Mentors vs Sponsors – They are different and why you need BOTH!
3.04.2010 | 2 Comments
Sponsors? Wait, I have heard of mentors, but sponsors? What is that and why do I need one?
This is a common response that I get whenever I counsel corporate Latinas and other women executives about the need to have a sponsor. I, like them, was not aware of the concept of a “sponsor” in corporate America until actually quite recently when I was working at a major Fortune 100 company and someone made a reference to my “sponsor”. At that point, I knew that the colleague was referring to another high level executive that I had the fortune of developing a good relationship with and who I knew had made some phone calls on my behalf and had recommended me for some high visibility projects. I thought that was quite nice on his part and obviously I had communicated my gratitude, but it wasn’t until my colleague referred to him as my “sponsor” that I actually started to think about this issue. Of course, I had a mentor, but my mentor had never made any phone calls on my behalf ( at least not that I knew of ) or volunteered me to work on a major project. For the most part they were not in a position to do so or more likely that simply was not their role. Don’t get me wrong, I am not saying that my mentor was not hugely important- she was- but the sponsor was different. Read more…