For this month's book review, Tim Lupinacci, the leader of the Firm's Financial Services Department, and Staci Pierce, an associate in Financial Services, provide their points of view on Sponsoring Women by Ida O. Abbott.

Sponsoring Women provides insight into growing top female talent and makes clear that companies serious about doing so will encourage direct personal involvement by leaders who are men. The book in no way belittles the sponsorship of women by women, but it does acknowledge that men still hold a large percentage of the power positions in the world, meaning there are just not enough powerful women sponsors available yet to sponsor all of the ambitious, deserving women out there. Sponsoring Women explains that it is insufficient for men just to pay lip service to the support of women. Instead, the onus is placed on male leaders to act with determination to ensure women have the same career-elevating experiences and opportunities men have.

Staci's Take:
Sponsoring Women statistically backs the concept that "women aspire to be CEOs in equal proportions to men. Yet, even when women try to get ahead using the same career advancement strategies as men, even when they do 'all the right things,' they earn less and progress more slowly than men." This disparity is traced back to the phenomenon of men getting sponsored at rates that far surpass women. The incongruity begs the question of whether sponsorship could possibly be quite so dispositive in a career path. But, once sponsors are identified as "powerful backers who identify high performers and actively champion their advancement," it becomes easier to fathom that a sponsor could make all the difference in a career. The book's comparison between mentors and sponsors puts into perspective what is truly meaningful for the career advancement of women. While a mentor advises, counsels and supports, a sponsor "puts skin in the game" by strategizing with the protégé, publicly endorsing her and privately advocating for her. The boost of powerful sponsors putting personal credibility on the line to back protégés as being leadership material in some ways becomes "the 'social proof' that makes [the protégés] de facto leaders."

Tim's Take:
Sponsoring Women does concede there are potential obstacles to cross-gender sponsorship, such as spousal jealousy, gossip and rumors, and feedback topics between a male sponsor and female protégé that may be more sensitive than if the sponsor/protégé relationship were between the same gender – such as direction regarding personal appearance, how to project executive presence and guidance on communication style. However, instead of allowing these obstacles to be excuses to avoid sponsoring women, advice is given regarding how to overcome each obstacle, and the admonition is given that avoiding female sponsorship is actually a "violation of [a man's] obligation as a leader to ensure that [his] firm has the best talent in place to guide and ensure its success."

Staci's Conclusion:
Instead of spending a great deal of time focusing on why sponsoring top female talent is important, the bulk of the book provides guidance regarding how to effectively do so. Suggestions such as the following are given along with direct instruction regarding implementation:

• Clarify the purpose and goals of the relationship
• Develop a strategy
• Explain how to get ahead (including the unwritten rules)
• Prime her for leadership
• Invite her to important networks
• Encourage her to stretch
• Focus on opportunities to showcase her strengths

Tim's Conclusion:
The suggestions given in the book are a helpful roadmap for charting a course for a sponsoring relationship. But, at the core, each sponsorship relationship will be its own individualized experiment. Some may be highly formalized and some quite informal. I have found that simply having a 15-minute recurring mid-week calendar appointment for an in-office "Coffee Break" with a protégé provides a tangible reminder to check in, chart progress and strategize. Regardless of how the sponsorship is structured, the bottom line in Sponsoring Women is that while firms have a corporate responsibility to nurture diversity programs and initiatives, male leaders have a very personal responsibility to change the ingrained norms and "serve as catalysts for cultural transformation" by pushing for gender balance and investing in the sponsorship of women.