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Career Sponsorship: An Effective Way for Developing Women Leaders

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Leading for High Performance in Asia

Abstract

Other than an effective career progression strategy, this research, which comprised of an autoethnography and an in-depth qualitative case study research showed that career sponsorship could be an effective strategy for developing women leaders. In the sponsor relationship, sponsors invest considerable time, effort and resources in developing sponsees, thus, preparing them for the top jobs. In addition to developing the skills on the leadership strataplex, career sponsorship has been shown to be an enabler for developing confidence, which is one of the necessary ingredients for developing executive presence. Career sponsorship also fills the gap and addresses the shortcomings that arise from traditional and women leadership development programs.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    World Economic Forum. (2018). Closing the Gender Gap. https://www.weforum.org/projects/closing-the-gender-gap-gender-parity-task-forces.

  2. 2.

    Loew, L. & O’Leonard, K. (2012). Leadership Development Factbook 2012: Benchmarks and Trends in U.S. Leadership Development, Bersin by Deloitte, July 2012.

  3. 3.

    Deutsche Bank. (2015). The Women Global Leaders programme: the story of a successful partnership between INSEAD and Deutsche Bank, June 25. https://www.db.com/cr/en/concrete-the-women-global-leaders-programme-the-story-of-a-successful-partnership.htm.

  4. 4.

    Women in Communications and Technology. (2018). The Protégé Project. https://www.wct-fct.com/en/programs/prot%C3%A9g%C3%A9-project.

  5. 5.

    Titleman Colla, N. (2018). Sponsorship is an important key to unlocking women’s career potential. The Globe and Mail, March 8. https://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/careers/management/sponsorship-is-an-important-key-to-unlocking-womens-career-potential/article38204533/.

  6. 6.

    Go to http://atlasti.com/ to obtain an overview of this qualitative analysis and research software.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Organizational Behavior and Human Resources, Singapore Management University, Singapore, Singapore

    Jovina Ang

Authors
  1. Jovina Ang
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Correspondence to Jovina Ang .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Swinburne Business School, Swinburne University of Technology, Hawthorn, VIC, Australia

    Sen Sendjaya

Appendix 1—List of all the Behaviors of the Sponsor

Appendix 1—List of all the Behaviors of the Sponsor

Category

Behavior of the sponsor

Count (n = 35)

Percentage (%)

Professional development

Provide advocacy

30

86

Provide visibility and exposure

24

69

Ensure sponsee’s candidacy for roles

23

66

Nurture and teach

23

66

Fight for promotion

16

46

Access to senior networks

13

37

Provide stretch assignments

10

29

Give career advice

10

29

Access to external networks

7

20

Provide protection

6

17

Build political acumen

1

3

Personal development

Provide personal advice

3

9

Develop confidence

2

6

Provide image advice

1

3

  1. Source: Own research

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Ang, J. (2019). Career Sponsorship: An Effective Way for Developing Women Leaders. In: Sendjaya, S. (eds) Leading for High Performance in Asia. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-13-6074-9_5

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