Sponsor vs. Mentor: the Difference and Why It’s Important!

Just so we are clear, when I use the word sponsor in this blog post as in sponsor vs. mentor, I am referring to the senior-level executive who is invested in a protégé’s career success.  The reason I bring this up is that there is another definition of sponsor that I was not aware of…more on that later.

What Exactly is a Sponsor? (at least in the context of your career!)

While mentors are invaluable, sponsors are essential if you want to fast track your career.

According to Sylvia Ann Hewlett author of Forget a Mentor, Find a Sponsor: The New Way to Fast Track Your Career, while sponsors do give you valuable advice and guidance, they also do a few things that are even more valuable:

“In particular they:

  Believe in your value and your potential and are prepared to link reputations and go out on a limb on your behalf.

  Have a voice at decision-making tables and are willing to be your champion—convincing others that you deserve a pay raise or promotion.

  Are willing to give you air cover so that you can take risks. No one can accomplish great things in this world if they don’t have a senior leader in their corner making it safe to fail.” ¹

Sponsor vs. Mentor – So, What’s the Difference?

As I said earlier, mentors are critical, they just aren’t your ticket to the top like sponsors. Let’s quickly distinguish the key differences between sponsor vs. mentor.

Mentors: Are those who will counsel and listen to you because they like you. They will listen to your issues and give you advice, especially for things you cannot go to your boss for. Perhaps they want to give back or “pay it forward”. But what is true that the relationship is an asymmetric one with the energy flowing towards you.

Sponsors:  On the other hand, a sponsor is someone who takes an interest in you or your career, but not in an altruistic way. As Hewlett points out, “A sponsor sees furthering your career as an important investment in his or her own career, organization, or vision. Sponsors may advise or steer you, but their chief role is to develop you as a leader.” ¹

3 Things Sponsors Do

According to Hewlett, there are three main things that sponsors will do for you, they will:

(1)  Believe in you and go to bat for you.
(2)  Be supreme advocates for your being promoted.
(3)  Provide you cover so that you will be able to take risks.

Along with those three things, they will also help you to understand what you need to improve and how you can do it. They will also help to remove any obstacles in your way that may impede your progress. Remember, your success is important to them as you are carrying their brand along with you.

The Role of the Protégé

As for the role of a protégé, the main responsibility is to deliver so that you are a great representation of your sponsor’s brand. According to Hewlett a protégé is, “a high-potential employee who, at a minimum: (1) Outperforms—contributes 110%, (2) is loyal to me and the organization, and (3) contributes a distinct personal brand.” ¹

It’s a Win-Win Relationship

What’s absolutely key to a good protégé-sponsor relationship is the idea of reciprocity. It is a win-win relationship all the way. In a mentor-mentee relationship, mentors give, and mentees typically receive by showing up and listening.

According to Hewlett, “Because make no mistake: Sponsors, unlike mentors, really need you. They need your support and skills. They need you to build their bench strength and complement their expertise.” ¹

For example, one thing that you can do is to give them valuable insight into what is going on lower down in the organization so that they are never blindsided.

7 Steps for Being a Good Protégé

Let’s now discuss the 7 steps Hewlett gives for being a good protégé:

(1)  Figure out what you want

The first step in being a good protégé is to get a clear idea of what you want your career and success to look like. It is tough to set a course unless you know where you are headed.

As Hewlett says: “Because without a clear sense of your destination, there’s no point in getting a sponsor.” ¹

She then takes you through a series of questions aimed at understanding your dreams, your strengths, and the organization. The idea is to understand what you want, then identify your strengths, then to assess the environment in which you will be trying to leverage those strengths.

(2)  Look around for potential sponsors

The next step is to scan the landscape to identify potential sponsors.  Hewlett recommends that you “Start by identifying would-be sponsors among your supporters. Good bets will be leaders who (1) are already aware of your skills and strengths, (2) stand to benefit from your help, and (3) have the clout to move you toward your goal, whatever that may be.” ¹

She also makes a good point in that friends don’t always make the best sponsors. What you are looking for is someone who can help get you where you want to go.

Once you have identified a potential sponsor, she recommends not directly asking them for sponsorship. Rather it is better to suggest collaborating on a project of their interest or propose ways you may help them solve a challenge they are facing.

(3)  Mitigate your risk

Imagine you have found an amazing sponsor who has taken a keen interest in you, who has gone to bat for you, who have provided you cover so you can take risks and who has helped you get a promotion. Great!

But what happens if all-of-a-sudden, they up and leave the company? Could you survive without them? In today’s work environment, churn is inevitable which is why Hewlett says you need to leverage what she calls “The 2+1 Rule”. The “2+1 Rule” simply means that in medium to large size organizations, at any career stage, that you need 2 sponsors within the company and one outside the firm.

You will also want your group of sponsors to be diversified, as she says: “A diversified portfolio means that your sponsors should be independent of one another so that if one goes down, the others won’t go down with him or her.” ¹

(4)  Remember, it isn’t all about you!

This one is all about making sure you take the reciprocity of the relationship seriously. As we said earlier, sponsors are counting on you as a protégé to be both reliable and loyal. This means that you need to deliver outside your job description to show you are ready for a larger role than you have at the moment. It also means figuring out what your sponsor needs without being asked and delivering it. Lastly, it means communicating by asking for help when you need it and keeping them in the loop on what’s going on in your career.

(5)  Come through in 2 areas

Next, she emphasizes that you need to come through in two areas simultaneously. Those two areas being performance and loyalty.

You can come through on performance by:

(1)  Achieving great bottom-line results.
(2)  Making sure you meet your targets and deadlines.
(3)  Demonstrating a great work ethic and availability.

In terms of loyalty, you can show that by:

(1)  Being trustworthy, discreet and always having your sponsor’s back.
(2)  Being a good representative of their brand around the organization.
(3)  Helping to grow your sponsor’s legacy.

(6)  Figure out and deploy your currency

This one is all about figuring out how you can add value so that you can differentiate yourself.

As Hewlett explains: “You’ll need to differentiate yourself, not to win sponsorship, necessarily, but absolutely to leverage it to your own ends. You’ll need to identify, develop, and deploy a personal brand. Or you’ll wind up fulfilling your sponsor’s ambitions instead of your own.” ¹

You can do this by looking at your previous performance reviews to see where you have excelled. Or better yet, speak to your mentor and get their thoughts on how you can add value.

(7)  Just say yes

Lastly, while you cannot say yes to everyone, it is important to say ‘yes’ to your sponsor. There will be times when they throw a stretch project or fear-inducing assignment your way. Often, they will be doing this to assess your attitude, which is a great indicator of your loyalty to them.

You May Be Curious About the Other Type of ‘Sponsor’ I Referred to in the Opening Paragraph…

Well, unbeknownst to me, I recently learned while Googling the word ‘sponsor’ that it has another meaning that is quite different from the one we discussed in this blog post

Apparently, a sponsor is also:

“A person who helps another person by voluntarily providing money and services in hopes that one day some love will be reciprocated for the services. 

 For example, “I asked my sponsor for two hundred dollars to pay my light bill.” ²

You know, you set out to write a good, wholesome, blog post to help people climb the career ladder and you end up learning another word for “Sugar Daddy/Sugar Mama”.

Unbelievable!

Until next time, know the difference between sponsor vs. mentor (and the other type of sponsor!) and as always…PYMFP!
–Rick

P.S. Wanna know more? Check out the entire book.

Use it Or Lose It – Sponsor vs. Mentor

The 7 steps for being a good protégé that we discussed in this blog post on sponsor vs. mentor are:

(1)  Figure out what you want.
(2)  Look around for potential sponsors.
(3)  Mitigate your risk.
(4)  Remember, it isn’t all about you!
(5)  Come through in 2 areas.
(6)  Figure out and deploy your currency.
(7)  Just say yes

When to Use It

Use these steps for being a good protégé when applicable in your career.

What Do You Think?

What do you think of the difference between sponsor vs. mentor? Do you or have you had a sponsor? Is it something you will consider for your career? Please share your thoughts in the comments below!

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References

¹ Forget a Mentor, Find a Sponsor: The New Way to Fast Track Your Career by Sylvia Ann Hewlett

² https://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=SPONSOR