You need sponsorship for EM promotion
I cringed every time I heard these words at McKinsey. It was extremely awkward for me to ask for sponsorships. This post is about big misconception about sponsorship in MBB firms.
You need sponsorship for EM promotion.
I cringed every time I heard these words at McKinsey.
It sounded like I needed to network more. Schedule coffee chats. Ask partners to support me.
So I tried. And it felt incredibly awkward.
It was like asking someone to like me.
Partners always replied, "Yes, of course." But it never converted into anything meaningful.
Here's the thing.
It doesn't work this way.
Partners sponsor consultants not because they like to drink coffee.
They sponsor consultants who are valuable to them. Who can make their projects better. Who can solve tough, ambiguous problems in an impressive way.
And they can see value in your work during actual projects, and sometimes during client developments.
That’s why building sponsorship is not a networking strategy.
It is a byproduct of your performance.
One strong project with the right partner will do more for your consulting career than a year of random coffee chats.
Stop trying to network your way to sponsorship.
Start being someone worth sponsoring.
How to do it?
The best way to do that is to radically upgrade your problem-solving.
Learn to work on the level that impresses partners. Then, the relationships will follow naturally. You won’t even need to ask for it. Partners will offer sponsorship themselves.
Hard to believe? In fact, that’s how it works for high performers.
If you are a senior MBB consultant preparing for your EM promotion, I wrote a simple step-by-step guide on “How to Get EM Promotion” (link in the comments).
If you are an MBB consultant and want to improve your performance through personalized coaching support:
We will discuss your pain points, challenges, and aspirations. It’s a no-commitment call, just straight answers to your biggest questions.
If you want to learn more about my coaching program, read this post: The coaching program for MBB consultants.