Sponsorship differs from mentoring. A mentor advises you; a sponsor uses their political capital to advance your name when decisions are made without you in the room. Leadership pathways in Germany often depend on the latter.
Extra unpaid work is a common trap. Women are frequently asked to organise events, onboarding, or culture initiatives that look collaborative but do not count as leadership evidence. Decline politely when the work does not build a decision story you can reuse.
Instead, choose one high-visibility problem that senior leaders already care about — a process bottleneck, a client risk, a regulatory deadline — and solve a bounded piece of it. Then report the result upward in the language of risk reduced or capacity created.
Ask for short, specific introductions rather than open-ended mentoring. 'Would you introduce me to the person who chairs the quarterly operations review?' is easier for a busy sponsor than 'Can you help my career?'
Track who has spoken for you. If no one has after six months of intentional effort, widen your circle to another business unit or consider whether an external move is the clearer path.