HBR Women at Work Series Collection (3 Books)

9

Make Yourself Sponsor-Worthy

by Sylvia Ann Hewlett

Maggie says, “I’ve always given 110%. Whoever I worked for, I gave them my all, every day, 10 hours a day, weekends and holidays, whatever it took. That endeared me to a lot of powerful men.”

That dedication and loyalty should have made Maggie a star. Yet although she rose in the organization, because she wasn’t strategic about whom she gave her 110% to, she squandered her gifts on leaders who didn’t invest in her. Without a sponsor to spotlight her attributes, offer her opportunities, and kick her career into high gear, she found herself stuck in what she calls “permanent lieutenant syndrome.”

Eventually, Maggie was fortunate enough to find a sponsor, and today she is an executive at a global ...