Many successful career journeys are a story of sponsorship at critical moments, observes Nicki Bowman, Non-Executive Director, Atturra.
We’ve all seen it right? The person whose career just seems to advance miraculously smoothly as they glide up the ladder. The person who makes a career step-change or leap into a new field in what looks like an amazingly fortunate case of ‘right place right time”.
Meanwhile, so many of us feel like we toil away, working hard, delivering results but feeling underappreciated and overlooked. Why can’t we get just get that little bit of luck?
After more than 30 years in the workforce, it’s been my experience that it’s not luck that drives those outcomes – it’s sponsorship. The willingness of someone in a position of power to speak on your behalf when you’re not in the room. To put you forward for opportunities that you don’t even know exist – and even to create those opportunities for you. I’m able to say this with confidence because I’ve seen first-hand what sponsorship has done for me – and what I’ve been able to do as a sponsor for others.
As a woman who’s spent over a decade working as a board level director for ASX-listed companies, including technology and advisory firm Atturra, I’m happy to admit that the success I’ve enjoyed has been made possible, in large part, by the actions of a couple of key individuals – senior people who decided, back in the day, to take a chance on me.
In the first instance, I was a young lawyer who was no longer enjoying the career I had chosen. Working in-house in a large global resources company, I could see there were bigger, broader, more interesting roles out there and I was desperate to sink my teeth into one. Lack of relevant experience meant I wasn’t an obvious contender, which is why I was – and still am – enormously grateful for the intervention of one of the company’s general managers, a senior woman who was aware of my aspirations.
Tapped to run a high-profile global strategic project, she invited me to come and work on her team, in a meaty role that gave me direct exposure to the cut and thrust of the commercial world and to the most senior people in the organisation. It transformed my thinking about what I was capable of and added invaluable depth and breadth to my resume at a critical stage of my career.
Taking a great leap forward
I experienced similar good fortune several years later when I was working in another legal role – a leadership position this time – for a different large organisation. I wanted to move to a purely commercial, line management role but was again in the position of not being an obvious ‘tick the boxes’ candidate for such a position. Enter my second key sponsor – another senior leader who, in his words, was ‘willing to expend some risk capital on me’. His way of expending it was to appoint me as a Vice President on the executive team of one of their international business units; a role which saw me responsible for five business streams. I jumped at the opportunity to take this great leap forward – and the confidence and skills I gained from being given the opportunity to pursue that role have been invaluable foundational assets in my career since then.
My early memories of those days, dealing with new areas of the business and solidifying my position in an up-until-then all male executive team, are a strong reference point for me when I’m put into new and challenging situations. I’m able to remind myself that if I could do what I did back then, I can also do this! The key thing to take away from both of these stories is this – you have to let your potential sponsors know what you want! It’s not for them to try and guess where you want to go with your career. When you find a senior person who you can forge the sort of relationship that might lend itself to their sponsorship – make sure you clearly tell them the story of what you’re capable of (unless of course you already work closely with them and they know).But especially ensure you can tell them the story of what you want to be.
This was the case in both instances outlined above – I was outspoken about my aspirations and had structured conversations with both of them over time, which led to me being front of mind for the opportunities when they arose. It’s particularly important to look for these opportunities if you’re entering an industry where you’re not part of any obvious cohort or ‘club’. These often informal but very established networks are the source of many instances of career sponsorship. Which by the way we didn’t call sponsorship then – we called the ‘old school tie’ or ‘boys’ club’. That’s where sponsors were found and where those key conversations were had – and that’s why we have to be intentional about this process if we don’t already naturally fall into those groups.
In the name of curiosity and courage
As I’ve advanced in my career, I’ve tried to use my position to sponsor other up-and-coming individuals, creating opportunities for them to stretch and grow in challenging roles, that they don’t necessarily tick all the boxes for. As my former sponsor rightly observed, it’s an exercise which does call for some risk capital to be expended. For my part, I’m happy to expend mine when I see three things: competence, curiosity and courage.
Competence is the ticket to the game. Without that – you won’t get off the starting blocks. I need to know you are great at your job and willing to put in the work to be great at the next level.
Curiosity because I believe it’s impossible to be effective if you’re not open to continuous learning. Those who believe that they already know everything they need to know, struggle to lead sustainably because the business landscape continues to evolve at breakneck speed. Being able to upskill and maintain expertise through learning and study, is essential to keeping up with the pace and change of business.
And courage because, quite simply, taking an opportunity and running with it, onto unfamiliar ground, certainly isn’t easy. Brashness and bravado aren’t necessary but a degree of bravery most certainly is.
Paying it forward and back
I’m proud that so many of the people I’ve helped along the way are now in much more senior roles within exciting businesses. Some have even returned the favour: one of my board appointments came about when a colleague I had sponsored many years earlier recommended me for the position. That is the power of maintaining and nurturing those genuine connections.
While the backing of a well-placed sponsor can be a career boost for both genders, I believe women need to more proactively pursue this type of strategic support. As I’ve mentioned above, men have traditionally been better at networking, advocating for themselves and endorsing one another.
Understanding the explicit and powerful nature of sponsorship allows us to craft a career strategy that includes the need to find and build relationships with people who can perform this role for you. As we prepare to celebrate International Women’s Day 2025 with this year’s theme of ‘march forward’ it’s a timely reminder that we can and should support worthy candidates to continue their march forward – and at times, even to take that great leap!
Keep up to date with our stories on LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.
Many successful career journeys are a story of sponsorship at critical moments, observes Nicki Bowman, Non-Executive Director, Atturra. Expert, International Women’s Day events, womens mentoring Dynamic Business
