May 2023 Volume 5

OPERATIONS & MANAGEMENT

A Key Connection for Women in Business By JJ DiGeronimo

A woman in business requires more than just one key connection within her network. However, there is one connection that most women need above all else as part of their network: an effective SPONSOR. Having a sponsor can be the difference between a direct line of impact and zig-zagging throughout your career. A professional sponsor is beyond a mentor. A sponsor is not only aware of your accomplishments but believes in your ability at work.They will often encourage or advise you as you stretch for the career goals you have set for yourself AND they will leverage their relationships, network, and position to open doors, setup meetings and make meaningful connections for you. A sponsor can create opportunities for you to engage with people that can help you along your career path. These additional influences create opportunities to gain new experiences, develop new professional relationships and acquire knowledge. All of these benefits and more are why the high-value forms of sponsorship can catapult women’s careers or business goals to new heights. If you don’t have someone that you look to as a sponsor today, no worries. You can cultivate these connections over the next few months or even years. However, don’t wait too long as there are many benefits you could be missing out on without having at least one sponsor this year. Here are a few things you can do to find or be a sponsor. Define Your Goals Many women ask me “Who should be my Sponsor?” It is a great question and one that is easier to answer if you have your next career goals defined. As your potential sponsors should align with your goals. This may seem simple, but aligning with future sponsors often takes some perspective, planning, and time. Connecting with an impactful career sponsor starts with you! Identifying potential career sponsors depends on what you are looking to impact or accomplish next. Different people will bring you different levels of advice, connections, and recommendations. So, before you start asking “Will you be my sponsor?”, it is important to understand what you have already achieved and what you plan to impact next so you can align with people that can help facilitate your desired next steps. This requires you to take time to think carefully about your goals and what you will need to reach them. If you’re not sure what is next, you may want to consider talking with friends or co-workers or even considering a career coach to help you develop or refine your goals.

Professionals open to helping you along your path are often committed in various ways, so you do not want to waste an opportunity with a potential sponsor. Making the time to get your professional goals in order is a critical step to seizing an opportunity to ask for their help. When you get the chance to meet with potential sponsors, he or she could ask you to: • Share some of your accomplishments and current activities; • Outline your career goals; • List potential hurdles or professional gaps with some possible workarounds; or • Identify a few ways he or she could help you reach your goals. It may take a few discussions before a sponsor offers to connect or leverage their network to benefit you. Throughout the process, be open to action items and prepared to hear honest feedback. The comments may initially sound unsupportive or even critical, but it is often what they view as a potential obstacle for you. Be sure to look for opportunities to move around these potential roadblocks, as it may be what they need to be a sponsor for you. This is usually time well spent as the right sponsors can often help you gain new experiences, develop strategic professional relationships, and acquire new levels of experience and knowledge. This is a good point to share some of the different career catalysts. Now, there are many more than these that people share and write about but frommy research, I find these most important. Career Catalysts There are three career catalysts that professionals could seek out to help with career advancement goals: A coach is a person you hire to dig through your thoughts, experiences, and goals to effectively articulate or outline the potential steps to manifest your next career goals. This can be incredibly helpful as it is often a critical piece that career catalysts need to help you on your career path. Glossing over specific accomplishments or skill sets can leave potential career connections (aka career catalysts) with few data points to work with when they are positioning you for your next career step. A mentor is often a person that gives you advice on how to move from here to there or maneuver a situation. When the conversation is done, both professionals often move along on their independent paths. Most professional women have at least one career mentor that resides inside or outside work.

FIA MAGAZINE | MAY 2023 62