Who do you align yourself with to gain momentum in the leadership organization?

Sponsors are critical for career progression. When you think about the best persons to lean on for sponsorship, you should be thinking about someone who is already bought into you and would endorse you to others within the business. You want to also ensure that this person is well connected and has a "voice at the table" that you don't have a "seat" at yet. Then, you need to ask that person for their support. Most importantly, you then need to create value and as mentioned in another response, ensure the things you are working on and focused on to create value align with what is important to the business and will create impact at scale. 

In order to align yourself to gain momentum in the leadership organization, it's all about over-communication. You're all on the same team. Also, I'm a big fan of never eating alone. Even if you're at a remote company, you can eat lunch together over zoom and talk shop. If you work at a company that's in person and you see someone you don't know in the kitchen or elevator, it's not hard to introduce yourself and an hour later slack them and say, "it was nice to meet you!" If I ever see someone presenting that I don't know, I put 15-30 minutes on their calendar to get to know them. I share relevant e-books on the industry with my CRO & SVP of Revenue Operations. I'm always an advocate for my team and keep the leadership team up to date on what's working in my segment. They're never out of the loop. In case the CEO asks, "What is Katie working on right now?" I made it easy for my boss to update them with monthly emails on projects and campaigns we're working on to drive revenue. 

It's critical to figure out who the "fox" is at your business.

The "fox" is that person who usually speaks a little bit slower in sr. meetings. Is the person who often other Sr. execs ask questions or seek insight. Foxes know whats going on with the needful. They control outcomes. Often CEOs will outsource big decisions to the "fox"

Knowing who this person is is the hard part. But if you can find a "fox" you can slowly work with them, earn trust, and become a vital part of the decision tree.

Find the "fox" , the person who the most sr. people trust for guidance, advice, insight, etc.

Buy that person coffee in the morning, ask them how they're doing, and figure out what you can take off their plate, then offer up your assistance.