Mentorship has long been part of the conversation about women’s advancement, and for good reason. The right mentor can provide essential guidance, feedback and perspective at key moments in your career.
But many women don’t need more advice as much as they need more advocacy.
While mentorship can help you prepare for what’s next, sponsorship helps connect that preparation to opportunity. It means your work is not only supported in private, but spoken for by someone with influence when stretch assignments, promotions or larger mandates are being discussed.
For women moving into more senior roles, this is especially important. At a certain level, progress is shaped not only by performance, but by whether the right people understand the impact of that performance and are willing to put it forward.
Know what kind of support actually moves the needle.
Not every helpful career relationship plays the same role.
Some people act as excellent sounding boards, helping you think through decisions, prepare for difficult conversations, or see your own behavioural patterns more clearly. That support has real value, but it may not influence how your leadership is understood beyond the people closest to your day-to-day work.
Ask whether the support around you is expanding your reach in the right places. Are you being brought into conversations with senior decision-makers? Discussed in relation to future roles? Given the context needed to position yourself for a larger mandate?
If the answer is no, you may have strong mentorship but limited sponsorship.
Make your impact easier to advocate for.
Visibility needs to be managed strategically. In updates, debriefs and career discussions, connect your work to results: what changed, what risk was reduced, what relationship was strengthened, what decision became easier, or what business priority moved forward because of your leadership.
It also helps to make your direction known. If you want a larger mandate, more exposure, or revenue responsibility, say that clearly in the right conversations.
The goal isn’t to ask for advocacy before trust has been built, but to give potential sponsors enough understanding of your impact and ambition that they can speak about you with confidence.
Sponsor others with more intention
If you’re in a position of influence, pay attention to how opportunity is distributed. Who is being recommended for high-impact projects? Who is brought into important conversations early? Who is trusted to deliver, but not always positioned for the next level?
Sponsorship becomes much more meaningful when it’s specific. Instead of describing someone as talented, capable, or promising, name what they have done, why it mattered, and what it shows they’re ready to take on next.
This also means looking beyond team members who are already confident in asking for support. Notice talent that may be less comfortable self-promoting, then help others understand their impact: recommend them for high-profile work, bring them into the right conversations, and speak clearly about both their achievements and their potential.
