Mentorship & Sponsorship:Your Career Differentiators

By Caryl A. Hess PhD, MBAGeorgia Regents Health System, Medical College of Georgia & Georgia Regents University (soon to be Augusta University)

What Are My Objectives?

1. Clarify the difference between mentors and sponsors;

2. Examine data on the value-added for women with mentors and sponsors;

3. Describe how to find a sponsor; and

4. Discuss what we can do to foster mentorship and promote sponsorship in our organizations.

What do I Assume?

Glass Ceiling is Gone

In "Through the Labyrinth (2007)," Alice Eagly and Linda Carli examine why women's paths to power remain difficult to traverse. A better image than the glass ceiling, since we can make it through the maze…..with mentors and sponsors.

How do I Define the Words?

Mentor vs. Sponsor

“A coach talks toyou, a mentor

talks with you and a sponsor talks

about you.”

What Does the Data Say?

Women Leaders Are Missing

Women Leaders Are Underused

A Newsweek columnist, Anna Quindlen writes in The Leadership Lid: “One of the greatest natural resources in America is going underused. And she may be sitting right at the next desk.”

Women Leaders Are Underpaid

Can Mentoring Help?

89% of Leadership EffectivenessFour types of behavior account for 89% of leadership effectiveness:

1. Be supportive2. Operate with a strong results orientation3. Solve problems effectively4. Seek different perspectives through mentoring and

networking

Source: McKinsey’s Organizational Health Index (2015); Based on a survey of 81 organizations that are diverse in geography, industry and size.

Mentoring & Gender

Source: Why Men Still Get More Promotions Than Women by Ibarra, H., Carter, N.M. & Silva, C., Harvard Business Review, September, 2011.

83%

17%

Women with Mentors

YES NO

76%

24%

Men with Mentors

YES NO

Mentoring & *Career Benefits

65%

35%

Women Promotions

YES NO

72%

28%

Men Promotions

YES NO

Source: Why Men Still Get More Promotions Than Women by Ibarra, H., Carter, N.M. & Silva, C., Harvard Business Review, September, 2011.

* One or more promotions in 2 years.

Mentor Differences

11%

36%

Peer Mentors

Men Women

78%

69%

Executive Mentors

Men Women

Source: Why Men Still Get More Promotions Than Women by Ibarra, H., Carter, N.M. & Silva, C., Harvard Business Review, September, 2011.

Formal Mentoring ProgramProgram results:

• 75% documented improved mentee productivity

• 67% higher job retention of mentees

• 63% reduced absenteeism of mentees

• 91% reported being better prepared for promotion

• 90% acquired new knowledge from the relationship

Source: A Formal Mentorship Program by Jackevicius, C.A., Le, J., Nazer, L., Hess, K., Wang, J., & Law, A.V., American Journal of Pharmaceutical Education, 2014; 78(5), 100.

Can Sponsorship Help?

“Mentoring prepares people to move up, while sponsorship makes it happen,” according to Sylvia Ann Hewlett.

Center for Talent Innovation

According to Sheryl Sandberg (2014), in order to move up, women need to acquire a sponsor — a powerfully positioned champion — to help them escape that sticky middle slice of management where so many driven and talented women languish.

Escape the Sticky Middle

Sponsorship is an Investment

It’s not easy to find a sponsor. You need to earn this kind of investment. “Sponsorship only works when it’s a two-way street,” says Patricia Fili-Krushel (2013), chairwoman of the news group at NBC Universal.

Effective Sponsor Traits

5 Ways to Find a Sponsor1. Build on a mentoring relationship;

2. Identify higher ups who inspire you and try to get to know that person;

3. Let the sponsor see you in action;

4. Ask questions and tactfully challenge the status quo; and

5. Ask.

What Can We Do?

1. Promote Mentoring

Source: Catalyst (2011) Mentoring: Necessary but Insufficient for Advancement by Nancy Carter & Christine Silva.

2. Work to Close the Salary Gap

Source: Catalyst (2011) Mentoring: Necessary but Insufficient for Advancement by Nancy Carter & Christine Silva.

3. Create Formal Sponsor Programs• Clarify and communicate the intent of the

program

• Train sponsors and create a safe environment

• Use program goals to determine sponsor selection and matching

• Involve direct supervisors

• Hold sponsors accountable

Source: Sodexo, IBM Europe, Unilever, Deutsche Bank, Walmart, Caterpillar, PwC, Wendy’s, Johnson & Johnson, McKinsey,

4. Combat “The Sponsor Effect”

• Women underestimate the role of sponsorship in their advancement

• Many women feel that getting ahead based on “connections” is a dirty tactic.

• Sponsorship can be misconstrued as sexual interest.

Men have a critical role to play in creating inclusive workplaces, yet too often they remain an untapped resource in gender initiatives. McKinsey (2013) and Catalyst (2010) showed that the more men know about gender inequalities the more likely they are to lead efforts to close the gender gap.

5. Engage Men in Gender Diversity

6. Eliminate the Ambition Gap• At every stage, women are less eager

than men to become a top executive.

• There is evidence pointing to another explanation—the path to leadership is disproportionately stressful for women.

Source: McKinsey & Lean In (2015), Women in the Workplace. (118 companies and 30,000 employees)

Best Buy has rebounded thanks in large part to 3 women: Mary Lou Kelley, Shari Ballard and Sharon McCollam (Fortune, 2015).

7. Make Gender Diversity a Priority• 74% of companies report that their

CEOs are highly committed to gender diversity.

• However, less than 1/2 of employees believe that gender diversity is a top priority for their CEO, and only 1/3 view it as a top priority for their direct manager.

Even Playing Field for Women• Women are almost 4x more likely than

men to think they have fewer opportunities to advance because of their gender.

• Women are 2x as likely to think their gender will make it harder for them to advance in the future.

Different Networks• Men predominantly have male networks,

while women have mostly female or mixed networks.

• Given that men are more likely to hold senior leadership positions, women may end up with less access to senior-level sponsorship.

Women Complete the Puzzlehttp://www.mckinsey.com/insights/women_in_the_economy

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C3GN9LRUzsc

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8CebEh0Dyr0

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d6xZRaITLgk

Women Leaders Are Missing