Attracting a sponsor who will get you promoted: Part 1
In the first segment of this series about sponsorship, I discussed the difference between a mentor and a sponsor and why cultivating sponsors is essential to career progression. Check out that first post here if you haven’t already. Now that you know why fostering sponsorship relationships is crucial, it’s time to talk about how to do so.
Before diving into that discussion, let’s get clear on who qualifies as a sponsor. A sponsor works for the same organization that you do and is not your boss. They are impressed by your performance, convinced of your potential, and eager to advocate on your behalf. They see you as an asset to the organization who is ready — or should be groomed — to take on additional responsibilities, to everyone’s benefit.
Ideally, this person should be senior enough to have a seat at the table during discussions about promotions, succession planning, and high potential employee development. If you’re still too junior to attract the attention of a sponsor at this level, then a would-be sponsor must have the ear of at least one such senior leader, the opportunity to provide input prior to these conversations, and the conviction to do so.
Attracting a sponsor: Where to start
To intentionally cultivate sponsors, you’ll need to ramp up your efforts in two main areas:
Establish your reputation among more senior folks in your organization, and
Foster relationships with potential sponsors
Today’s discussion will focus on strategies to start implementing now, in order to establish or improve your reputation among your company’s leaders over time. The next article in this series will address the additional steps to take once there’s plenty of evidence that you do great work, communicate effectively, and demonstrate leadership potential beyond your current role.
When it comes to the “how” of attracting a sponsor, keep this mantra in mind: strong performance is necessary but not sufficient. In order to catch the attention of a more senior person, producing high-quality work is only the starting point.
If you’re not doing so, it’s time to take a hard look at how you show up in your job each day. Figure out whether you need to work harder or smarter, if you have skill gaps to fill, or if there’s a more fundamental misalignment between your current role and your strengths and interests. If you need help, reach out.
Where many high-performing employees go wrong is expecting that if they put their heads down and do a good job, the “powers that be” will notice and respond with accolades, promotions, and raises. If that’s not happening, they figure the answer is to keep doing what they’re doing — or work even harder — and wait for the eventual reward. Often, these employees then see colleagues they perceive as less experienced or less deserving receive the widespread recognition or promotions they expected themselves, and they start to feel defeated.
If they fly under the radar for too long, these top performers usually start feeling unmotivated and disengaged, and eventually their attitude and/or work product suffer. Leadership usually notices that, and now formerly promising careers start to stagnate.
Here’s the good news: you can avoid being the next cautionary tale. Instead, you can leverage your strong performance to attract sponsors and get that promotion! The first place to focus is on building your reputation as a top performer. You can do this systematically by communicating more strategically. The right people need to see you at your best.
The goal of this strategic communication is not only to demonstrate your abilities and total command of your current role but, most importantly, to signal your likelihood to excel in more senior roles. Over time, you want leaders to develop a sense that you already exhibit the positive traits expected of someone more senior, and to become the candidate they back when a better role opens up.
You’ll need to focus on every mode of communication:
Written
Verbal
Nonverbal
Getting noticed for your excellent written communication
A few years ago, the New Yorker published a great cartoon that stuck with me. The gist of the caption was, “dance like no one’s watching; email like it could be subpoenaed and read aloud in court.” The message, of course, is to be really careful what you put in writing because it could come back to bite you. Hard. As you know, people don’t necessarily use good judgment when forwarding emails. I confess to experiencing that cringeworthy — but admittedly amusing — moment when spotting a message from a senior leader towards the bottom of an email thread that definitely should not have been forwarded.
What does this have to do with attracting a sponsor? A lot, actually. Emails get forwarded, and you have more exposure to folks a few pay grades away than you may have thought. Make sure you stand out for the right reasons.
Every time you send an email at work, follow the basic rules of effective correspondence: clearly communicate the key message, include only necessary details, and keep the target audience in mind. Bullets and bolding are powerful tools when employed sparingly. (I could easily dedicate an entire article to writing good emails. Let me know if this is something you’d find helpful.)
When you’re emailing more senior folks — even “just” to send meeting invites — these principles are especially important. View the note you’re drafting through the lens of the recipients. What do they need to know? What are they likely to reply to ask, and should you anticipate the question and include this information up front? After drafting, how can you tighten your language and leave only the essential information?
The same principles apply to all other forms of written communication, whether a slide deck, Google doc, or other tool your company uses. Creating through the lens of “what does my audience need to know and what’s the most effective way to communicate it?” is paramount. Provide the appropriate framing and context, know the level of detail expected and structure your messaging accordingly, and anticipate the questions you’re likely to receive.
Take any feedback or lines of questioning into account the next time you create output for the same audience. Over time, you’ll do a better and better job of delivering the information they need in a way they can hear, and potential sponsors will start to take note.
Even if you’re just compiling and distributing status updates for a steering committee, you can build a positive reputation for yourself over time through your language, efficiency, and by proactively identifying and addressing potential issues. Layer on any additional exposure or responsibilities, and you’ve got a great opportunity on your hands. Don’t waste it.
Adding value through verbal communication
Many of the tenets of making a great impression through writing apply here as well. When speaking versus writing, though, the specific audience becomes even more important.
When meeting with more senior folks, everything you say should add value. It’s wise to speak much more sparingly than you might among peers. Your hit rate of helpful contribution is likely to be high if you’re only opening your mouth to answer a question or provide useful detail that no one else in the room has.
It’s also really important to carefully observe these leaders over time and figure out what they can “hear” and what they can’t. For example, if you know a certain leader stops paying attention and starts scrolling through email when presenters provide excess detail or drone on for too long, keep your answers or input very crisp and to the point. If someone else always wants the data, reference the numbers in your response or explain where you do and don’t have the information he’s likely to request.
Informal interactions are a great opportunity to build rapport and show that you’re comfortable talking to people at any level. Use your judgment, and be equally prepared to shoot the breeze as you are to talk shop.
Small talk is obviously no magic bullet. Remembering a leader’s kid’s sport of choice doesn’t turn them into a sponsor. Consistently demonstrating that you can communicate comfortably, confidently, and completely appropriately with them and their peers, in addition to proving yourself competent and impactful in your role, does.
Speaking volumes without saying a word: nonverbal communication
The third leg of the communication stool is nonverbal. Although it goes unmentioned in job descriptions, it’s nevertheless a critical factor in promotion and hiring decisions. Inappropriate or negative nonverbal communication can undermine all of your other efforts to speak and write more strategically and effectively. Conversely, when you use unspoken communication to your advantage, it’s a helpful tool in convincing would-be sponsors of your potential.
Even if you’re not speaking during a meeting, how you act conveys a lot of information about what you’re thinking and how engaged you are. Your facial expressions, eye movements, whether or not you’re taking notes, and your posture can speak volumes. Taken together, your nonverbal communication can convey a can-do attitude, executive presence, and poise. Or it might suggest that you have none of those attributes.
When it comes to projecting confidence and ease, you might find you need to “fake it ‘til you make it.” Bringing greater awareness and intention to nonverbal cues like your posture and where you place your arms, and avoiding any nervous behaviors, can help you look — and maybe even feel — like you belong in the room.
If you’re like me, you can probably think of specific times in your career where your unspoken communication did not do you any favors. While I’m not suggesting that you pretend to be someone you’re not or stifle all of your human emotion, I’m guessing you agree that, in certain situations, it’s prudent — and probably better for everyone — to conceal your reaction. Delaying an innate response until you’ve left the conversation or conference room is not easy, especially at first. Anticipating potential triggers in advance of a meeting and allowing yourself to “react” ahead of time can be helpful for some. Try to keep your larger goals in mind, and also have compassion for yourself if your nonverbal reactions give your feelings away. It’s a practice, and if you keep at it you’ll likely improve this form of communication over time as well.
What’s next?
There’s clearly a lot of work involved in building your reputation among more senior folks in your organization. You have to continue to produce excellent work while honing your written, verbal, and nonverbal communication skills. None of it is easy, and it all takes time and attention. The good news is that the strategies I’ve laid out in this article will not only help on the sponsorship front but they’ll also make you a more effective employee, team member, and overall communicator. And any investment you make in improving your communications abilities will continue to pay dividends over time.
The final article in this series will help you identify the specific individuals who are your most likely potential sponsors. It also talks about ways to strengthen these developing relationships and how to broach conversations about your career, in order to inspire them to pound the table on your behalf.
If you need help implementing the strategies I’ve discussed, or you’ve realized that it’s time for a new organization or role, I’m here to help. Learn about how I work with coaching clients or schedule a free, 30-minute strategy call.