Hard work is essential for progression, but it’s not always enough

My research with 45 partners in professional services shows there are often invisible factors that make the difference:

📍Understanding the unwritten rules

📍Being in rooms where decisions are made

📍Having someone advocate for you

And one of the most powerful of those invisible factors?

Sponsorship

𝗦𝗽𝗼𝗻𝘀𝗼𝗿𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗽 𝗶𝘀 𝗿𝗮𝗿𝗲𝗹𝘆 𝗮𝗰𝗰𝗶𝗱𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗮𝗹. It often follows familiarity shared styles, experiences, ways of communicating

For women, my findings showed it’s often harder to secure sponsorship

They’re more likely to need multiple sponsors, and often have to work harder to prove themselves before a sponsor is willing to spend their political capital advocating for them

Practically, leaders can review recent promotions or key projects and ask:

*who had sponsorship?

*Who might have been overlooked?

*Who had to work harder to earn advocacy?

So my question for leaders this International Women’s Day is:

Think about the last three opportunities you influenced, promotions, stretch roles, key projects

𝗪𝗵𝗼 𝗴𝗼𝘁 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝘀𝗽𝗼𝗻𝘀𝗼𝗿𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗽?

𝗔𝗻𝗱 𝘄𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝘁𝗮𝗹𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗺𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁 𝗯𝗲 𝗺𝗶𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗼𝘂𝘁?