How to Find a Sponsor At Work to Advance Your Career

LeadershipCareer

May 9

Episode 401 | Author: Emilie Aries

How to find a sponsor at work — Sponsors are key to career success - so how do you get one?

Today’s episode was inspired by this recent question that Susan posted in the Bossed Up Courage Community:

“Emilie: love the podcast. How to find a sponsor that will pull you up instead of just a mentor. Especially if you work in an industry with very few boss ladies. Thanks!!!”

First, a quick reality check: nobody finds a sponsor. You have to make a sponsor.

So today, I want to focus this post on how you can be an agent of change, actively involved in this generative and dynamic process.

Start with who you already know

Who already likes you? Who is already impressed with your work? Maybe it’s a peripheral team leader you rubbed shoulders with, your boss, your boss’s boss, or maybe it’s even a past client or colleague of yours.

Make this easier on yourself - you don’t have to start from scratch! Start with the folks you already know.

And then, ask yourself this: “Is there more I can do to activate this relationship?”

I previously discussed how to activate your allies and close the gender leadership gap with author David Smith, because that doesn’t really happen on it’s own. You have to ask for what you need - you have to ask for doors to be opened, even if you don’t know what doors may exist.

This can be a vulnerable process, because it means sharing your ambition, sharing your aspirations, and asking for the support you need.

But once you’ve done all of those things, whether that person comes through for you as a sponsor is out of your hands. You can relinquish that responsibility. Once you’ve asked for support - maybe even a few times - then you can move forward with the confidence that you’ve done your due diligence. The rest is up to them.

And as a side note: make sure you’re not only asking for support from people with whom you share a gender or racial identity. Don’t limit yourself! Get a male mentor if you’re a woman - in a world still dominated by men in leadership, this is key.

Identify who has power

Think broadly about who has authority and power over the future of your organization, over your career, or in the broader industry you’re in. And then, make it your explicit objective to establish a warm relationship with them.

Just don’t confuse power with authority, because we know that power can show up in many forms, across hierarchies. Sometimes a whole lot of power resides in folks who don’t have much formal authority. Having worked with Executive Leadership Support over the years, I know just how influencial executive assistants and administrative staff are as gatekeepers and influencers within every organization.

Make it your mission to build collegial relations with them! I’m always reminding our emerging leaders and first-time women managers in our Level Up Leadership Accelerator that relationship-building is work. It’s not something you need to balance with your work, it’s part of your work.

Just like when I was writing about “career career” a few weeks back, this is real work that takes effort, time, and energy. So please, consider this part of your job - because it is!

Build genuine relationships

Call me old-school, but the grassroots organizer in me finds it hard to imagine a better way to build warm relationships than through impactful and effective one-on-one meetings.

I’ve written extensively on this topic here before, including:

Now while it’s wonderful to do this all through in-person meetings, some might argue that the remote workplace has leveled the playing field and made seeking out mentors and sponsors more equitable.

At the end of the day, whether you do this work online or IRL, this requires unapologetically asking for what you need. I know this is hard, especially when you’re on the job search and this can make you feel like a burden, but remember: you’re just advocating for yourself, just like you would on behalf of others, too.

ASKING FOR HELP IS HARD

What you’re really doing in those moments is respecting your prospective sponsor’s ability to set their own boundaries. You’re offering an opportunity to someone who perhaps has even more power and privilege than you do, to do something meaningful and impactful as a way to act on their values. So if they care about kindness, equity, or generosity, this is their chance to go from mentor to sponsor and act on those values.

Turning a mentor into a sponsor means not only asking for advice, it means asking for an invitation.

So you might ask for…

an invite to a fundraiser;
an invite to a meeting;
an invite to an event;
an invite to an industry conference;
a written letter of recommendation;
an email written on your behalf;
an email introduction to someone else.

In doing so, you’re giving them the roadmap to becoming a sponsor for you. Whether they choose to follow the directions is not up to you - that’s their call to make.

Just remember: if you’re asking for sponsors, you better be ready to sponsor those who are coming up behind you, too. So don’t apologize and don’t equivocate. Ask without hesitation and then pay it forward - like a boss.