There is a difference between someone who gives you advice and someone who puts your name forward when you are not in the room. That difference is sponsorship. And at our latest UNBOUND event, inspired by this year’s International Women’s Day theme, Give to Gain, it was the thread that ran through every conversation. 

On 12th March, we gathered an intimate group of women in tech and their allies for an honest evening exploring what it really takes to accelerate a career. Not theory. Real experiences, specific moments, and practical advice from people who have lived it. 

Our panel, facilitated by Lucy Kemp, brought together three leaders with different career stages, industries and perspectives: 

Here is what they shared. 

Sponsorship is not the same as mentoring

We talk a lot about mentoring in tech. We talk much less about sponsorship. The distinction matters enormously. 

A mentor shares their experience and wisdom. A sponsor advocates for you. They say your name in the right rooms. They back you when decisions are being made and you are nowhere near the table. 

Amy’s career has been shaped by moments of sponsorship that went far beyond guidance. When she had a poor interview, her sponsor told the hiring manager: “I work with her every day. I see what she is really like. I think she just had one bad day.” She got the role. When she was considering a diagonal move across functions and upwards at the same time, her sponsor coached her, connected her with the right people, and helped her prepare. She got that role too. 

Ed’s experience reinforced that sponsorship often goes unnoticed until much later. Early in his career, a line manager championed him behind the scenes in ways he only recognised in hindsight. “I sort of took it for granted at the time,” he reflected. “But I realised that was a really good step in terms of seeing I deserved to be there and I could do it.” 

Peer sponsorship might be the most underrated career asset

One of the sharpest insights of the evening came when Lucy challenged the assumption that sponsorship always flows downwards from those above you. 

Ed pointed out that peer relationships can matter just as much. The colleagues you work alongside every day are often the ones who speak up in conversations that move careers forward. “It’s also ensuring that your peers can see your work, and they are also pushing,” he said. “What tends to happen is someone off the leadership team will be speaking across the organisation and saying, what do you think of so-and-so. And those peer voices carry a lot of weight.” 

The connections built sideways are not just professional relationships. They are the people who will eventually be in positions to champion you. 

Talking about your work is not boasting. It is strategy.

Amy’s coach once sat her down and showed her a picture of a duck. “Your head is down under the water,” the coach told her, “and you are doing nothing to sell yourself or tell your story. Nobody knows what you do.” 

It is a sentiment many women in the room recognised immediately. We are often conditioned to believe that excellent work will speak for itself. It does not. The evening made clear that telling your story is as much a part of career progression as the work itself. 

Amy’s shift was to approach her time as 50/50. Half delivering, half building relationships and communicating what she was doing. “Networking opens doors not just for your own career, but for business results as well,” she said. “I just wish someone had told me earlier.” 

Lucy added her own strategy: identify the key people in an organisation who others listen to and invest in those relationships specifically. “I want everyone to know how great this person is,” she said. “Sending positive feedback not just to someone’s direct manager but to their skip level as well. It builds the case for them over time.” 

The salary conversation nobody wants to have

One of the most direct exchanges of the evening came around pay. The panel did not flinch. 

Nene’s approach in a regulated-budget environment is to make the conversation continuous, not a single high-stakes moment. “It should not be a moment thing. It is a continuous process of showing up, showing value, and helping leadership understand what we are bringing.” Quantifying impact and making it visible to those with decision-making power is her way of building the case over time. 

Ed made it clear that the most effective managers do not wait for their team members to come to them. “I try to ensure I am putting a case forward for my team so that they do not feel they need to come and ask me.” Building a body of evidence over time, benchmarking against the market, and documenting outcomes together means the conversation is easier when it matters most. 

Lucy was direct about her own experience. “Benchmark what you are actually doing, because often you are doing way more than your role says. Go in with data, not a feeling.” Amy added that a strong business case should also include the honest reality that talented people have options: “Sometimes you have to be honest that you can jump ship. I am a valuable person who can contribute anywhere.” 

Nene, who is in the earlier stages of her career and navigates the salary conversation as an East Asian woman with English as a second language, shared a mindset that was one of the most memorable of the evening. “I am here despite all of these challenges. How amazing is that? And that gives me the confidence and positivity when I talk about the impact I have made.” 

When you are not inside an organisation

Not everyone in the room is a permanent employee. Several questions came from contractors, consultants, and people mid-transition. 

Lucy’s answer was vivid. When she was consulting, she would give away small pieces of work for free. “That is how I would get in front of influential people. When you give something of value, they will always remember you.” Ed echoed the importance of long-term relationships with trusted partners, including with recruitment firms like La Fosse. “Keep those relationships going even when you are not necessarily looking for something. Maintain them and think about what you can give. You never know what will come back.” 

Career paths are not linear. And that is fine.

Nene’s supervisor told her something when she was early in her career that has stayed with her: “You will see different views depending on where you are. You will find out more things. Just enjoy it at the time.” The permission to stop mapping a rigid 20-year plan and to focus on what was valuable to build right now was, she said, genuinely freeing. 

Ed talked about a difficult restructuring where a new leadership layer was placed above him and his sponsor moved on. His sponsor’s parting advice was simple: “Do not make a rash decision. Think it through. I know your worth.” He stayed, persevered, and the new team eventually recognised what he was capable of. The experience taught him something lasting: “Your loyalty is not necessarily to an organisation. Your loyalty is to people who value your work.” 

On the harder questions

The evening was not all structured panel discussion. The floor opened up, and so did the room. 

There was a frank conversation about menopause and what organisations are still failing to do. Lucy was honest. “No organisation I know is getting this right. But what I try to think about is: where do I want to be in five years? What can I get from this organisation that helps me get there?” The reframe, she said, is not about making peace with something that should not be happening. It is about making sure you are still building, still moving, and still finding ways to extract value for yourself even when the system has not caught up. 

Someone in the room had recently graduated. She was unsure what she had to offer and felt like she was all gain and no give. Every panellist told her the same thing: just ask. “Anyone who comes up to me and says they would love a mentor or some advice, I walk on air for the rest of the day,” said Lucy. “Please just go and ask someone. They are going to be overjoyed, and even if they cannot help, they will point you somewhere.” 

What we launched

At the event, we officially launched the UNBOUND private LinkedIn community. This is the space where everything UNBOUND happens: event access, coaching resources, masterclasses, conversations, and our Give to Gain network. The questions asked at events like this one will continue there. The connections made will continue there. 

This is what giving and gaining looks like in practice. 

Join the UNBOUND LinkedIn community to access ongoing support, priority event access, and a network of people who are genuinely committed to the same thing you are.