4:37
  SPEAKER_00: You might be doing everything right and still feel like you're stalling without knowing why.
• 4:43
  SPEAKER_00: And without clear evidence of that bias, most women are left wondering: am I not ready?
• 4:51
  SPEAKER_00: Is it just me?
• 4:52
  SPEAKER_00: Am I not impressive enough?
• 4:54
  SPEAKER_00: And that ambiguity that feeds imposter syndrome and the perfectionism loop that we've talked about in previous episodes.
• 5:02
  SPEAKER_00: Since the natural conclusion is, I need to do more, I need to work harder.
• 5:07
  SPEAKER_00: And that's not actually where it's coming from.
• 5:11
  SPEAKER_00: It can also produce quiet resentment and fatigue, especially when you're simultaneously mentoring others and carrying the invisible load that never converts to advancement.
• 5:22
  SPEAKER_00: So let's take a minute and talk about what helps with this.
• 5:26
  SPEAKER_00: First, you have to be able to know the difference.
• 5:29
  SPEAKER_00: And that's what we're doing here in this podcast: identifying the difference between a mentor and a sponsor, and then audit for it in your own work life.
• 5:38
  SPEAKER_00: So asking yourself questions like, who speaks about me when I'm not in the room?
• 5:43
  SPEAKER_00: Who's actually put their name behind me?
• 5:46
  SPEAKER_00: Naming that gap is the first step.
• 5:50
  SPEAKER_00: Then you want to make an ask really explicit.
• 5:53
  SPEAKER_00: A sponsor isn't generally just going to show up at your desk and ask if they can help you.
• 5:58
  SPEAKER_00: Being really clear about what your goals are gives someone the information to know whether or not they feel like they specifically can help advocate for you.
• 6:08
  SPEAKER_00: So approaching someone and saying, I really admire your work and your position, I'm really looking to be considered for your PL role.
• 6:15
  SPEAKER_00: I'm wondering if you might be interested in sponsoring me.
• 6:19
  SPEAKER_00: That gives them a lot of clarity and creates a much less murky situation down the road.
• 6:28
  SPEAKER_00: We also want to give sponsors something to work with.
• 6:30
  SPEAKER_00: So obviously, you're going to deliver standout results on visible work.
• 6:35
  SPEAKER_00: You're going to make your ambitions and your wins really easy to repeat so that sponsors have numerous talking points when they're advocating for you.
• 6:43
  SPEAKER_00: It's also important to build in diversity here.
• 6:45
  SPEAKER_00: I think this is true with anything, but we don't want to put all of our eggs in one basket.
• 6:50
  SPEAKER_00: So a few advocates at different levels and in different parts of an organization, that's going to support you much better than one person who's championing you.
• 7:00
  SPEAKER_00: You can also look sideways or outside of your organization through peer sponsorship, through board membership, maybe advocates in your industry, people who carry weight when internal options are limited.
• 7:15
  SPEAKER_00: You could be a sponsor yourself.
• 7:17
  SPEAKER_00: You could choose to spend your own capital on others who are building a network of reciprocal advocacy and create a culture that you would want for that woman.
• 7:28
  SPEAKER_00: That's really powerful.
• 7:33
  SPEAKER_00: Ultimately, we want to help so that successions and promotions are built on criteria rather than familiarity.
• 7:41
  SPEAKER_00: Because men have the upper hand with familiarity.
• 7:45
  SPEAKER_00: And women have the upper hand with criteria.
• 7:49
  SPEAKER_00: The point here is advice doesn't change outcomes the way that advocacy does.
• 7:55
  SPEAKER_00: Most women aren't lacking in capability or guidance.
• 7:59
  SPEAKER_00: They're lacking someone with power who will say their name when it counts.
• 8:04
  SPEAKER_00: And closing that gap is both an individual strategy and maybe even an organizational responsibility.
• 8:12
  SPEAKER_00: Either way, it's immensely powerful.
• 8:15
  SPEAKER_00: I hope you consider this in your own work life, in whatever role you're in.
• 8:20
  SPEAKER_00: Until next week, I'm wishing you more peace, more power, and more purpose.