Preoccupations: Sponsors Seen as Crucial for Women’s Career Advancement

But it’s simply not enough for a woman to put her self-doubt aside, grab hold of ambition and aim for the top, as Ms. Sandberg advises. A woman needs someone to lean in with her. That’s according to recent research by the Center for Talent Innovation, an organization I founded that focuses on advancing women and minorities.

To get ahead, women need to acquire a sponsor — a powerfully positioned champion — to help them escape the “marzipan layer,” that sticky middle slice of management where so many driven and talented women languish.

Our two-year study, which sampled some 12,000 men and women in white-collar occupations across the United States and Britain, shows how sponsorship — unlike mentorship, its weaker cousin — makes a measurable difference in career progress.

Mentorship, let’s be clear, is a relatively loose relationship. Mentors act as a sounding board or a shoulder to cry on, offering advice as needed and support and guidance as requested; they expect very little in return. Sponsors, in contrast, are much more vested in their protégés, offering guidance and critical feedback because they believe in them.

Sponsors advocate on their protégés’ behalf, connecting them to important players and assignments. In doing so, they make themselves look good. And precisely because sponsors go out on a limb, they expect stellar performance and loyalty.

A sponsor can lean in on a woman’s behalf, apprising others of her exceptional performance and keeping her on the fast track. With such a person — male or female — in her corner, our data shows, a woman is more likely to ask for a big opportunity, to seek a raise and to be satisfied with her rate of advancement.

Ms. Sandberg does talk about the importance of mentors and sponsors in her book, but she doesn’t really distinguish between the two, nor does she discuss the measurable benefits of sponsorship.

Just look at what sponsorship did for Ms. Sandberg. Clearly, she brought a great deal of achievement to the table, but as she acknowledges, she also secured a champion in the form of Lawrence H. Summers, who selected her as his research assistant. She followed him to the World Bank and the United States Treasury, where she ended up, at 29, as his chief of staff. This, in turn, positioned her for a megawatt career, making her visible to the likes of Eric Schmidt at Google and then Mark Zuckerberg at Facebook.

It’s not easy to find a sponsor. You need to earn this kind of investment. “Sponsorship only works when it’s a two-way street,” says Patricia Fili-Krushel, chairwoman of the news group at NBCUniversal. “It can’t be just ‘Gimme, gimme, gimme — I need help, I need advice.’ ” You must demonstrate that you’ll deliver outstanding performance — “you’ve got to consistently make your boss look good,” she says.

“Trust is at the heart of this relationship,” says Kerrie Peraino, global head of talent at American Express. “When I put my faith in up-and-coming talent and become their sponsor, I need to know I can totally depend on them — because they are, after all, walking around with my brand on.”

It’s in this area of trust that women and minorities often fail to get the help they need. When it comes to figuring out whom to sponsor, senior leaders — typically white men — most readily turn to the people they feel most comfortable with. Most often, that means other white men. Employers need to work to counteract this natural tendency.

SINCE we started our research, companies that have created paths to sponsorship include American Express, ATT, Citigroup, Credit Suisse, Deloitte, Genentech and Morgan Stanley. They recognize that while powerful advocacy needs to be earned, potential sponsors need to be better apprised of who is worthy of their investment. While sponsorship can’t be forced, it can be made more transparent and accessible to high-potential employees who aren’t white and male.

It doesn’t quite take a village, but breaking into the white-boys’ club takes more than individual effort. No matter how fiercely you lean in, you still need someone with power to lean in with you.

Sylvia Ann Hewlett, an economist, is the founding president and C.E.O. of the Center for Talent Innovation in Manhattan and the author of “Forget a Mentor, Find a Sponsor,” forthcoming from Harvard Business Review Press.

Article source: http://www.nytimes.com/2013/04/14/jobs/sponsors-seen-as-crucial-for-womens-career-advancement.html?partner=rss&emc=rss