Mentor or Sponsor
This is a concept I hadn't heard of before and it has me thinking about things a lot. Not just in the work environment but also in personal life. I suppose we need to start by defining these terms. A mentor is someone, usually unpaid for their time, that you can go to for advice, guidance or general questions. They don't have to be a coworker or anything. A mentor is the kind of person you could sit down with over a cup of coffee, bounce your ideas off of, and get unbiased advice and input. A sponsor is someone, usually a coworker, that speaks up for and promotes you to others. They use their conversations, station, association, contacts, and other resources to help you reach your goals. They are a networker for you when you are somewhere else. In general, you can think of a mentor as someone who helps lift you up and speak about your value to you while a sponsor is someone who lifts you up and advocates for you when they are with others, when you may not even be in the room...