Forget a Mentor, Find a Sponsor: The New Way to Fast-Track Your Career

by Sylvia Ann Hewlett

Who’s pulling for you? Who’s got your back? Who’s putting your hat in the ring? Odds are this person is not a mentor but a sponsor . Mentors can build your self-esteem and provide a sounding board—but they’re not your ticket to the top.

If you’re interested in fast-tracking your career, what you need is a sponsor—a senior-level champion who believes in your potential and is willing to advocate for you as you pursue that next raise or promotion.

In this powerful yet practical book, economist and thought leader Sylvia Ann Hewlett—author of ten critically acclaimed books, including the groundbreaking Off-Ramps and On-Ramps —shows why sponsors are your proven link to success. Mixing solid data with vivid real-life narratives, Hewlett reveals the “two-way street” that makes sponsorship such a strong and mutually beneficial alliance. The seven-step map at the heart of this book allows you to chart your course toward your greatest goals.

Whether you’re looking to lead a company or drive a community campaign, Forget a Mentor, Find a Sponsor will help you forge the relationships that truly have the power to deliver you to your destination.

Genres: Business, Nonfiction, Leadership, Self Help, Professional Development, Personal Development, Audiobook

256 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2013

Reviews

[Katie · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book goes against every fundamental belief I have for what it means to be a good employee. To paraphrase, Hewlett states that it's more important to be a "loyal protege" than be productive. The secret to being a leader with vitality is also, apparently, having "toned arms."

Frankly, I've gotten much better advice from my mentors.

[delia alfafara · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book was the initial book club selection for a grassroots women’s empowerment initiative at my company and I was not impressed. The book focuses mainly on “building a castle” which assumes that essentially the only way for women and minorities to achieve success in their careers is to foster mutually beneficial relationships with sponsors in the c-suite (and apparently only shoot for the c-suite) which is incredibly unrealistic. This book is filled with elitist pontificating dispensing basic and at times contradictory advice, most of which is common sense. E.g. “show loyalty to your sponsor and company by always giving 110% and saying yes to challenging work.” Groundbreaking. Then, confusingly, the author ends the book focused on the importance of APPEARANCE. Going on record to state that the last piece of the puzzle to fall into place for her to finally own her “EP” or so-called “executive presence” was to show her hard-earned biceps which envy Michelle Obama’s. She went so far as to describe how she curated her entire working wardrobe around her arms. I think we all can acknowledge that there is something to be said for maintaining a professional appearance, but for me the amount of content focusing on this area was mind-boggling considering this book’s inspirational intent. This was simply a bridge too far. Also, I would like to note that this is my second experience with a publication from the Harvard Business Review. So far, batting 0 for 2. (Using the recommended tip of polishing my small talk by inserting a sports reference to establish commonality; hope I did that right! #barf)

[Michael Burnam-Fink · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a terrible, cynical, awful book. And much like Machiavelli's The Prince, it is basically 100% correct in its thesis. Hewlett came out of a Welsh coalmining village to go through Cambridge, an econ PhD, then American academia, and then a pivot to thought leadership in talent development. Her big picture look is at the kinds of people who rise to the top of the political-economic sociopath factory that is American business, and especially women and minorities who are not rising to the top.

As much as we'd like to believe that the world is meritocratic and that good work speaks for itself, as you get higher up success is more and more defined by networks, and in particular the presence of a sponsor, a more senior leader who finds you opportunities, covers your mistakes, and sells you to their networks. In return, as a protege you make them look good, you do anything they ask, and you go above and beyond to demonstrate executive presence, and you deliver.

There are a few decent tips in this book, on avoiding perpetual lieutenant syndrome, saying 'yes' and doing caveats after, and the 2+1 rule, which is that you should have a primary sponsor as a manager (or maybe skip-level), a sponsor in an adjacent unit, and a third outside the organization entirely, in case things implode. Also, being a protege means regular check-ins, and balancing the reciprocal relationship.

As someone with a PhD who totally screwed up the networking part of the academic path, I've long said the only good plan for grad school is to find the professor in your vicinity with the biggest hat and make yourself a clone of them. This book offers some more details on how to do that.


A bigger hat

You weren't all that attached to your principles, were you?

[Anna · Rating 4 out of 5]

The book is easy reading and accessible but at the same time controversial. Mostly, may seem to be counterintuitive to the idea of working hard and getting noticed / promoted solely on this basis.

Let's be clear upfront: sponsors choose top performers who will get things done so make no mistake in thinking having a backup is all you need to be successful. However, you should understand that sometimes hard work is not enough to get to the next level. In times of high competition and reorgs, it's essential to have something more than your background and skills - people you can count on, both mentees / protegees, and mentors / sponsors.

You may deserve the next promotion but lack of support from leadership who prioritizes advocating for their peoples and themselves. You may deserve taking over a high-profile project, but there will be no one to speak up and stand by you. Having a mentor / sponsor (regardless of how you call it) may be a differentiating factor that will move the needle for you.

[Katie Boyer · Rating 2 out of 5]

I like the distinction between mentor and sponsor - but that's about all I liked about the book. I got the audiobook for free and it was short at least.

[Samantha Nowatzke · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good read for professionals - mentors are great but what really amplifies your career will be sponsors who advocate you & speak up for you when you're up for promotions and other opportunities.

[Dax · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very interesting concepts that I look forward to using.

My one frustration with this book is one I have with basically every nonfiction self-improvement book out there. Gender-neutral language exists and we all know how to use it. It will also appeal to cisgender folx. Instead of switching between he/she and potentially alienating readers or gendering this book too much they could have used THEY. This seemed to lean on feminine pronouns but still swapped throughout like they couldn't decide their true demographic leaving I imagine most of their readers a little confused or even frustrated. This dropped it down a full star for me because this book use gendered language and flip flopped so much I left it feeling rather annoyed.

Also, the audiobook was a little weird. The narrator affected accents when quoting individuals and it somehow just felt, wrong. I haven't felt that way with fictional pieces, other than someone just being horribly bad at it, but again this left me with suck ick vibes it was disconcerting.

[Ruzana Glaeser · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great advice on how to prospect a sponsor, find your currency, and in general the difference between mentors and sponsors. Wealth of knowledge and actionable advice.

[Natalie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Once you get over the pretentiousness, there are good gems of advice on how to really grow your career in a corporate environment

[Meiran · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book definitely makes me much more aware of the distinction between a mentor and a sponsor: a mentor is someone that you really like and someone you go to for advice, but they don't necessarily have the clout to make things happen for you. A sponsor is someone that you don't necessarily need to feel a personal connection to - just someone hugely influential in your chosen field. You do a great job in your sponsors' tasks for you, and your sponsor advocates for you to make sure that you get the promotion you want. It's quid pro quo like that.

It sounds transactional, but I think it really is how workplaces work, and it's important to intentionally seek out sponsors. I once heard a McKinsey partner say that women are over-mentored and under-sponsored, and after reading this book, I begin to appreciate what she means. Women have no shortage of mentors with "women's networks" springing up everywhere, but we still don't get to sit in the "big boy's chair" because we do not have sponsors to give us the highest profile assignments that lead to promotion opportunities. Now I need more information on how to find and maintain the sponsorship relationship (this books has some information on that, but I'd love to learn more)

[Crystal · Rating 5 out of 5]

Find a Sponsor - Who’s pulling for you? Who’s got your back? Who’s putting your hat in the ring? Odds are this person is not a mentor but a sponsor. Mentors can build your self-esteem and provide a sounding board—but they’re not your ticket to the top. If you’re interested in fast-tracking your career, what you need is a sponsor—a senior-level champion who believes in your potential and is willing to advocate for you as you pursue that next raise or promotion. This a mutually benefited relationship. Understand your currency in order to attract sponsors.

[Andreea Ratiu · Rating 3 out of 5]

I am not sure I am exactly the target audience for this book, but I got some valuable lessons for my career none the less. Despite the title, it turns out that having a mentor matters. The book offers useful suggestions on how to use the mentor and the sponsors(s) to get ahead in your career.
One thing that scares me is this constant mention of overdeliver and over-prepare (there are mentions of weekends and holidays spent on work). It makes it look like you can make progress only if you work around the clock.

[Cheri Larkins · Rating 5 out of 5]

I recommend this to every mentee i have; real answer to why some people get ahead and other (woman, people of color) get overlooked. This is the handbook to getting the right people to be on your side.

[Grace Tian · Rating 5 out of 5]

Give some very detailed guidance on browsing and landing the right sponsor to grow career

[Jas · Rating 4 out of 5]

Keeping in mind that this book was published a decade ago, I didn't expect it to be perfect and it wasn't. I wish the core ideas were better adopted in Corporate America today, and overall this is one of the better written and more effective business and career development books I've read. The main pitfalls I believe are in the instances where Hewlett puts the burden on women and people of color to conform to what is a biased environment, rather than challenge leaders to check their own bias in these instances. Mainly in the chapter on Executive Presence, Hewlett starts with a great foundation for what drives executive presence but ends with tips that essentially uphold the rules and standards created by and for white men. And this is after acknowledging how people of color especially are constantly having to choose between meeting this higher set of standards placed on them to conform and being their authentic selves, cultural or religious identities included. I would be interested in an update from the author, including what the CTI has accomplished since this book was originally published.

[RYAN PHAM · Rating 5 out of 5]

A lot of people believe that the book provides an unsavory reflection of the workplace, with you being more rewarded for performing favors as a protégé and getting favors in return from a sponsor. To respond to a lot of the criticism of the book: the critics are absolutely right. The book does make the workplace look unappealing, but at the same time the author is right. Sometimes to ascend the ladder, you do need to make connections with the people at the top and engage in a system of exchanges that could boost both of your careers. Asian Americans have been struggling with this system for decades. They think that if they show up, do a good job, are friendly, and don't connect with people on a deep emotional basis that it makes them a good employee who can get to the C-Suite. This Asian American playbook can only take you to the middle management level. You need to form sponsorship relationships in order to get to the next level above that. I could have used more citations in the book, but the author interviewed a lot of people and captured the vox populi that I love to see.

[Ji · Rating 4 out of 5]

A book in need is a book indeed. I think for this book to resonate, timing is pertinent. That said, there are a lot of holes I could pick on the overall framing, such as establishing so strongly the importance of finding a sponsor, that as if other key characteristics aren't crucial, such as an extremely devoted and capable person who puts everything she has to the things she's determined to get done.

Nonetheless, a great career advice per se, or a wakeup call. Even though I'm arguably too old to be woken up. Still eye opening, and thoughts provoking. Therefore I rate it rather high.

Last but not least, this book is free on audible and takes only a bit over 4 hours to finish. Highly recommended to anyone who hasn't thought a lot about sponsorship for their career.

[Nicole Miao · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5. I like the first two parts of this book but not the 3rd and really have strong negative opinion on it, especially around the sex chapter— where the author was basically telling women to mind their appearance (also mentioned in the epilogue where she benefited with proper appearance). Why? Are women the only people looking to be protégés? What about men? Other sexual minorities? Why don’t you address to sponsors not to think wrongly about their protégés no matter their appearance? The author cited a survey with 70 something percent of the leaders think tight dresses are the first impression to think about women climbing career ladders… has it come to you that these leaders are majority men?? I don’t think this is right content to give for early career l

[Justin Goldman · Rating 4 out of 5]

I listened to this book and found it very accessible. It was very useful to think through the differences between a mentor and a sponsor in the context of navigating a career. It is powerful when a protege has a leader that believes in them and consistently advocates on their behalf. For the proteges with aspirations, they need to deliver and not only contribute to the organization, but to perform at a level worthy of the confidence placed in them by the sponsor. This was a useful reminder of the importance of being ready, when a senior leader makes clear they are willing to advocate on your behalf it is essential to seize the moment.

[Emma · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fast read with lots of thought provoking questions that made me stop and think. Hewlett provides an interesting perspective on why women don’t make it to the c-suite: because we assume our hard work will be recognized rather than find people to advocate for us. Hewlett breaks down the difference between mentors and sponsors while also providing a road map to securing a sponsor and what it means to be a protege. I’ve heard for years “you need a sponsor” and this book makes that distinction more clear, as well as really explaining how to make that possible. I’m excited to share this book with my team to help them find their sponsors.

[Brian Jackett · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really good book that upfront outlines the differences between mentors and sponsors, why you should have both, and common pitfalls that can happen when you only rely on one or the other. There are many real-world stories (a few names changed for privacy) to help illustrate the concepts as well.

One issue I did have concerns the vocabulary chosen. It is not uncommon for the author to use phrases or colloquialisms that may not be easily understood by a global audience (even myself who is a native English speaker). I would prefer an explanation of those phrases or replace them with alternatives.

Overall I recommend the book and plan to discuss with people in my spheres of influence.

[Kristine · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars. Maybe it’s because I’m not as ambitious as the target audience. Although there are plenty of good points, I wonder how many can actually accomplish all that this book says is required to make it. The author seems to suggest if you make it to the top, you have it all. I’m not sure that’s possible (to have a super busy work life and fulfilling family/ home life). This book, however is not about how to achieve dreams while putting family first. She seems to suggest if work is great, all else will be great too.

[J C0llier · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great ideas. Gave me an interesting spin on the "it's who you know" thought process. Many people forget to continue networking and that assistance is needed throughout your career.
Lessons learned:
The idea of mentoring is fine but having someone who can sponsor you is better.
One must be able to express one's self and produce results. That's an easy task with help from a sponsor.
Being a protege has bi-directional advantages.
Anyone, no matter the stage in your career, can benefit from this book.

[Nila Novotny · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book builds a case for being a sponsor rather than simply a mentor. It explains the difference and touches on coaching as well. The sponsor has much more skin in the game and goes the extra mile to help the subordinate advance their careers. It’s definitely worth thinking about and doing if you have the opportunity. The book perhaps could have summarized this in a couple of chapters, but the examples and data were helpful. For everyone who complains about the current generation… they need to be a part of the solution and this is one way to do that.

[Rachel Whelan · Rating 1 out of 5]

Yikes. Full of very average advice that rarely translates to the normal workplace (where you’re LUCKY if you can find a mentor at all!). Examples are primarily from the C-suite rather than your average office. Suffers from the standard problem in self-help books: examples build the blocks of the logic, but are so hyper-specific to that person and their career path that you can't imagine replicating that success yourself.
Truly: just watch 30 Rock. Seven seasons of that will entertain you more and give you essentially the same surface-level information.

[Tara · Rating 5 out of 5]

As the title says, this book that makes the distinction between a mentor and a sponsor. While it is helpful to have mentors to bounce ideas off of, it is a sponsor that is most impactful in ones career ascent. This book describes some of the necessary steps to work through to position yourself for finding a sponsor and holding up your end of the relationship. You help to make sponsors look good...which is part of the deal.

[Tamara Bartlett · Rating 1 out of 5]

It's the serious version of "How To Be Successful Without Hurting Men's Feelings". There's definitely some mixed messaging and a lot of encouraging of women to just be like men in the men's business realm. Ew. The book has more ick to it than real, practical actionable advice.

Worthwhile take-aways: Try to find people in your career to mentor you and also to really go to bat for you when you need an advocate. (The book did not bother to really give good help on how to do this.)

[Winyen · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book outlined the principles behind why it's critical to have a sponsor, and I'm appreciative of the fact that I read this and still have "time" to implement. However the book isn't super nitty gritty on scripts/practical steps, moreso telling you to earn it and get noticed first.
However, it is still written by a straight white woman, and why is she telling me that her defined biceps were key to being seen as competent?

[Nivedita · Rating 4 out of 5]

The book has a lot of candid good advice and a clear point of view. Its target audience is women & minorities but others may learn quite a bit too. While I really resonated with this book, I don't think everyone will - for example, if you have firm ideas about what mentorship is and how it's beneficial to you, you may not agree with a lot of what the author says.

[Silvia Alice Botelho · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a necessary book and one that I wish I've read earlier in my career.

There are differences between a mentor and a sponsor, and that I understood. But this books goes beyond that. By reading and reflecting on this book's concepts, I understood that the sponsorships I've gotten so far happened by accident. They have been executives that saw my work, benefitted from it; executives that saw potential in me and therefore, decided to invest in my career. Because of that, I thought and operated as if sponsorship was a result of hard work and results. It can be the case, but not always.

I do network a lot and that's a good thing that has helped me in my career. But this book has provided me with a framework to course correct my approach to sponsorships and to pursue those relationships proactively. And it's not a bad thing to look for a sponsor: it's not unethical or a way of getting ahead by stepping on top of others. It's a relationship where both parties benefit from, and in the end, it benefits the company and the customers as well. If we don't work in getting sponsors, someone else will benefit from these relationships, so we'd better work on it.