The Leadership Professor

Doing your homework is an important first step in securing the sponsor you need. To recap the last post, you’ll want to: 1. Clarify your preferred career path. 2. Decide what you want from a sponsor. 3. Define your personal style and communications preferences. 4. Determine your assets and demonstrate your contributions. 5. Identify possible [...]

Previous posts explored the importance of a good sponsor for accelerating your career. How do you find one? To over-simplify, there are four steps: (1) figure out what you need and want from a sponsor, (2) find someone who matches your needs, (3) find ways to demonstrate your competencies, and (4) ask persuasively for his [...]

Evidence mounts on the importance of a good sponsor. MBAs entering the work force with the recommendation of a strong advocate benefitted when negotiating compensation for starting salaries, a recent Catalyst study found. Sadly, the research also demonstrates that the glass ceiling hurts – and is increasingly costly for women over the course of their [...]

Joann Lublin in the Wall Street Journal got it right. Her message: for career advancement, mentors are nice, but sponsors are essential. What’s the difference? Sponsors are powerful senior players who open doors by staking their reputations on you. Mentors, in contrast, support by offering informal advice and coaching. The distinction is huge. Reflecting on [...]

What are you reading this summer? The question is important for your leadership development. I suggest fiction. It’s a powerful and enjoyable pedagogy. When we read fiction, author Annie Dillard reminds us, we slow life down: study it and our reactions to it. Good fiction lets us view events from multiple perspectives – our own, [...]

We can learn about innovative leadership from Dale Chihuly. We can also see important links between innovation and collaboration by exploring his approach to his art. Chihuly’s current exhibition, Through the Looking Glass, at the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston brings all this home. I’ve been a Chihuly fan for twenty years, but this [...]

The late Thomas P. “Tip” O’Neill, former Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives, was a master politician. Political skills for him were all about enjoying and connecting with people. Every interaction, O’Neill noted in his autobiography,[1] is an opportunity to leave a positive impression, connect with another around common interests, show respect, and learn [...]