Isn’t it curious how we as humans love shortcuts and simple solutions? For good reason: heuristics or hacks can dramatically reduce the energy we need to spend thinking or investigating i.e. lower ‘cognitive load’. ‘Social proof’ is particularly compelling to us: if others we respect endorse something, it must be great! Examples of such credibility signals include the professional credentials we have, our alma maters, the companies we’ve worked for, and others vouching for us – in effect, all stamps of approval affecting our personal brands. A consequence is that perceptions matter and can quickly become reality, including when it comes to performance and achievement in a work environment. 

Thus, what others feel and say about you matters significantly. In a professional context, influential sponsors can have a major impact on your performance bonuses and career path. And, sponsorship becomes increasingly important the more senior you are in your career, particularly as you aim for the C-Suite: you need to be well-known, and respected, by large groups of stakeholders, at all levels of the organisation, and both internally and externally. A successful CEO, for example, is highly likely to have reinforcement from a lot of her Non-Executive Directors (NEDs), who may also have actively supported her appointment. And, new NEDs probably needed endorsement by influential peers and seniors to join the boards they’re on. While we often think of sponsors as needing to be within your organisation (as that’s where many career advancement opportunities arise), active support from other advocates can help our careers too – for example, others in your profession, ex-colleagues and previous bosses. 

Trust me: sponsorship is important. Earlier in my career, a boss told me how he was spending time meeting one-on-one with members of the executive committee to understand how they thought about him and his work. At the time, I felt this was self-serving and manipulative, and I naively wondered why they didn’t already know what value he was adding or not. Some of my revulsion stemmed from having seen plenty of politically-savvy people achieve success by schmoozing, but without ‘genuine’ value-add – something I still feel is dishonest. However, now I also know just how important his networking with the influencers was: it’s not enough to be effective in your current role, even if you are recognised as a stand-out performer. This will not by itself guarantee you get opportunities to move into your next desired roles. You need to both deliver your current organisational objectives and gain exposure to and sponsorship from executive leaders i.e. add genuine value and be widely viewed as capable of doing even more. 

So, how can you actively improve your sponsorship? Read more for discussion on how business relationships matter, building strong impressions and addressing perception gaps, the marketing concept of superfans, and a proactive, three-step approach to gaining further influential sponsors. Let’s go! 

To say I was surprised by the general sentiment in a poll I ran on LinkedIn and Twitter about company-allocated mentors is putting it mildly. Especially given the incredibly positive perspective I get from talking with HR departments, including Learning & Development managers, in companies themselves. A strong reminder to me that different stakeholders can have very different perspectives on the same topic!

​So, given I’ve written about other company initiatives like rotation programmes and career returner programmes before, why not write an article on mentorship programmes too? 

Read more to learn what the poll results were, plus some suggestions on how to enhance company mentorship initiatives, ending with thoughts on other programmes such as those run by non-profit organisations or professional bodies.

This month we’ve been having some fun… 

Longstanding readers may recall our previous Halloween-themed post (way back in 2017!) on slashers, asking: ‘what type of professional slasher are you?’ This year, however, we’ve gone too far – our social media followers on LinkedIn and Twitter will have seen us posting over recent weeks about terrifying creatures known as dementees and tormentors, both horrible in their own right.

You’ve probably come across (or even been!) a dementee at some point over your career so far, and not necessarily during late October. On the positive side, they’re super-eager for career support. But, beware: they indiscriminately reach out far and wide for anyone and everyone who can help them achieve what they want, and can be aggressive in the pursuit of their goals. The relationship is unbalanced though, and woe betide anyone who is unfortunate enough to be cornered by a dementee. We summarise these tricksters with this handy mnemonic: 

• Demanding 
• Entertain-Me Mindset 
• Moaner 
• Expects Freebies 
• Not Prepared 
• Tardy 
• Erratic 
• Entitled 

Instead, to avoid becoming a DEMENTEE in your passionate pursuit of your career goals, we suggest, when interacting with more experienced professionals, looking for guidance, support and career direction from them, aspire to be a PROTEGE: 

• Proactive
• Respectful
• Open to Learn
• Truly Invests in Growth
• Evolves & Develops
• Goal-driven & Committed
• Engaged & Professional

And just before you get the idea that experienced professional mentors escaped the bloodbath this Halloween, please note that we also drew attention to their dark side: tormentors. The ones whose advice is so cutting that it keeps you awake for months, shocking you to your core and perhaps triggering waves of depression. Other characteristics of tormentors listed by followers Greg and David are: talking and instructing without asking nor understanding the protege, or only having time available to meet on Friday 13th… and then rescheduling! It’s very definitely not recommended practice to interact with tormentors.

On a final gloomy note, perhaps JK Rowling was onto something when she invented dementors…
Are these dark, soulless creatures, ‘draining peace, hope and happiness out of the air around them’, born of the worst of dementees and tormentors?! 

Happy Halloween to all our

• followers,
• monthly subscribers,
• proteges and
• mentors!