Understanding Mentorship and Sponsorship to Boost Your Career

When we think about growth and development one area that I am very passionate around is both Mentorship & Sponsorship. Inside our careers, as we learn to climb the ladder and grow, we are going to need the support of both a mentor and a sponsor. Both are great in terms of opening opportunities and being able to assist with getting your name out there to create visibility. Both Mentorship and Sponsorships are key areas that drive success and career advancement.

When looking back on my career, at one employer I had over 13 bosses, and that left me around 3 months on average with them. Finding a mentor can be hard because of the time it takes to build a relationship and get started down the path of development. Also, this takes time. When someone grows and is open it can take up to a few years for the mentee to see real behavioral change and achieve dynamic results.

Some of the main questions that I receive when working with clients are:

What creates a great mentor? How do we grow from a mentor? What is the difference from a mentor to a sponsor? How can I find either a mentor or a sponsor?

So, what is a mentor? A mentor is someone who has a good amount of experience in a role or field, who then teaches and trains someone who is less experienced in that area. One of the most common examples is work related. Often, when starting out in a new role, your manager will work to be your mentor. They work with you in your new role to train and develop you to be functional in hard skills of your job, and when you find a good mentor, they work with in the area of soft skills.

When I work with different clients, I am working and guiding them as a mentor. My whole company is centered around mentorship. So, this is a pretty powerful area to many people’s career. I work with people to help them advance inside their current role, or to find a new role that will allow them achieve success.

When you are working with a mentor this is one of the first phases of many careers where the mentor will guide the mentee in their career. There is usually provided guidance, support, role modeling and are keep motivated. Mentors spend the time teaching and developing us for the next path.

What are some of the benefits of having a mentor?

Building Your Professional Network

Career Advancement

Higher Salaries

Feedback (This is a wonderful Gift)

Goal Guidance

Empowered in Personal Development

Better preparation for Future Career Opportunities

These are some really strong benefits of having a mentor. They keep employees engaged inside their role, and they keep them moving forward for growth. Mentors do a good amount in helping a mentee gain experience in the professional field. They listen to you, and help you navigate a professional network.

A mentor allows you to start to grow and develop a professional network. One area I encourage is to look at your professional network around you. How can they empower and help you? Having connections throughout the company is something that is hugely important because you need connections to make things happen or pull your company forward. Knowing who to connect with is a window of opportunity to have.

A few things to keep in mind when receiving mentorship is to understand that they may not have a lot of time. The time that they do have is considered very valuable. One big thing is to respect that, and use their time wisely. If they give you an assignment, you should make sure that its completed within the time allowed. Listen to the different recommendations that the mentor gives you and their input during a session.

Another area of value that a mentor will give is feedback. When a mentor gives feedback it’s a blessing. Although there are a good amount of people that do not see it that way. When one receives feedback, often it can be direct. Take time to digest the feedback that is given and apply steps to improve undesired behaviors. Being able to have someone from the outside give you personal feedback and work with you on it is something you will appreciate down the line.

How do I find a Mentor if I don’t have one?

When looking for a mentor we a good amount of time rely on our direct boss to help us out. This doesn’t always work out. When it does it’s great. But what do you do when it doesn’t?

Ways that you can establish and meet new people to help mentor you is by joining different networking events or committees. I encourage you to have a goal. What is it that you want to learn? What do you want to grow a skill in? You want to join committees or groups to network. By networking you will find different groups of people with different skill sets that will help you grow and develop. It doesn’t always mean that you are going to find a mentor that is a career level above you.

Often before starting my business, I decided to get coaching. Which is paid mentorship pretty much. But the knowledge and skills that I learned from the coaching I got was invaluable. Because I invested, I got more out of the process as well. While I know not everyone has the resources for this, its still a great option for self-development.

You are going to need to build your social and professional network if you are looking to find mentors. The people that you meet you might know think would be a great mentor and they might turn out to be great. Trust your gut, who you feel is a great mentor for you is always the right choice.

When looking for a mentor, it may be recommended to not be as blunt to ask if they can mentor you. This can create odd situations, and sometimes make a starting relationship rocky.

One solution that works well is getting to know people. I encourage setting your going on what you want to learn, and then ask someone you are interested their story. Take and guide the conversation to be able to ask some questions. “How did you get to be such a great leader?”

So what happens after mentorship? How do you get a sponsor?

Sponsors are really few and far in between. They are those that can open career doors more than you can imagine. In several different studies it is shown that sponsorship is what really moves your career forward.

A sponsor is someone that is going to advocate for you when you are not in the room. They are the person that is championing your work. They are a person that believes in you and has the resources to make career doors open. The difference is this person provides actional items inside your career.

You want to make sure that you are a high performer and your reputation for getting results is known. This means delivering on your word. This is a huge area as if you are going to champion someone you need to have the confidence that they are going to get the job done. This gives a sponsor more tools or leverage at the table.

When a sponsor advocates for you, they are placing their reputation on the line. They are putting a part of themselves on the plate, so making sure you ethical is a big way to increase their support.

Because of your hard work, often a strong result you might achieve is gaining the support of a sponsor. They unique individuals have the ability to influence others and sincerely change your career. When that moment comes, you want to be ready. Below is my free training on Personal Branding and Creating a Elevator Speech. When you meet that person or connection, you want to be ready and prepared to make a strong impression. Leaving an impression is what might make a connection turn into a sponsor.