To Get Promoted, Women Need Champions, Not Mentors

Why Women Don't Need Mentors
Young attractive female fashion designer leaning on office desk, talking on mobile phone.?
Young attractive female fashion designer leaning on office desk, talking on mobile phone.?

Instead of adding a mentor or more Twitter followers this fall, women need someone far more powerful for their career if they want to succeed: a sponsor.

As a ticket to the top, a sponsor will work equally well whether you're climbing the corporate ladder or a working as an entrepreneur, a writer or activist, said Sylvia Ann Hewlett, an economist and author of the new book Forget a Mentor, Find a Sponsor. A sponsor -- basically a power broker who will endorse you in closed door meetings and support you in stormy moments -- could also be valuable for executives established in their careers.

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