The Sponsorship Catalyst: A Leader's Guide to Identifying High-Potential Talent, Championing Their Growth, and Building a Legacy of Leadership.

What is the true measure of a leader's legacy? Is it the projects they led, or the leaders they built? Most leaders are excellent mentors, offering valuable advice and guidance. But few are true sponsors—leaders who actively spend their hard-won political capital to create career-defining opportunities for high-potential talent. Sponsorship is the difference between giving advice and making a bet. It's the moment a leader stakes their own reputation on someone else's future. The Sponsorship Catalyst is the definitive guide to mastering this crucial, yet often misunderstood, leadership art. Moving beyond mentorship, Rikard Halpert provides a strategic framework for identifying non-obvious talent, championing their growth through high-stakes challenges, and navigating the complex economics of advocacy. This is your playbook for multiplying your impact. You will learn to: Move Beyond Mentorship: Understand the critical difference between advising and sponsoring, and why one builds careers while the other changes the game. Recognize True Readiness: Learn to look past "polish" to identify the underlying signals of high potential in unconventional candidates. Make the Business Case: Master the art of constructing a compelling narrative that secures buy-in from skeptical stakeholders. Manage the Investment: Provide strategic exposure and navigate the inevitable setbacks of a "stretch assignment" to ensure your sponsorship pays off. Stop just managing talent. Start building a legacy. This book provides the tools to become a true catalyst for leadership, creating a ripple effect of talent that will define your career and shape your organization's future.