1. Mentorship & Sponsorship:
Your Career Differentiators
By Caryl A. Hess PhD, MBA
Georgia Regents Health System, Medical College of Georgia & Georgia
Regents University (soon to be Augusta University)
2. 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.
4. 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.
9. 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.”
12. 89% of Leadership Effectiveness
Four types of behavior account for 89% of leadership
effectiveness:
1. Be supportive
2. Operate with a strong results orientation
3. Solve problems effectively
4. 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.
13. 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
14. 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.
15. 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.
16. Formal Mentoring Program
Program 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.
17. Can Sponsorship Help?
“Mentoring prepares people to move up, while sponsorship
makes it happen,” according to Sylvia Ann Hewlett.
18. 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.
20. 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.
22. 5 Ways to Find a Sponsor
1. 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.
24. 1. Promote Mentoring
Source: Catalyst (2011) Mentoring: Necessary but Insufficient for Advancement by Nancy
Carter & Christine Silva.
25. 2. Work to Close the Salary Gap
Source: Catalyst (2011) Mentoring: Necessary but Insufficient for Advancement by Nancy
Carter & Christine Silva.
26. 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,
27. 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.
28. 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
29. 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).
30. 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.
31.
32. 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.
33. 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.
34. Women Complete the Puzzle
http://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
