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Finding Career Sponsors for Success

May 14, 2025

How to Find the Person Who Can Help You Get Ahead at Work

Introduction

  • Speaker: Carla Harris
  • Discusses the importance of having a sponsor in your career.

The Aha Moment

  • Year: 1988
  • Context: First encounter with the roundtable process on Wall Street.
  • Roundtable: A year-end evaluative process for ranking employees.

Realization of Meritocracy Myth

  • Witnessed how subjective evaluations were.
  • Observed the importance of someone advocating for you behind closed doors.
  • Recognized the system is not purely meritocratic due to human subjectivity.

Identifying the Advocate: The Sponsor

  • Sponsorship: Someone who argues on your behalf, spending their political and social capital.
  • Distinguished from mentors, champions, and advocates.

Importance of a Sponsor

  • All evaluative processes have human elements, hence subjectivity.
  • A sponsor is crucial to secure favorable outcomes in a subjective evaluation.

How to Get a Sponsor

  • Performance Currency: Earned by exceeding expectations. Raises visibility and can attract sponsors.
  • Relationship Currency: Built through interactions and investments in relationships within your environment.

Characteristics of a Sponsor

  • Must have a seat at the decision-making table.
  • Needs exposure to your work.
  • Must have significant influence or power.

Asking for Sponsorship

  • Approach: Directly ask someone, highlighting your achievements and need for advocacy.
  • Potential Responses:
    • Lack of exposure to your work.
    • Perceived lack of influence.
    • Personal dislike.

The Role of a Sponsor

  • A sponsor is critical for career advancement.
  • Unlike mentors, sponsors are essential for organizational ascension.

For Would-Be Sponsors

  • Recognize your power and responsibility when invited to decision-making tables.
  • Use your power for those deserving your support.

Conclusion

  • Emphasizes the critical role of sponsors in career success.
  • Encourages would-be sponsors to use their voice and power effectively.
  • Ending with a call to action for vocal support of deserving talent.