The Sponsor Effect: How to Be a Better Leader by Investing in Others

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Who's delivering for you? Who has your back? Who’s burnishing your brand and expanding what you can get done in this world?

Sponsorship is a two-way alliance where a leader partners with junior talent to build their skills and advocate for their promotion—all while receiving stellar performance and loyalty in return. Many know the benefit of finding a sponsor: men and women with sponsors are much more likely to progress to the next rung in their careers than those without. But according to author Sylvia Ann Hewlett, being a sponsor is just as important to career growth as finding one. Senior executives who proactively sponsor others are 53 percent more likely to receive a promotion—and middle-level managers who have proteges are 60 percent more likely to receive a stretch assignment—than those who don't.

But how do you find potential proteges, let alone develop your picks so that they’re able to come through for you and the organization?

You'll find the answers in The Sponsor Effect. Combining powerful new data and vivid narrative drawn from in-depth interviews with leaders from companies such as Google, Blizzard, American Express, and EY, this book provides a seven-step playbook for how leaders can become stand-out sponsors. You'll learn to:

- Identify the right proteges, including those who offer differing perspectives
- Develop your proteges' skills and ignite their ambition
- Inspect your picks, so you know they’re delivering for you
- Make the ask and spell out the terms of your relationship
- Publicly endorse and advocate for your proteges
- Leverage that talent to expand your influence and grow your capabilities

Along the way, Hewlett maps out and measures the enormous benefits for managers and executives who invest in this valuable relationship.