The U.S. is facing a severe cybersecurity workforce shortage. One commonly repeated refrain to address this shortage is to increase the number of women, people of color, and nontraditional workers in the field. While studies have discussed how to close this gap ad nauseam, less emphasis has been placed on retaining and advancing these new workers. The State of Inclusion of Women in Cybersecurity reported that a majority of women surveyed felt excluded in career and growth opportunities at cybersecurity firms and that leadership was the top source for this feeling of exclusion. Similarly, the lack of visible Black cybersecurity leaders has been reported as making it difficult for Black employees to see a future in the field. The result has been that new workers are leaving their roles at companies and sometimes even the field of cybersecurity altogether. One way to combat this is by having mentors and sponsors.
Because mentors and sponsors can help address our cybersecurity shortage on a long-term basis, it is essential to understand their role and how they can increase retention and advance the careers of cybersecurity professionals.
The roles of mentors and sponsors are often confused and misunderstood – even by mentors and sponsors. Harvard Business Review has even found that sponsors are often acting like mentors and become less effective for their protégé. People have often used the terms sponsor and mentor interchangeably, adding to even more confusion. This talk was developed to explain mentors and sponsors in a way that would reduce this confusion – by using two of the most prominent figures in pop culture. The “best rapper alive” and “the hottest chick in the game” that happens to wear his chain – Jay-Z and Beyoncé.
Mentors provide guidance and serve as sounding boards for their mentees. Mentors have been shown to help reduce burnout of employees and feelings of frustration and demotivation related to career development. Minorities that reach the highest levels of their companies have cited having strong mentors prevented them from either reducing their performance level or simply leaving the organization. While sponsors are advocates for their protegees. They use their professional capital to get promotions for their protegees. Sponsors play an even more critical role in helping employees reach the top levels of their organizations by ensuring that their protégés get the high-stakes assignments that are often a prerequisite for C-level jobs.
This presentation will define the roles of mentors and sponsors and highlight ways they can help people accelerate their careers. Next, we discuss why you need both a mentor and a sponsor by using the examples of Jay-Z and Beyoncé and recent business literature on the topic. We will also explore leaders' roles and outline how they can be better mentors and sponsors. Then, finally, focus on what you can do to get a mentor and sponsor and how to be a good protégés.

Outline of Talk
I intend to cover the following in the talk:
Intro – 2 Minutes
• Who I am
• A high-level overview of the talk and why this topic is important
• Walk the audience through the agenda for the talk. The role of the mentors and what they can do for your career. Then, the importance of both mentors and sponsors using the example of Jay-Z and Beyoncé. Next, it will explore the roles of mentors and sponsors and what they should be doing. Finally, how people can get sponsors and mentors and be good in that role.
Mentors and Sponsors – 10 Minutes
• Mentors provide guidance and serve as sounding boards for their mentees.
• Sponsors are advocates for their protegees. They use their professional capital to get promotions for their protegees.
• Outline how mentors and sponsors can help your career. Discuss studies from HBR, Yale Business School, and Security Magazine on how mentors and sponsors reduce burnout, lead to career advancement, decrease feelings of isolation, and change career trajectory. Discussion of how sponsorship is the strongest predictor of promotions and salaries.
You need a Jay-Z and a Beyoncé – 10 minutes.
• Discuss examples of mentors from pop culture, including Beyonce mentoring Chloe Baily, Lizzo’s Grammy speech about Beyonce’s impact on her career, and Jay-Z’s relationship with Bleek.
• Discussions of professional examples of mentors.
• Discuss examples of sponsors from pop culture and professional examples from Yale and Harvard studies.
• But you need both a sponsor and a mentor because their roles are different.
Better Mentors and Sponsors – 10 minutes
• Sponsors need to act like sponsors. This is a discussion of how sponsors sometimes act like mentors and why that is less effective for workers—senior leaders who are best equipped to use political capital to help advance their protégé’s career aren’t doing that.
• Mentors must avoid searching for a mini-me and be open to helping others. People often want to work only with people like them.
Finding Mentors and Sponsors – 8 minutes
• Finding mentors and sponsors can be difficult, especially for women and minorities. One way to combat this is through formal mentor programs.
• Sponsors are more challenging to assign. Instead, sponsors are often gained by earning the trust of senior leaders by delivering on projects. Sponsors can also be found by volunteering for work that exposes you to upper management.
• Sponsorship and mentorship are two-way streets. Mentees and protégés have a role to play.
• Here are some tips: Know what you need, find the right person, overdeliver on requests from mentors and sponsors, be respectful of time, and be engaged and enthusiastic.
Conclusion – 5 minutes
• Six takeaways from the presentation.
• Where people can find me.
• Questions and Answers