Sponsorship is More than Mentorship

Leaders often serve as mentors, but the best leaders become something more—they become sponsors. Leveling up from mentor to sponsor can transform careers.

Mentors play a critical role in the professional lives of their mentees.

They provide personalized guidance, share industry expertise, and foster networking opportunities. Their advice and feedback can help their mentees navigate workplace challenges and set or reset direction.

Ultimately, a mentor’s support and encouragement enable mentees to advance towards their professional or personal goals.

Sponsorship is much more than mentorship.

A mentor talks with you to offer advice and share wisdom, but a sponsor talks about you behind closed doors. In rooms you are not in, they use their influence and credibility to open doors and create opportunities for your advancement.

I learned this lesson many years ago. I had applied to a prestigious summer math and science program for high school students, where we would spend one month studying at a university.

I was waitlisted.

Disappointed, I let a fellow student know what had happened. He was widely respected across our state for his extraordinary math and science abilities. A short while later, I received a notice that I had been given a place in the class from the waitlist.

I found out that this student had advocated for me within his circles of influence, which I believe led to my being offered a place in the summer program.

His sponsorship resulted in my advancement.

This same scenario has played out several times in my career, where a sponsor’s influence opened doors for me.

I will be forever grateful for the sponsors in my life.

Best Bosses not only see and develop the hidden talents in their people but also advocate for them, opening new doors of opportunity through their immediate circle of influence.

They understand that sponsorship requires them to expend some of their political or relationship capital to advocate for someone else.

And they’re willing to take the risk.

Why?

Because they understand that their ultimate leadership legacy lives in the ripple they create for others.

Best Bosses manage the paradox that to create a leadership ripple, they often must see the person they sponsor move on.

But that near-term loss creates a long-term gain for the person and, ultimately, the organization that reaps the benefit of that person’s expanded experience.

Sponsorship is the “secret sauce” of success—for the sponsor and the recipient.

For those who know, it’s one of the critical choices on the path to becoming a Best Boss.