Sponsorship Guide

Click here to download a PDF version of this document.

The Basics

So, you want to be a Sponsor?

“We’re here for a reason. I believe a bit of the reason is to throw little torches out to lead people through the dark”

– Whoopi Goldberg

At Raise, we see Sponsorship as an opportunity to lead someone through the unknown—lighting their path with small torches to guide them on their journey in Self Management.

As a Sponsor, you’ll create a welcoming environment for new hires (Sponsees), helping them grow personally, develop their careers, and step into leadership. If you’re reading this, you’re likely preparing to become a Sponsor. You’ve come to the right place—this guide contains the resources you’ll need to support your Sponsee effectively.

During Sponsorship (typically the first four to six months of employment), you are accountable for your Sponsee’s success. You act as their guide, mentor, and coach—providing feedback, modeling practices, and ensuring they’re building both job competence and cultural fit. Ideally, you and your Sponsee are in the same working group so you can observe each other’s work and behavior directly.

Your primary responsibility is to graduate only those Sponsees who demonstrate both:

  • Job fit — they can perform the role effectively.
  • Cultural fit — they can balance the tension between freedom and responsibility.

If the Sponsee is not a fit, it is the Sponsor’s responsibility to make the final decision to let them go.

Important Notes

  1. Record feedback. Documenting feedback protects both you and the Sponsee if things don’t work out. After delivering difficult feedback, follow up with an email summarizing the points discussed—or have the Sponsee send a written summary.
  2. Limited freedoms. A Sponsee does not have full access to the freedoms that come with Raise’s Common Practices until they complete their Provisional Period, which ends with the Common Practices Discussion.

Sponsorship is both a complex and critical role at Raise. As a Sponsor, you carry the responsibility of deciding whether your Sponsee will successfully complete their Sponsorship and continue with the company. That decision can feel heavy, with many variables to weigh.

One way to simplify the decision is to use the Raise credit card analogy:

  • The Provisional Period is a preview. Sponsorship gives you a glimpse of how the Sponsee will operate once they graduate.
  • The $500 credit card. During Sponsorship, it’s as if the Sponsee is issued a $500 credit card. You, as the Sponsor, monitor how they use it—checking whether they make responsible choices and follow through on their commitments.
  • Graduation = the deluxe card. If the Sponsee consistently makes responsible “purchases” and pays off their balance, they graduate. At that point, they receive the “Raise deluxe credit card,” representing full freedom and responsibility in decision-making.
  • Taking the card away. If the Sponsee demonstrates irresponsibility, it’s the Sponsor’s duty to step in—sometimes that means ending the Sponsorship and making the call to let them go.

In short, Sponsorship is about testing responsibility in a protected environment. Your role is to ensure the Sponsee is truly ready to carry the freedoms and responsibilities that come with being a full member of Raise.

Sponsorship plays a key role within our organization and has a positive impact on your development and growth, as well as your Sponsees.

Here are a few people who’ve already been a Sponsor! Read what was important to them and what they think makes a successful Sponsorship:

GILLIAN LEVI:

  • The Sponsor should feel a level of accountability over the successful integration of the Sponsee into the department
  • It would be beneficial for the Sponsor to have been working at IMG for at least six months so as to have encountered, or used themselves, the Common Practices
  • A strong emotional intelligence would be helpful as well

SAGAR CHATTERJEE:

  • The Sponsor should be closely involved in the hiring process, interested in Sponsorship and committed to the process
  • They should manage the freedom/responsibility polarity well
  • High emotional intelligence, strong communication and excellent listening skills are important

SHANNON TELEPANICH:

Suggesting the Sponsor be someone who has the following attributes in general:

  • A good listener and strong communication skills · Has the time and desire to dedicate to be a sponsor
  • Someone to challenge the Sponsee
  • Well-versed in company Common Practices

The Sponsor ensures a Sponsee is set up to succeed in their role and to understand and practice Raise’s Purpose, Values, and Common Practices. Sponsorship is a meaningful commitment that requires time, attention, and emotional investment.

During the Sponsorship (approximately 20 weeks), the Sponsor owns three areas:

1). Assess & Decide — Evaluate Role Fit and Self-Management
    • Continuously assess fit. Throughout the Sponsorship, gather input from teammates, other Raise colleagues, and customers. Offer timely feedback and coaching (or prompt others to do the same).
    • Document feedback. Record all feedback; follow each conversation with a brief email summary. Ensure your Sponsee logs TIRs.
    • Keep progress visible. Your Sponsee should always know how they’re doing and whether continuation is likely.
    • Make the go/no-go call. Between weeks 8–12, decide whether the Sponsee is moving forward. If yes, schedule the Common Practices Discussion (with your Sponsee and two teammates) for the last day of Sponsorship. See “Common Practices Discussion” (p. 7) for details.
2). Mentor & Guide — Ensure RaiseOS Is Learned & Practiced
    • Create practice opportunities. Help the Sponsee adopt the Common Practices (e.g., giving/receiving feedback, participating in Sensing & Responding).
    • Review the work system weekly. Walk the Visual board (Global Sponsorship Team can help set this up) and the RaiseOS site (inside.raiserecruiting.com) together each week.
    • Close learning gaps. Check in weekly with the Work Buddy and/or teammates to spot gaps and confirm appropriate progress.
    • Model the way. Proactively teach and model the practices.
    • Sponsorship period note. The Sponsee does not have full access to the freedoms that come with our Common Practices until they complete their Provisional Period, which ends with the Common Practices Discussion.
3). Radical Candour — Challenge Directly & Care Personally
    • Go beneath the surface. Probe thoughtfully, share insights, and surface growth opportunities.
    • Be a mirror. Create space for reflection; act as a sounding board.
    • Hold to the practices. Require the Sponsee to use the Common Practices on every problem/opportunity—either take action or intentionally let it rest.
    • Coach feedback skills. Encourage them to give feedback using the SBI model without judgment. Help them focus on their feelings and reactions, not assumed intentions of others.
    • Model receiving feedback. Demonstrate and reinforce effective “inviting/receiving feedback” behaviours.

You’ll work with the Sponsee to learn and apply the Common Practices.

What will this look like? Show the Sponsee the resources, help them understand the material, and encourage them to put their knowledge into practice.

The Sponsee should have every opportunity to learn and reinforce this material until it becomes second nature. For ideas on how to do this, please see below for helpful tools on our Common Practices.

Valuable tools for Sponsorship:

Weekly 1 on 1 meeting with Sponsee:

  • Check-in and probe, help the Sponsee to surface their fears & concerns and help them with their self-awareness
  • Use the Sponsorship Curriculum to guide you through the Sponsorship; it has a weekly learning plan that includes topics, agendas and homework.

Common Practices

  • Giving & receiving feedback – practicing this early and often is a great tool to help the Sponsee develop
  • Try practicing or engaging in each common practice (Sensing and Responding, Psychological Safety Practices, Foundational Skills, etc.)

Resources

  • RaiseOS Site – Help the Sponsee understand the playbook and the OS (found at: inside.raiserecruiting.com)
  • Visual Board – Check in on the Sponsee’s board to review their progress and mine for questions
  • Global Sponsorship Team – We will check in regularly and make sure you are supported

The Sponsor is responsible for running an Advice Process to decide whether or not the Sponsee will continue working at Raise beyond their Sponsorship. Consult those who work closely with the Sponsee and gather feedback before making your decision.

If you decide the Sponsee should not stay past their Sponsorship period, they should NOT have the Common Practices Discussion.

It’s not a fun surprise for the Sponsee to find out at three months they will not be staying, so make sure your Sponsee receives regular feedback about their progress and where they stand at all times.

The Common Practices Discussion is an in-depth interview with the Sponsor and usually two other Raise members. It happens at the end of the Sponsorship (approx. 20 weeks) and is the last door to pass through to full-time, permanent employment.

Based on the feedback of the Sponsee’s work within their Sponsorship, the team will have a discussion with the Sponsee about their first few months, their work and culture contribution and potential. You’ll dig into the Sponsee’s triumphs and challenges, where they may struggle, how you can continue supporting them, and how they’ll continue contributing to Raise in the future.

The purpose of the Common Practices Discussion is to ensure the Sponsee:

a). Has learned about and understands the Common Practices
b). Commits to using the Common Practices to manage themselves, their work, and their relationships in the company.
c). Accepts responsibility for their actions, impact(s), engagement, and contribution(s) to the success of others and the business from now on (in exchange for full access to the freedoms offered by the RaiseOS).

It can be a vulnerable, engaging, and a lengthy discussion. And at the end, a decision will follow about the Sponsee’s readiness to continue in a permanent role with full access to the Common Practices.

We recommend celebrating with a team lunch or treats brought into the office where the Sponsee can share their journey thus far.

The Common Practices Discussions questions were inspired by the 4 Playbook values we hold at Raise. Please note that this is a framework for the Common Practices Discussion; feel free to add questions as you see fit.

Practically Speaking…

Book the discussion ahead of time, carving out at least one hour. Invite 2-3 of the Sponsee’s teammates and divide the questions or sections between the Sponsor and guests. Ask at least 2-3 questions per section, ensuring the bolded questions are covered.

Start by thanking everyone for joining! Communicate that the Common Practices Discussion is not a test but more of a discussion to learn about the things the Sponsee has learned throughout their Self-Managed journey.

EVER BETTER

  • How would you describe your first few months at Raise?
  • What part of this role energizes you most, and what feels hardest?
  • What do you see as the core competencies of this position, and why do you think you’ll continue to excel?
  • How would you like to grow here? What new contributions do you aspire to?How would you describe your first few months at Raise?
  • If this role didn’t work out for you, what do you think the main reason would be?

WHOLENESS @ WORK

  • Tell us about a time you stepped outside your comfort zone to be open and vulnerable.
  • Think about the qualities and experiences that shaped who you are. In what ways do you feel you’re not yet bringing your full self to work?
  • What do courage and vulnerability mean to you? How can we support you in expressing and owning your perspective?
  • Share a time when you felt excluded. What could we do to help you feel more seen and heard?
  • How have you supported teammates in bringing their whole selves to work—and how might you continue to do so?

STEWARDSHIP

  • Purpose has been defined as “a boldly acted upon life aim that is both right for you and good for the world.” What is your purpose?
  • If Raise paid you a salary to do absolutely anything, what would you choose?
  • How do you imagine Raise’s purpose evolving in the next few years?
  • How do you see yourself

FREEDOM AND RESPONSIBILITY

  • What’s your current understanding of the Contribution Review?
  • What are your impressions of self-organization—what excites you, and what feels intimidating?
  • What does responsibility mean to you in your day-to-day work?
  • How would you describe your decision-making style, and how might you strengthen it?
  • How do you handle feedback? Share an example of giving and receiving feedback.
  • How will you approach giving candid feedback in CAPs, CRs, RAPs, and other high-stakes situations?

CLOSING DISCUSSION:

After asking the questions above, close the Common Practices Discussion by following the steps below.

  1. Ask if there are any additional questions from the advisors or the Sponsee
  2. The Sponsor then makes a Proposal to the group that the Sponsee pass their Sponsorship. Here is an example:
    • “I would like to make a formal proposal: The Sponsee commits to using the Common Practices to manage themselves, their work and their relationships within the company. They accept the responsibility for their actions, impacts, engagement and contributions to the success of others and the business from now on (in exchange for full access to the freedoms offered by the Common Practices). Does anyone have anything to add or change to this proposal?
      Can we consent and give a thumbs up?”
  3. Thank your Sponsee for their hard work and commitment during the last several months of their Self-Managed journey
  4. Take a Graduation Team Photo
  5. Post the team photo with a write-up on Teams in the ‘RAISE – Announcements’ channel
  6. Often teams celebrate with treats, a gift or lunch for the Sponsee
  7. Time to celebrate!!!!

We hope this document has helped you prepare for Sponsorship. It is a critical role within the business, and we are here to support you.

If you need anything during this time, please connect with anyone from the Global Sponsorship Team for help!

  • Ally Baldemor
  • Cassandra Sturk
  • Jessi McDonald
  • Sagar Chatterjee
  • Surbhi Dhoble
  • Vishnu Mohan