Expanding the Way We Think About Mentorship and Sponsorship

If networking feels like a poor use of your already limited time… you’re not alone.... AND it may also be one of the highest ROI activities you’re underinvesting in.

I had the opportunity to deliver a virtual professional development and group coaching workshop yesterday with the Women in Health Sciences group at UC San Diego—and it was an incredibly engaged, thoughtful group!

We focused on strategic and authentic networking and sponsorship—and quickly got into the real barriers.
Because it’s not just about how to network.
It’s also about what we’ve been taught to believe about it.

And the data are clear:
Women are both less likely to seek out sponsorship and less likely to be identified as beneficiaries of sponsorship than men.

While the ivory tower continues to grapple with how to build more equitable sponsorship structures, there is meaningful action we can take right now.

Together, we:
-Expanded what “networking” actually looks like (hint: it’s broader—and more human—than you think)
-Reframed relationships with mentors and sponsors as bidirectional
-Identified meaningful ways to make “deposits” into those relationships—like expanding others’ impact and elevating their work

And then we moved beyond insight → into application.

Through my Peer Coaching 101 training, participants worked with a thought partner to:
-individualize the content to their own networking and sponsorship challenges
-go deeper on what’s actually holding them back
-and develop concrete next steps with built-in accountability

Grateful to have been part of this conversation—and to see what happens when we create space to partner with one another, challenge our thinking, and turn insight into action!