Why you need a Sponsor just as much as you need a Mentor
I have known about sponsorship for as long as I have known about mentoring however I admit I have directed people to seek out mentors more often than I have directed them to seek sponsors. This could be an unconscious habit which is reinforced by social conditioning and highlights the fact that men often seek sponsorship more frequently than women. "Women have more than enough mentors but are only half as likely as their male peers to have a sponsor. Consequently, they miss out on the measurable impact of the sponsor effect" The Harvard Business Review - 2011. Sponsorship has a direct impact on your business/career trajectory and will help you proactively navigate through your professional life. I know this because I have had "sponsors" in my business life and yet I suppose it is because I didn't necessarily ask for them that I tend to direct people to mentoring when in fact you can and should be asking for sponsors in your career or even as a business owner.
Sponsorship doesn’t get anywhere near the attention it deserves. Mentoring is great, but sponsorship is what actually moves the needle because it creates visible, tangible change. A real sponsor will hype your name when you’re not in the room, opening doors you might never have reached on your own. This isn’t just a corporate thing; in business and entrepreneurship, you need your own “brand ambassador,” that hype person who consistently puts your name forward in rooms you can’t yet access and helps you secure the proverbial bag.
You need a sponsor to be your representative in spaces and places in which you are not present. A sponsor can back you for an opportunity, a contract, a pay rise, a promotion and more. They are your voice when you are not in the room. This is particularly important for underrepresented groups, I for one would love to see more Black women getting sponsors. The chances are that your sponsor probably won't look like you because we all know what certain sectors are like in terms of leadership diversity but find a genuine ally and go for it. In an industry like PR for example a sponsor can really help to close the gap in terms of inclusion. In terms of finding a sponsor, you have to research and identify a sponsor after doing the work but it is a powerful way to get ahead, hard work only gets us so far. You can identify a sponsor within your business or professional network both online and offline, the closer they are in terms of "following" your journey the better - a relative stranger will not be useful in this instance. You can of course turn a stranger into a strong connection but you have to be ready to do the work of building a relationship and remember that you have to be responsible, for the most part, for maintaining a your sponsorship relationship.
Sponsorship plays a very particular role for Black women in UK workplaces because it’s often the one force that can cut through the layers of bias, invisibility, and gatekeeping they’re up against. Many Black women are mentored to perfection but rarely championed by someone with the influence to shift how they’re seen and what they’re considered for. A true sponsor uses their voice to challenge assumptions in real time, to insist that talent isn’t overlooked, and to make sure a Black woman’s name is spoken with confidence and credibility in rooms she hasn’t yet been invited into. It’s relational and it’s powerful and it’s the kind of advocacy that doesn’t just open a door but changes the way people look at the door in the first place. Perhaps what I should go further and stress that beyond sponsors we need advocates too.
A mentor can help you grow but a sponsor helps you rise. At some point in your career, especially if you’re navigating environments where your talent isn’t always recognised at first glance, you need someone who is willing to say your name with conviction when you’re not in the room. You will need someone who uses their influence to shift how others see you and to create openings you couldn’t access alone. That combination; your personal brand, your hard work, your voice, and a sponsor who actively champions you is what turns potential into momentum.