- Grace Roimen
- June 20, 2025
Sponsorship!

Is doing a great job enough. Let us unpack the hidden currency of sponsorship in the corporate world.
I share a piece of advice—one that featured prominently in Patricia Ithau, CEO WPP Scangroup, Cleaning The Airwaves podcast : Work hard, keep your head down, and let your results speak for themselves is NOT going to cut it in this corporate world.
If you’ve been in the corporate world long enough, you’ve probably also seen something else – people who aren’t necessarily the top performers getting ahead. Promotions, stretch assignments, visibility – these often land in the laps of those who have mastered something beyond just “doing the work.”
So what is the magic bullet? Or at least one of THE bullets?
This book Power by Jeffrey Pfeffer always has something new to teach me and it’s one of the most eye-opening reads on this subject. In the book it points out that your career isn’t entirely in your hands. In fact, the argument is that it never was. That notion of being solely responsible for your trajectory through relentless performance and polish as we were engineered to think is comforting but incomplete. According to the book, your relationship with those in power is not just important—it’s critical as performance is rarely sufficient.
Success is often a mix of delivering results and mastering the political dynamics of your environment. It’s about being known, being remembered, and being seen as valuable by the people who hold influence. If those in power don’t know the good work you’re doing—or don’t feel connected to you, you might stay stuck, regardless of your excellence.
And that’s where sponsorship comes in.
So, what or who is a sponsor?
Unlike a mentor, who may offer advice and guidance, a sponsor is someone in a position of power who actively advocates for your advancement. They mention your name when opportunities arise, open doors you didn’t know existed, and lend their influence to elevate your profile. They speak for you behind closed doors- in rooms you are not present in or invited to.
How do you get a sponsor?
You don’t ask for one directly – at least the most common route practiced is not to. Sponsorship is earned through performance and proximity. It’s about consistently delivering value in a way that is visible to those who matter—and building relationships based on trust, credibility, and alignment of values or ambitions.
Some organizations though curate a sponsorship system where they appoint senior leaders and match them to employees who have common elements or interests e.g. they manage similar regions or work in similar roles. I however have found this to be limiting and not as effective because a sponsor is known to put their reputation on the line by backing you up behind those closed doors. In these situations where the relationship is created vs earned, I find that the sponsor may just not have enough skin in the game to push for you when needed.
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