“I don’t recall that many of my mentors were also sponsors. I didn’t have that language to describe it at the time,” Alesia Coe, DNP, RN, FACHE, vice president, Adult Inpatient Services/Associate CNO, University of Chicago Medicine, told me. “After joining the Carol Emmott Fellowship, I realized that my first CEO at the VA was sponsoring me by pulling me into some of his work, giving me exposure to the politics of leadership. He was putting his name on the line for me.”
Sponsorship has a measurable impact on the opportunities available to women and others historically marginalized. Sylvia Ann Hewlett popularized the saying that “women are over-mentored and under-sponsored” in her 2013 book Forget a Mentor, Find a Sponsor. The question for those who want to participate in bringing about greater equity is “how can I introduce more sponsoring into my mentoring relationships?” Conversations with great mentors like Marna Borgstrom, LFACHE, who retired as CEO of Yale New Haven Health last year, and other members of The Carol Emmott Foundation Leadership Council provided seven practical ideas to keep in mind.
- Initiate the search for high potential mentees. So many outstanding leaders may not seek out relationships with you. This is a direct contribution you can make to improving the diversity within leadership at your organization.
- Make sure you understand the goals and career aspirations of your mentees. It is not beneficial to push mentees into career paths in which they have no interest. The more complete your picture of your mentee, the more likely you can advocate for their capabilities and interests.
- Advocate for opportunities for them that fit with their goals and capabilities. That might include making presentations, giving stretch projects, recommending promotions and high visibility task groups. Write endorsements and comment publicly on their achievements. Speak up for them in leadership meetings. Make them unavoidable in the best possible way.
- Share your network and expand theirs. Introduce your mentees to others who could amplify their opportunities or who could serve as resources for them. Let others answer questions they have as a means of developing their professional networks. Don Berwick is said to require his mentees to reach out to people in his network for consultation.
- Give your mentee accurate, complete feedback about their effects on others and the perceptions of those around them. Encourage them to seek feedback deliberately and persistently. In particular, research has shown that women are much less likely to get truthful feedback, and the consequences are not helpful for their advancement.
- Spend time in preparation for negotiations with your mentee. Your experience with the nuances of negotiation can spell the difference between continuing the gender wage gap or bringing more fairness to the game. Help them shape their CVs to show they are serious contenders.
- Stay connected with your mentee and encourage her to keep you up to date with changes in goals and life circumstances. If your mentee knows how you prefer to communicate, they are more likely to build on the relationship and find it meaningful.
The key difference between mentoring and sponsoring is the degree of risk and amount of investment involved. Mentoring’s chief tools are listening and advice, neither of which puts the reputation of the mentor on the line. Sponsorship involves using one’s social capital in the service of another. Obviously, we are going to sponsor those in whom we have confidence, but we are advocating for their move into responsibilities and opportunities for which they may have little previous experience. Speaking up for another means being willing to take the risk that things may not work out perfectly and being willing to stay in the arena with our mentees.
The immense reward is in seeing the advancement of worthy leaders who might not have otherwise had the momentum that sponsorship affords. It is a source of joy to know that you have contributed in some small or large way to creating a more just and inclusive environment and parted the clouds for someone to shine.
Douglas Riddle, PhD, DMin, FAPA, is curriculum director, The Carol Emmott Foundation.