Management Tip of the Day: Diversify Your Network of Sponsors with the 2+1 Rule

 

Are you having trouble viewing this email? If so, click here to see it in a web browser.

December 30, 2013 Diversify Your Network of Sponsors with the 2+1 Rule A powerful sponsor can help you keep the job you have or help you find a new one. But in an uncertain job market, executives who count on one high-level backer may unexpectedly find themselves in a tough spot if their sponsor jumps ship. In sponsorship, as in investments, it's wise to diversify your portfolio of assets: cultivate more than one sponsor. Your sponsors should be independent of each other; if one goes down, the others won't be dragged along. Having three sponsors is ideal: in organizations with fewer than 10 people, pursue one sponsor within the firm and two outside of it in the same industry; in larger firms, you'll want one outsider and two insiders — one in your line of sight and one in a different department or division. This "2+1 Rule" gives you a better chance of surviving a threat to your department, your division, or even your firm. Adapted from "To Diversify Your Network, Follow the 2+1 Rule" by Sylvia Ann Hewlett.

PREVIOUS TIPS To Manage Well, Get Out of the Way Beware Starting a Company with Your Business School Pals For Innovation, Invest in Two Kinds of Education How Startups Can Build Advisory Boards A Five-Minute Exercise to Boost Leadership The Three M’s that Motivate Employees

BEST SELLERS HBR's 10 Must Reads: The Essentials | HBR's 10 Must Reads Boxed Set | HBR Guide to Persuasive Presentations | HBR Guide to Better Business Writing | HBR Guide to Getting the Right Work Done

FEATURED PRODUCT The First 90 Days App for iPhone and Android MAKE YOUR NEXT CAREER TRANSITION A SUCCESS. Download The First 90 Days App today to help you stay ahead of the game. Download on the App Store Download on Google Play

FEATURED PRODUCT Boards That Lead: When to Take Charge, When to Partner, and When to Stay Out of the Way HBR Press Book Is your firm’s board creating value—or destroying it? Change is coming. Leadership at the top is being redefined as boards take a more active role in decisions that once belonged solely to the CEO. But for all the advantages of increased board engagement, it can create debilitating questions of authority and dangerous meddling in day-to-day operations. Directors need a new road map—for when to lead, when to partner, and when to stay out of the way. Boardroom veterans Ram Charan, Dennis Carey, and Michael Useem advocate this new governance model—a sharp departure from what has been demanded by governance activists, raters, and regulators—and reveal the emerging practices that are defining shared leadership of directors and executives. Based on personal interviews and the authors' broad and deep experience working with executives and directors from dozens of the world’s largest firms, including Apple, Boeing, Ford, Infosys, and Lenovo, Boards That Lead tells the inside story behind the successes and pitfalls of this new leadership model. Buy It Now

ADVERTISEMENT

HBR.ORG | THE MAGAZINE | BLOGS | BOOKS | CASES | STORE | SUBSCRIBE TO HBR UNSUBSCRIBE | NEWSLETTERS PRIVACY POLICY | CONTACT Copyright © 2013 Harvard Business School Publishing, an affiliate of Harvard Business School. All rights reserved. Harvard Business Publishing 60 Harvard Way Boston, MA 02163 CUSTOMER SERVICE: 800-545-7685 (US/Canada) 1-617-783-7600 (outside the U.S. and Canada)