Sponsors Need to Stop Acting Like Mentors

Sponsorship, or advocacy by senior leaders of rising talent, is a hot topic within corporate America. But it’s not working as well as it should. A recent survey of over 3,000 U.S. professionals, across many career levels, found that sponsors themselves don’t really understand the role and how to do it well. Many who consider themselves to be sponsors are acting more like mentors. To claim the title of sponsor, a senior leader should be an active advocate for their protégé — a more junior professional who the sponsor sees as a top performer, with tons of potential, who deserves to move up in their career. A sponsor has three primary responsibilities: to believe in and go out on a limb for their protégé; to use their organizational capital, both publicly and behind closed doors, to push for their protégé’s promotion; and to provide their protégé with “air cover” for risk-taking. But many sponsors aren’t doing this. There’s also evidence of “mini-me syndrome” — sponsors reported a tendency to select protégés who reminded them of themselves. It’s time to push harder to ensure sponsors, protégés, and organizations all understand this crucial relationship and its nuanced dynamics.