Sponsorship is key to progressing the leadership pipeline, but why do only a quarter of these relationships work?

Speakers at the FTSE sponsorship event

But only a small proportion of sponsorship relationships – less than a quarter – are characterised by the mutual trust, candid feedback and active advocacy that really boosts peoples’ careers.

The report is launched by the FTSE Women Leaders Review and co-authored by Professor Elena Doldor (Queen Mary School of Business, Centre for Research in Equality and Diversity) and Dr Madeleine Wyatt (King’s Business School, King’s Global Institute for Women’s Leadership). 

Drawing on research into senior leadership in a global consulting firm, it identified four sponsorship archetypes: assigned, resistant, shallow and reciprocal. Of these, only reciprocal sponsorships, which were characterised by shared investment, mutual trust, active advocacy, candid feedback and political support, were associated with the strongest promotion rates. Less than a quarter of sponsorship relationships fell into this category. 

Professor Elena Doldor, Professor of Leadership and Diversity at Queen Mary School of Business, report author said: “Many organisations present leadership promotions as objective and meritocratic. Our research shows that when it comes to senior promotions, many talented leaders are measured against rules they are never explicitly taught. Sponsorship, visibility, and informal political dynamics remain unevenly visible to leaders in the pipeline — and sponsorship is a key mechanism through which people learn how the system really works.”

 
Dr Madeleine Wyatt, Associate Professor in Diversity and Inclusion at King’s Business School, report co-author said: “Sponsorship is about advocacy, sharing networks and taking political risks for someone else, but the reality is that not everyone has equal access to these relationships at work. Inclusion initiatives that match diverse talent with sponsors are an excellent starting point to address this, but quality sponsorship depends on how those relationships are supported to flourish."

In order to make sponsorship programmes and relationships more effective, the report authors recommend:
•    increasing transparency around how promotions operate in practice – both formal guidelines and political/organisational dynamics;
•    treating sponsorship as a strategic leadership responsibility, not an optional activity;
•    moving beyond formal sponsor-matching programmes to focus on sponsorship quality and better equip sponsors and protégés to build these relationships;
•    building inclusive sponsorship capability among senior leaders to ensure proteges from under-represented backgrounds have access to influential networks, stretch opportunities, advocacy and candid political/organisational feedback.

Professor Elena Doldor added: “If you are looking for a sponsor to help to make that next career move, or looking to sponsor well and help someone succeed, it’s worth thinking about how you can shape that relationship so that it’s effective. Have reciprocity in mind, consider shared investment and mutual trust, candid feedback, active advocacy and political support.  It’s not enough for organisations looking to achieve greater diversity at the top to give people sponsors; they should also improve sponsorship capability and outcomes.”

Read the full report: Making sponsorship work: strengthening executive progression

Read the original academic paper underpinning the report by Professor Elena Doldor (Queen Mary Business School) and Dr Madeleine Wyatt (King’s Business School) and Dr Doyin Atewologun (Delta Leadership & Inclusion Consulting): Polyphonic career scripting: political and relational dynamics in the construction of promotion norms , Academy of Management Journal

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