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 the 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. CTI research shows that sponsors affect women’s career trajectory even more profoundly than men’s in at least one respect: 85 percent of mothers (employed full-time) who have sponsors stay in the game, compared to only 58 percent of those going it alone. That’s a sponsor effect of 27 percent.
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.
Even in companies with robust mentoring programs, mentoring doesn’t deliver on its promise, or at least not for women and people of color. Research conducted by Catalyst (an advocacy organization for women in business) shows that while more women than men have been mentored, more men have won promotions—15 percent more, according to a 2008 study.4 Mentors are no silver bullet, no matter how heavily Fortune 500 corporations invest in mentorship programs. So if, like Marina, you’re waiting for your role model or mentor to part the waters and set you up on the distant shore, you’re wasting precious time.
I wrote this book to make sure you don’t make Marina’s mistake: to show you why you need sponsors (and you need more than one) to help you achieve your vision, whether that’s a leading role in a large company, a strategic role in a small company, founding a business of your own, or steering a nonprofit or educational organization to fulfill its mission and mandate. I created the road map you’ll find in part II to show you exactly what you need to do to attract sponsors, win their advocacy, sustain their interest, and leverage their backing throughout your career. Because even at the pinnacle of your career, you’ll find that these skills serve you. Fabulously successful entrepreneurs and CEOs alike still need powerful voices to get them onto boards, introduce them to investors, or secure them a spot at the World Economic Forum at Davos. Sponsorship is the mechanism by which people of vision attain their goals, which is why no one—male or female, millennial or boomer, start-up employee or multinational manager—can afford to dismiss it or miss out on it.
That being said, women and people of color stand to benefit the most from this book precisely because sponsorship has long been the inside track for Caucasian men. Men are 46 percent more likely than women, and Caucasians are 63 percent more likely than professionals of color, to have a sponsor seeing to their success. I’m not suggesting there’s a conspiracy here. Rather, it’s a quirk of human nature that keeps leadership in the United States and Europe mostly pale and male. Those in power tend to invest in other members of their tribe because they’re the ones they trust most readily. This is the way it has worked since the dawn of civilization. But that doesn’t mean sponsorship is the exclusive province of straight white guys. That sponsorship has worked so well for the old boys’ network for so long simply underscores the power of this type of advocacy, not the exclusivity of power.
As the founder of an organization focused on talent issues, I have the privilege of knowing white male executives who are committing every resource at their disposal to changing the face of leadership, and not because women’s groups have pressured them into it. They understand that much of the best talent out there is diverse. Our research shows that Caucasian men comprise a mere 17 percent of college graduates around the world.5 There’s never been a better time, that is, for accomplished, ambitious women and people of color to show they’re eager to move into leadership roles, because the business sector is competing for them worldwide. For them, sponsorship is the key that turns all the tumblers, unlocking the door to the C-suite, on Main Street as well as Wall Street.
The research undergirding the advice in this book draws on the collective experience and wisdom of some ten thousand full-time workers in the private sector.6 We interviewed dozens of Fortune 500 leaders, convened with over a hundred managers in on-site and online focus groups, and surveyed thousands of employees in the United States and the United Kingdom—people on every rung of the ladder in every profession that requires a college degree. While most of these people work for large corporations, the insights derived from their experience transcend environment. Cultivating a sponsor and leveraging the relationship to mutual benefit turns out to be a skill that serves people in nonprofits and education as readily as it serves people in for-profits and government.
Finally, I’ve tested this research on the ground. I’ve presented this road map to hundreds of professionals worldwide, to graduate students at Skolkovo School of Management in Moscow, to bankers in London’s City, even to the National Football League in midtown Manhattan. The response has been amazing. You can feel the “aha!” moment happen. Men and women see, in sponsorship, the game changer they’ve been looking for. But they see something more: with this road map in hand, they’re in a position to do the changing. They don’t need to wait. They don’t need to be tapped or chosen or singled out by someone else. It’s up to them to put this dynamic into play.
And now, it’s up to you.
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