Rodney Bailey, a senior manager for Raytheon, warns, “Don’t expect advocacy to just come out of the blue. You’ve got to be strategic. It’s an important thing to have, but how you get there is going to depend on how you envision yourself and the roles and opportunities you put in place.” Similar to advocates, sponsors are capable of generating opportunities for lower-level employees. Unlike advocates, however, sponsors do not necessarily work in the same organization as the person they sponsor. “That person is the one who will help you get to the next level,” Dr. Davis explains. “That person is usually in rooms that you are not, for whatever reason, already in.”
“Leadership is not a title; it’s a behavior,” says Dr. Davis. “The way that you carry yourself kind of shows where you are in your professional space and where you want to go.”
In order for someone to find a sponsor, they must prove that they’re worth vouching for. When a sponsor brings someone onto their team, they’ll most likely be held accountable for making that decision. “I make it very clear to the folks I sponsor that it’s not just about you,” Graddy says. “It’s about me and all of the other folks who are watching you and watching me.”
Leadership Is a Process
One characteristic shared by all great leaders is that they’re consistently focused on self-improvement. Even if they aren’t professionally recognized as leaders, they carry themselves as if they were. “Leadership is not a title; it’s a behavior,” says Dr. Davis. “The way that you carry yourself kind of shows where you are in your professional space and where you want to go.” She also adds that great leaders of the future don’t wait for a promotion to validate their leadership skills. They lead from their current position, acting as models for their peers while mapping out their career trajectory. “For me, vertical leadership means taking a real close assessment of who I am [and] where I want to go and being proactive in the handling of my career to ensure I grow, not just up but out,” she says. “I have to grow vertically as well as horizontally in my own leadership skills.” S www.blackengineer.com
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