Building Your Network: Week 4

The podcast music, I Talk to the Wind, produced by Yung Pinoy, as part of the NC State University Libraries State of Sound collection.

Additional Resources

• Podcast Transcripts
  • Donna Petherbridge
  • Jason Bocarro
• Printable Resources
  • Your Personal Board of Directors

Opening Doors: The Transformative Power of Sponsorship in Your Academic Network

by Diane Chapman and Maria Gallardo-Williams

Welcome to Week Four of “Building Your Network,” our faculty development series dedicated to empowering you in shaping your academic career. We can’t believe that this is our last week together this year, time has gone by so fast!

This week, we’re looking into a truly transformative concept: sponsorship. More profound than simple guidance, sponsorship is a relationship where an individual actively promotes and advocates for another person’s career advancement, going beyond mere advice to provide concrete opportunities and leverage their influence and networks to accelerate another person’s progress. Often, this means opening crucial doors to promotions, new projects, or other high-visibility opportunities.

To illuminate this dynamic, we had the privilege of speaking with two leaders at NC State University, both of whom have reached significant administrative roles through uniquely different paths: Donna Petherbridge, Vice Provost for Digital Education and Learning Technology Applications (DELTA), and Dr. Jason Bocarro, Owens Shelton Distinguished Professor of Leadership with a Global Perspective in the College of Natural Resources. Their insights reveal that while mentoring is about sharing knowledge and experience, sponsorship is about strategic action—it’s about someone else actively taking steps to advance your career.

Understanding the Essence of Sponsorship

Both Donna and Jason articulate sponsorship as a step beyond traditional mentoring or coaching. It’s not just about advice; it’s about active promotion and advocacy. As Donna puts it, a sponsor is “someone who provides action and advocacy. It’s somebody who’s willing and able to open doors for you.” Jason echoes this, describing it as “going that extra little step further where you are really advocating for colleagues or graduate students or postdocs or undergraduate students… trying to open doors for them, where you are helping to provide opportunities for them.” This active intervention makes sponsorship a critical, high-impact relationship in your professional journey.

The Hallmarks of a Powerful Sponsor

What qualities define an effective sponsor? Our guests offered several key attributes:

• Established Networks and Authority: A sponsor must possess significant connections and influence within the professional spheres you aim to enter. Donna emphasizes they need “both networks and authority” in the relevant field. Without these connections, their ability to open doors is limited.
• Advocacy and a “Hype Person” Mentality: A true sponsor is your biggest champion, even when you’re not present. Donna describes them as someone who knows “how to be your hype person,” genuinely and candidly talking about your qualities to others who matter. This often involves a willingness to “put their reputation on the line for you and use their influence.”
• Deep Relationship Building and Respected Reputation: Jason stresses that effective sponsorship is rooted in “building relationships,” taking the time to truly understand the individual they’re supporting. Crucially, a sponsor must be “well respected across your profession and the community” because their recommendation carries significant weight. He recounts a powerful example of a former mentor who simply called to recommend a job candidate, and because of his respected opinion, that candidate (who had all the required qualifications) made the shortlist and got the job. 
• Selflessness and a Vision for Others’ Potential: Great sponsors are not self-serving. Jason highlights the “degree of selflessness” involved, noting their willingness to put others in the spotlight, even when it means stepping back themselves. They also possess a unique ability to “see the potential in people to advocate for them, and things that they may not even see for themselves.”
• A Willingness to Share Freely: Donna underscores the importance of a sponsor who is “willing to share freely,” bringing you into their networks, to meetings, conferences, and events where you might not otherwise feel comfortable going. This generosity of access is a defining trait.
• Discerning Judgment: Jason adds a critical caveat: a good sponsor doesn’t “blindly advocate.” They must maintain their own reputation by only championing individuals they genuinely believe in, ensuring their recommendations remain impactful for the future.

Cultivating Sponsorship: Your Proactive Steps

While a sponsor actively champions you, securing such a relationship often begins with your own proactive efforts.

• Build Your Personal “Board of Directors”: As Donna advises, don’t rely on just one person. Think about having a group of multiple mentors (for advice and knowledge), sponsors (for action and advocacy), and advisors (for short-term, expert guidance on specific tasks or challenges).
• Be Deliberate, Not Serendipitous: Jason emphasizes that finding a sponsor takes conscious effort and a “plan.” Go into interactions with a purpose, with “something specific to discuss” because sponsors are often very busy.
• Don’t Be Afraid to Reach Out: Both Donna and Jason encourage reaching out to individuals with authority and networks. “The worst they can say is no,” says Donna. Jason shared an inspiring story of an undergraduate psychology student who, despite having no prior connection, proactively approached him about his research, eventually becoming a valued part of his team and receiving strong recommendation letters. Your initiative can open unexpected doors.
• Expand Your Network Beyond Your Immediate Unit: Donna strongly recommends looking “outside of your unit, your department, your organization” by participating in “task forces, campus committees as early as you can.” This not only broadens your understanding of the larger institution but also creates opportunities to meet potential sponsors.
• Make Yourself Known: A sponsor needs to know your capabilities to advocate for you. “You have to give somebody an opportunity to get to know who you are, what your skills are, what you care about,” Donna explains. This means being professionally open and visible.
• Seek Multidisciplinary Networks: Jason advises against “pigeonholing yourself” within your own discipline. “We have a tendency to reach out to people that look like us or we feel are like us and we feel comfortable with,” he notes. However, his own journey underscores the tremendous impact of mentors and sponsors “from completely different disciplines” and even “from industry.”
• Commit to Relationship Building: Sponsorship is not a one-off ask; it’s a relationship. Jason stresses that it “takes a lot of time” and “continual effort,” including consistent follow-up to cultivate these meaningful connections.

The Enduring Impact of Being a Sponsor

The value of sponsorship extends far beyond the sponsored’s immediate career gains. For the sponsor, it’s a deeply rewarding experience. In Jason’s words, “The difference that mentoring and sponsoring makes is amazing.” He reflects on how he still cherishes the impact of sponsors from 25 years ago, and how his PhD advisor, even in his eighties, still speaks about the difference his own faculty advisor made 50 or 60 years prior.

This enduring legacy answers the fundamental question: “Why bother being a sponsor, why invest all that time?” It’s because you have the power to fundamentally shape a career and leave an indelible mark on someone’s life. Like any truly rich relationship, sponsorship is a two-way street, offering both the satisfaction of seeing others thrive and the unexpected rewards that come back to the sponsor.

Sponsorship Across Academic Disciplines

Both Donna and Jason acknowledge that the nature of sponsorship can vary across disciplines, emphasizing the need for strategic consideration.

• Network Relevance: Donna advises that when seeking a sponsor, you must align with the “networks you want access to.” She, for example, is an excellent sponsor for learning technology leadership but not for professional auditing, which is outside her sphere of connections.
• Evolving Needs: Jason points out that graduate students in different fields, such as “engineering or more STEM-related opportunities,” might increasingly require “industry connections” as career paths diversify beyond traditional academia. Conversely, postdocs in the liberal arts might need different types of advocacy. Understanding these specific disciplinary needs helps both protégés and potential sponsors find the most effective matches.

Conclusion

In conclusion, sponsorship is a vital, active form of career advancement that demands proactivity from the protégé and generous advocacy from the sponsor. By understanding its nuances, strategically building your network, and engaging genuinely with those who hold influence, you can unlock incredible opportunities and, in turn, pay it forward by becoming a powerful sponsor yourself.

https://er.educause.edu/articles/2024/5/the-leadership-role-considerations

It was our pleasure to share the Building your Network Series with you. We hope you found it interesting and useful, and we appreciate your support. You will receive an evaluation for the program next week, and we would be most grateful if you complete it. We take your feedback very seriously and use it to improve future offerings. Thank you for spending your time with us this summer!