The Power of Sponsorship: Why Women’s Careers Advance Faster When Leaders Step Up

By Tiffany Fremder Chief Marketing Officer, Envu

I almost left.

I had been working for Bayer Crop Science in Germany for several years and had reached a point where I wasn’t sure there was another meaningful growth opportunity ahead of me within the company. I was 80 percent sure it was time to move on.

At a dinner at a colleague’s home one evening, I found myself in a kitchen conversation with a senior Bayer leader I knew only peripherally through mutual connections.

She didn’t know my work firsthand, but she trusted a mutual colleague who did. She asked me a simple question: “What do you want to do next?”

I answered honestly: I wasn’t sure.

She suggested I consider a role in Bayer’s Environmental Science business — still part of the same company at that time, but a very different part of the Crop Science division. I was interested, but assumed the conversation would end there.

But she followed up and took action. She introduced me to key leaders and advocated for me in rooms I wasn’t in. She wasn’t my mentor. She didn’t coach me day to day. But she became my sponsor.

That sponsorship changed the trajectory of my career.

A few years later, that Environmental Science segment would be carved out to become what is now Envu. I never could have predicted that path or the role I would eventually hold. But I can trace it back to one leader choosing to advocate.

Why Sponsorship Matters — Especially for Women

Mentorship and sponsorship are often used interchangeably. They shouldn’t be.

A mentor helps you build skills and confidence. A sponsor advocates for you in rooms you’re not in. Mentorship builds readiness. Sponsorship creates access.

Both matter — but when it comes to accelerating careers, sponsorship is often the catalyst.

Earlier in my career, I believed something many high-performing women believe: if I worked hard and delivered strong results, my work would speak for itself. I’ve since learned that performance is the baseline — but performance alone doesn’t always determine who advances. You have to be a strong performer and be visible to the people who can advocate for you.

In executive talent reviews, the individuals who move forward are often the ones multiple leaders around the table can speak to — people whose capabilities and aspirations are known beyond their immediate manager.

Over time, I’ve seen this visibility gap affect more women than men. Many women are socialized to be modest — to prioritize team success over individual recognition and to avoid appearing self-promotional. In interviews and performance discussions, I frequently hear women describe accomplishments in terms of “we,” even when their individual contribution was significant.

Collaboration is a strength. But clarity about your individual impact is equally important. When you describe your achievements primarily in collective terms, it can make it harder for others to confidently advocate for your readiness for the next role.

Sponsorship helps ensure that your strengths are seen when it matters most.

How to Position Yourself for Sponsorship

Sponsorship is rarely assigned, and it’s not something you request outright. More often, it emerges from intentional relationship-building, which leads to increased visibility.

Here are a few practical ways women can position themselves for sponsorship:

1. Build Your Network Intentionally

Understand how decisions are made in your organization. Who participates in talent reviews? Who influences stretch assignments? Who sits in the rooms where succession is discussed? And how can you show up in ways that put you on their radar?

Get out of your silo. Seek opportunities that increase your exposure across the organization and make your work more visible. Participation in employee resource groups — such as our DRIVE groups at Envu — can create structured opportunities for visibility, dialogue, and cross-functional connection.

You can even request informational conversations with leaders in different parts of the business, especially in areas where you’d like to grow. But come prepared. Be clear about what you’re trying to learn, what you’re working toward, and how their perspective can help you get there.

2. Learn to Articulate Your Individual Contributions

The most successful professionals I’ve worked with can clearly articulate their strengths and acknowledge their contributions to success. Practice describing your specific impact in one or two sentences. In interviews, presentations, and development conversations, be clear about the role you played.

Recognition rituals — such as quarterly awards or public acknowledgments — help reinforce individual contributions. Within the Envu Marketing team, we make a deliberate effort to highlight individual impact during our quarterly town halls, naming not just the outcome but the people behind it.

Leaders have a responsibility to normalize recognition, and individuals have a responsibility to own their achievements. Sponsorship becomes easier when leaders can confidently connect your name with your demonstrated work.

3. Own Your Development Plan

One belief I hold strongly: your development plan should grow you, not just prepare you for your next job. Take time to define what you want to do next and outline the skills you need to build to get there.

At Envu, employees have access to structured development tools to support this process. The “Grow” section in our Lattice performance-management platform allows employees to build a personal development plan aligned to their aspirations. Additionally, programs like MentorMe — a self-nominated mentorship initiative — connect employees with volunteer mentors who can provide guidance and perspective.

These tools matter. But they only create momentum when paired with clarity and initiative.

Paying It Forward as a Leader

I didn’t ask that senior leader to sponsor me. She trusted the judgment of our mutual colleague — another leader — who knew my work, believed in my potential, and put me on her radar. Then she followed up, took the time to talk to me, and chose to advocate.

Today, as I serve as executive sponsor of our Female Leadership DRIVE group, I think often about that kitchen conversation. About the power of someone choosing to step up. About the doors that can open when influence is used intentionally.

Sponsorship is not a diversity initiative. It’s a leadership discipline. It’s not limited to women sponsoring women; leaders of all kinds can and should advocate for emerging talent. But doing so requires deliberate action — taking time to notice potential, speaking up in talent discussions, and challenging bias that stands in the way of advancement.

We cannot control every turn in our careers. Mine certainly did not follow a straight line. But, as leaders, we can control whether we use our influence to create opportunity for others. If we want women’s careers to advance faster than they have historically, leaders must step up — and speak up.