Please excuse my ignorance. I have not been with the company very long. I am just now hearing that some new hires are sponsored. What exactly does that mean? No one will really give me a straight answer. I think it’s safe to assume I am not one of the select few sponsored people. Thank you in advance.
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@jfc is correct to an extent. a lot of hipo's are good, so they would make it anyhow.
imagine a situation where you have five leads reporting to you and you know there will be a manager position opening in year or two.
you'd start observing who does well and start thinking about who will be promoted.
it's likely that one of them will stick out on day 1
There needs to be checks and balances to Sponsorship.
If the sponsored person proves to be a bad choice or just gets far too arrogant, PIP instead of move upward to do more damage.
I have actually seen Sponsored persons put a lot of effort into “doing nothing” , taking zero risk in every assignment because they knew that they would move upward ever 1 to 2 years if nothing could be blamed on them.
A sponsored person doing nothing is far more rewarded than a hard worker making great accomplishments. Another flaw in the system.
https://www.gartner.com/en/human-resources/glossary/high-potential-employee-hipo-
Sponsors are not by any means exclusive to ExxonMobil.
Special treatment of favorites is common wherever there is severe imbalance of power.
Sometimes those given sponsor power are virtuous, even.
But usually just narcissists.
ExxonMobil might have the highest percentage of those.
@1tfh+1gRXuz3n Next DW in the making! Proud boy
@1ywm+1gRXuz3n I don’t think being deemed HiPo and having a sponsor are necessarily the same thing. I have stumbled across an excel file in the past listing HiPos for a specific work group and if you took the number of HiPos on that list compared to that group’s size and extrapolated it out to the rest of the organization (org meaning HR, Upstream, Controllers, etc) there would be way more HiPos than VPs or Senior Exec.
It is a formal process. @OP, just search HiPo on intranet, you will develop some understanding.
If you are not told you are HiPo, then you are not.
Post from TheLayoff.com
Sponsors are absolutely real and yes they do determine your future at XOM. If you have been working for the company for any solid length of time and still deny this with a straight face then you are just a devil.
Considering the amount of testimony regarding sponsors and HiPO's on here, there has to be substance to it. I was there. I saw it. Yes, it's a real thing at ExxonMobil.
I know of a manager that tanked a business. During his watch, revenue went on a steep decline and he p-ssed off several business partners and customers. But he can do no wrong while his direct reports took the blame. Now he’s got promoted to even a bigger position to do more damage to the company.
Not sure how formal the sponsorship system is, but one VP said he was told that he was going to be fast-tracked to executive level, just before his first supervisor job. He was told that he would be moved into various departments every two years or less and just keep moving upward.
The main issue with this VP was that he was a complete id--t that could not even ask a good question or understand any response. Every group that was subjected to his 2 year “visits” quickly concluded he was an id--t.
That id--t did make it to VP level, but was so dangerously stupid that he was instructed to retire before he did much damage in that position
I have seen many good executives graduate through the sponsorship system, but there needs to be a way to identify the dangerous id--ts and PIP them before they do much damage.
If you have to ask you can't afford it.
It’s something people here drastically overemphasize. It’s really not significant. It’s an excuse people use when someone else was selected over them for skill reasons. People don’t like admitting, especially anonymously online, that other people are just better than them. Or they’re too ignorant to realize it themself.
If you're MPT and deemed qualified by HR and the local executive , having a sponsor is a formal process. They'll make sure you get meaningful assignments to qualify for each increasing management level. They can also weigh in that you're not qualified at some level. Play your cards right along the way and it's hard to lose.
There was an electrician who did all kinds of free work for the higher ups at their homes. He never charged them for any of the work but he sure got the best raises. During the 3 year pay freeze he got a raise. There was also another EMIT employee that would do personal work for the VPs and anyone else. He would never charge them or would charge very little. He was also remembered and liked by the big wigs. Someone brought up this was unfair conflict of interest and talked to /HR about it. It was buried and forgotten.
Sponsors are like Sugar Daddy or Care Takers! The company is so very traditional culture and doesn't like calling them as such so they are called sponsors! Because by sponsoring someone the sponsors are bound to defend their decision making, insightfulness,and godness they will do anything and everything to protect their sponsoree regardless of sponsorees future and ongoing performance. DW, TG, and likes are perfect examples of this and people like this ain't going anywhere and continue to milk for their entire lives, unfortunately!
If you are more than 2 years in and don't know the concept of a sponsor then you weren't selected.
Like a daddy. With him you can do no wrong.
If you are liked you can not fail. Management will make excuses for you. I know of lazy worthless workers who never got piped. If you are piped you cannot fail the pip.
I offered to caddy for my Division Manager during my first year.
At a charity event on a Saturday.
That got the ball rolling.
A Sponsor is a Senior Manager or Executive that chooses certain new employees to become future Managers.
The Sponsor makes sure his chosen ones get artificially high rankings. Makes sure his chosen ones get high profile assignments. Sponsors also protect their chosen ones from any consequences when their chosen ones mess up.
Even the d-mbest most arrogant useless employees can move up the management ladder with a strong sponsor.