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 or mentioned in the conversation.

It might be easier to understand with an example. There are two people, Let's call them Alex and Riley. Alex loves to paint and over lunch talks to Riley about their ideas. Riley uses their expertise to critique Alex's ideas and suggest where they might go with the ideas and what markets or consumers might like these ideas. (This is Mentorship. Riley is Alex's mentor.)

Later in the week, Riley is at work and having a meeting about renovations in the office space. Someone brings up putting a mural in the waiting room. Riley knows this mural idea is in-line with something Alex would love to do. Riley mentions to the assembled group that they know an artist who would love to do this mural. Riley offers to put the group in contact with Alex. (This is sponsorship. Riley is Alex's sponsor)

There is value to being both of these types of people. Everyone, and especially people in management positions, should seek to be a valuable mentor for those around them and a sponsor for those around them. 

This whole concept had me thinking about who I mentor and who I sponsor. Am I equitable in my mentorship and sponsorship of the people around me? Do I know enough about those around me to be an effective mentor, and especially an effective sponsor? What can I do to be better at these?

I see space to grow and I want to spend more time being a sponsor for those who would like to gain opportunities.