What Makes You Worth Betting On

While we tend to think of careers as individualistic pursuits, they are ultimately strongly shaped by other people. Through who gets invited in, who gets introduced, and who gets named in rooms where decisions are made. We would all like to believe that good work rises on its own. And I believe that it does, eventually. But early on, something else matters more. Before you are known for your work, you are likely known for something else.

Let me explain. It took me a while to fully understand this. I had to go full circle, from mentee to mentor. Early in my career, I was very fortunate. I had a great mentor. I’m fortunate that we remain close friends and collaborators. But as we all know, mentees will never truly succeed without the next step - sponsorship. This is what changes career trajectories. Mentors help you develop. Sponsors ensure you are present where decisions are made. Sponsors recommend you before you feel ready. They attach their credibility to yours and, at times, give up their own opportunities or create new ones so that you can step in. The best ones don’t just get you invited to sit at the table; they create a seat for you that wasn’t there to begin with.

I was lucky. My mentor was a fabulous sponsor. But not everyone is sponsored equally, even within the same environment. Some of that reflects structural realities we are increasingly aware of. Gender, personality, and familiarity all shape who is pulled forward. These forces are real.

But there is also a more immediate factor. Early in a career, sponsorship often follows reliability. The individuals who are advanced first are not always the most brilliant. They are the ones a mentor trusts to deliver.

When I began working with my mentor, I was an unknown. I practically begged for projects, finishing book chapters and papers that had been sitting on the shelves. I completed them thoroughly, with minimal help, in record time. I followed my mentor at meetings, stood nearby during conversations, and waited for the moment when I might be included. I never failed. I never said no. I said yes to projects that were not always visible or particularly appealing. I showed up and followed through, without fail. Was I always building my CV? No. But I was learning. The kinds of things that are difficult to teach without living them. But equally important, I was building my mentor’s trust. At the same time, I was bringing new ideas to the table, demonstrating initiative, anticipating needs, and building projects that advanced the team's broader goals.

Those early signals matter. They make it easier for someone to advocate for you because they are not only evaluating your potential. They are assessing whether you can be relied upon.

Sponsorship, in that sense, is not just a judgment of talent. It is a willingness to visibly take a risk on someone.

We tell trainees to protect their time. What we don’t say out loud is that early on, the people who say yes are the ones who get noticed. Of course, once you are established, learning when to say no becomes essential. Protecting your time matters. Early in a career, however, the opportunity to demonstrate reliability often carries more weight than selectivity. Saying yes is not always about getting an opportunity that will directly advance your career. Sometimes, it is about recognizing that each opportunity gives others a chance to observe how you think and work. Those observations accumulate and eventually shape how others speak about you when you are not present.

Mentorship, viewed this way, is not simply an individual relationship. It reflects the culture of an environment. It determines who gets the chance to build trust early, and who gets overlooked.

In some environments, people operate in isolation. There are few mentees, little continuity, and limited effort to bring others forward. In others, mentorship is embedded. Introductions are made without prompting. People are discussed in rooms they have not yet entered. Access expands more naturally, and more people have the opportunity to be seen, tested, and ultimately trusted.

I have been fortunate to experience the latter. My academic “father” and “grandfather” remain part of my professional life, continuing to offer guidance and advocacy in both visible and subtle ways. That continuity has shaped how I think about my own role now as a leader.

Because if early careers are built on signals of reliability, then leadership is about making sure more people have the chance to send those signals. That means paying attention. Who is ready for more responsibility, even if they are not asking for it. Who needs an introduction? Who is being overlooked?

Part of mentoring well is identifying potential before it is obvious. Part of leading well is creating environments where more people can show how they think, how they work, and whether they can be counted on. Which means I am constantly looking for those early signals, creating opportunities for people to demonstrate them, and moving them into positions of responsibility as soon as they are ready. Because in the end, the measure of a career, the measure of my career, is not only what I’ve accomplished, but whether others are better positioned because I helped create space for them.

Early in a career, people are not just evaluating your work. They are deciding whether you can be counted on. The ones who move forward first are not always the most brilliant. They are the ones who show up, follow through, and make it easy for others to trust them. That trust is what sponsorship is built on. It is what makes someone willing to take a risk on you.

For those in positions to mentor, the responsibility is not just to advise. It is to notice early, create opportunities, and move people forward once they have earned trust. Careers accelerate when someone is willing to bet on you. Leadership is about widening the circle of who gets that chance.