Who in your organisation would say your name in a room you’re not in?
If an answer came to mind straight away, you’re in a good position. If you had to think about it, you’re not alone, and this article is for you.
Most of us were told to find a mentor. It’s good advice, as far as it goes. A mentor helps you get better: they listen, share what they’ve learnt and help you think things through. But when promotion decisions are made, advice doesn’t speak up for you. A sponsor does.
What a sponsor does that a mentor doesn’t
A sponsor is someone senior who uses their influence on your behalf. They recommend you for the stretch project, mention your name when a role opens up, and back you when your promotion is discussed. A mentor invests time in you. A sponsor puts their own reputation behind you.
In the talent and promotion discussions I took part in during my HR career, the strongest moments for a candidate usually came from a senior person who could speak about her work first-hand.
A mentor talks to you. A sponsor talks about you.
Why it matters, in numbers
The difference shows up in who gets promoted. In McKinsey and LeanIn.Org’s Women in the Workplace 2025 study, 65% of employees with a sponsor had been promoted in the previous two years, compared with 35% of those without one.
Women are less likely to have that backing, and the gap is widest at the start of a career: 31% of entry-level women have a sponsor, compared with 45% of men at the same level. And even with a sponsor, women in the study were promoted less often than men.
(The study covers companies in the US and Canada.)
You don’t ask for a sponsor. You earn one.
“Will you be my sponsor?” is one of those questions that feels brave and lands awkwardly. Sponsorship isn’t a favour someone grants you. A senior person backs you when backing you makes them look good, when your work is visible enough that putting their name next to yours feels like a safe bet.
So the path to a sponsor runs through the work you’re already doing, made visible to the right people.
- Find out what a senior person cares about, and deliver something that helps.
- Make your results visible to them, not just to your manager.
- Tell them clearly what you want next, so they know what to put you forward for.
- When they back you, thank them and tell them how it turned out.
If you work mostly remotely
Hybrid and remote work make this harder, though far from impossible. In the same study, 54% of women who worked on-site at least three days a week had a sponsor, compared with 37% of women who worked mostly remotely.
That doesn’t mean giving up flexibility you need. It means being more deliberate about being seen: asking to present your own work, turning your camera on in the meetings that matter, and making time for the occasional in-person conversation with the people whose opinion counts.
One sponsor is good. Two is safer.
People move on. A sponsor who changes jobs or leaves the company takes their influence with them. So once you have one, keep building relationships with other senior people who know your work. In the same study, employees with more than one sponsor were over twice as likely to be promoted as those without one.
Start with one name
Think back to the question at the top. If no name came to mind, that’s your starting point, not a verdict. Pick one senior person whose opinion carries weight, and make sure they see your next piece of good work.
Want help working out who could sponsor you, and how to get on their radar? A Career Strategy Session gives you one focused hour with me to plan it.
Sources: McKinsey & Company and LeanIn.Org, Women in the Workplace 2025 (pp. 5 and 11). The study covers companies in the US and Canada.
