Sponsorship, beyond mentoring

….The hen staggered off her eggs. She was very tired and her legs ached. She needed a walk and a cold sip to quench her thirst. She didn’t know laying eggs and hatching them was such a herculean task. She needed longer hours to incubate the eggs as it got closer to hatching. She shook her puffed and ruffled feathers; every strand was in hormonal rebellion. She stopped in awe, watching the display of the white cock. He danced around her kid cousin who just arrived town. Her shiny brown and grey feathers were beautifully arranged in an alternate array. With one wing spread towards his legs, the cock displayed layers of thick and thin pristine and lush feathers. The hen cooed as the wooing displayed continued, her eyes fixed on the large bright red crown that graced his head. His watery eyes beckoned and the hen followed.

She hissed and shook her at her feathers which were on hanging, roughly on the edge.

“So if you must woo her, must you rub it in or bring your dance party close to my crib? Some courtesy and reservation dear,” The Cock gave her a begging look as he sauntered after his new catch.

“Babes, in a few days, you will return to your rightful place. Sit well on those eggs and make sure you keep them all warm, so we don’t lose any of them.” The beautiful hen dragged at the cock, spreading her tail in seductive display. The brooding hen dragged her tired legs across to lawn to a puddle to take some sip of cold water. She cleaned her beak on her feathers. She watched a little earthworm wriggling and burrowing through the sand. She had no appetite for food, so there was no pursuit. She walked back to her crib, resumed her sitting, gathered all the eggs under her wings and sat properly. She needed longer seat time to ensure they are well incubated. She buried her head under her wings to take a nap. She needed all the strength, so that in a few days……

The act of mentoring can be likened to the relationship between a broody hen and her eggs. She has the responsibility of incubating the egg so they hatch healthy chicks that can be groomed. Mentoring is one of the many tools used in organization to ensure a steady growth in the career of employees and sustenance of performance. In mentoring, your protégés are like eggs, a potential chick that can mature to a hen or cock. In fact, that egg is a whole generation of potential employee, not yet recruited. Mentoring is a process of incubation that requires, focus, patience, time and commitment from both the mentors and mentees/protégé. In mentoring, you are not learning a particular business skill but an array of tools that will enhance your performance across both technical and management function. Mentoring provides psychological support necessary for the mentee/protégé to perform optimally and succeed at his work.

Mentoring is one of the major tools that have been harnessed to ensure gender equality, diversity and inclusiveness in the workplace. Many global and multinational organizations have formal mentoring programs within and across geographical and cultural boundaries. However, the level of commitments of this organization to gender equality has not been commensurate to the output of women leadership at senior level management. Only 34% occupy high ranking positions and only 3% are fortune 500 CEO (Sponsor Effect Report, CWLP). Is mentoring truly enough? Why have mentoring failed women? Or is it women who failed mentoring? Many hold the opinion that women are over-mentored; however, women are mostly not mentored by the right persons, especially with the right objectives and output in mind. It is therefore not in the numerous mentorship programs but the right mentorship program that meets the needs of individual protégé, shoving them up the ladder to a higher rung. This gives rise to the question, how senior is your mentor? How strategic is your sponsor?

One of the most important objectives of mentoring program which is often absent or forgotten especially when mentoring women is “Sponsorship”. Mentoring women must move beyond an emotional helpline or a psychological support to include a purposeful program that leads her to the top. Sponsorship is a deliberate strategy to accelerate the career of high performing individuals in the workplace. It is an intentional action by a sponsor to look for opportunity of career advancement for protégé, to recommend and sometimes risk their reputation to give an opportunity to the protégé. It’s like sticking out your neck for another, taking the risk to ensure they get that career advancement. In 2013, Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) reserved a 40% seat for women in senior management and another 30% for women on the boards of directors. This is a sponsorship-driven opportunity for women begging for the question; Are women truly ready? Are their sponsors willing to prepare the female clan to take the opportunities created?

The new call is to take a bold step beyond mentoring. Throw your weight behind your protégé, and ensure they don’t just perform well on their current job, but move from through the pipeline almost seamlessly without leaking away. As a sponsor, look for the opportunity not only within your local market but across regional and international markets.  Like the hen, don’t get distracted; focus on incubation till you hatch healthy chicks. Management will surely come back to woo you. Sponsor a budding female leader today!

Organization needs to also train/coach mentors and sponsors on the complexities of gender and leadership. The strategies deployed for men to reach the top are slightly different for female leaders heading for the same spot.

You may be asking question, ‘So, what are the unique attributes of an excellent Mentor-Sponsor?’ ‘What are the behavioural competences required of the female protégé to make the program a success?’ Well the hen has return to her crib to brood; let’s wait to see how healthy her chicks turnout. Remember, it’s not about perfection, but genuine intentions.