In this article, I address the Why, What, Who, When and How of mentoring, sponsorship and coaching as different (but complementary) ways of getting career support.
- Are you keen to take the next step in your leadership career but need some guidance on which route to follow?
- Are you experiencing challenges in your role or with colleagues, and are unsure how to act?
- Has something changed in your organisation or industry that could affect your role, either in a positive or negative way?
Rest assured, you’re not alone. Whatever your situation, there are people around who will have had similar experiences and be ready and willing to support you.
Why it’s important to seek support
You might have heard the phrase: “You don’t know what you don’t know, and you can’t be what you can’t see”. This can be one of the biggest barriers to diversity at work. It’s also why seeking support from multiple sources can be so valuable in your career development.
The fact is, however clear you are on how goals, when you want to accelerate your progression, it will pay dividends to seek support from someone who’s trodden that path before, either within or outside your own organisation.
Equally, it’s important to provide support to others.
A lot of leaders I work with have accessed such support and seen their career advance significantly as a result. As a result, they are more motivated to give back. People gain from the relationship whether they give or receive support. It’s a win:win situation.
What’s the difference between a mentor, a sponsor and a coach?
Let’s define the three main types of support role…
Mentor
A mentor is someone who has more experience than you and is able to share tangible guidance and advice on what has worked well for them in the past. They can be from within your organisation, and as such will be able to advise, confidentially, on the approaches you could take, or the relationships you could build to fulfil your goals.
Alternatively, there can be real benefits to finding a mentor outside your own industry because they have the potential to bring fresh ideas and perspectives on how you could progress that may differentiate you from colleagues.
Sponsor
A sponsor is someone with seniority and clout, who is likely to work within the same organisation as you. They need to be willing to use their credibility, network and decision-making power to tangibly support the career of any individuals they sponsor.
Your sponsor will be able to recommend and advocate for you when career decisions are being made across your organisation, such as when a new role arises or an opportunity to lead a new project or initiative. They could open doors for you by introducing you to other senior stakeholders in parts of the business you don’t have access to.
Coach
Coaches range from the traditional kind, where the coachee is instructed on what they need to do to improve performance. This is a very directive, ‘tell’ approach.
The other extreme is co-active coaching, which is generally the style I favour. This is not about providing advice. It’s where the coach is trained how to facilitate the coachee to access their own learning and wisdom and find their own solution. It’s a non-directive, non-judgemental approach, which may include impartial feedback and constructive criticism if the coach and coachee agree that would be helpful.
Your line manager can act as coach, and may choose a more or less directive approach, depending on your seniority and the support you need. Many organisations incorporate coaching training as part of their leadership development programmes, which equips leaders with the skills to ask powerful questions and listen to the answer (a rare and much-valued skill!).
The type of coach you choose depends on what you want and need.
- At the start of your career when you don’t have the expertise, you might need a coach who’ll give you information about how to succeed.
- When you’re highly experienced, you probably resist being told what to do. You need a coach who’ll ask you incisive questions about how you view your experiences, challenges and opportunities so you can look at them through a different light and find your own way through.
Please get in touch if you’d like more information about our coaching service and leadership development programmes.
Case study: Using all three support types
I was coaching a Board member who was highly respected for her long tenure. As such, she didn’t have the need or opportunity to reflect on the value she brings, right now. During massive organisational change, she realised she needed to reset how she was perceived in the business, navigate challenging conversations differently and reignite some senior relationships, and so enlisted me as her coach.
I advised her to identify a mentor outside the business because they would have no preconceptions about who she is and could see her through fresh eyes.
I also advised her to find a sponsor from within the organisation to help her move forward.
What does the data say?
In 2015, Harvard Business Review reported that CEOs in formal mentoring programmes said their mentor had helped them:
- Avoid costly mistakes 84%
• Become more proficient, faster 84%
• Make better decisions 69%
Source: https://hbr.org/2015/04/ceos-need-mentors-too
Of employees with a mentor, 97% say they are valuable.
Source: https://nationalmentoringday.org/facts-and-statistics/
According to this study, 89% of those who have been mentored will also go on to mentor others.
Source: https://mccarthymentoring.com/why-mentoring-what-the-stats-say/
The Center for Talent Innovation found that people with sponsors are 23% more likely to advance their careers than those without sponsors.
Source: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Forget-Mentor-Find-Sponsor-Fast-Track/dp/1422187160
In an ICF Global Coaching Client Study, 99% of individuals and companies who hire a coach are “satisfied or very satisfied” and 96% say they would repeat the process.
Source: https://www.ipeccoaching.com/hubfs/What%20is%20Coaching%20-%20iPEC%20Coach%20Training.pdf
How to choose the type of support you need
You might be wondering what type of support is best for you:
- Seek a mentor when you know you want to progress but you don’t know how, and you’d like to seek tangible advice from someone who’s done it before.
For example, you want to build your senior network, raise your profile across the organisation/industry, or get more information about a new area of the business.
- Seek a sponsor when you need a leg up. Find someone who will proactively take steps to boost your career.
For example, you are currently a manager and you want to join the senior leadership team, or you’re already a senior leader and you’d like to become a Non-Executive Director.
NB: some organisations provide a framework for employees wishing to access mentoring or sponsorship, which acts like a matchmaking services. On the upside, this can save you time finding the ‘right’ person. Conversely, you’ll have less autonomy and there may be topics that you feel uncomfortable sharing, for example if you’re thinking of leaving or are experiencing relationship issues. There are numerous benefits to accessing your own support, including building confidence in making the ask, and ensuring a fit that works for you.
- Find a trained co-active coach (like me or one of my team) when you want to unlock your potential.
For example, when you’re stuck and don’t know how to proceed, something’s happened that’s knocked your confidence, you’re experiencing imposter syndrome, you’ve reached an impasse with a difficult relationship at work, you’re overwhelmed and want to work on your resilience, a change is coming up or you’re leading through change and you want to navigate that successfully.
Note that coaching is about the present and the future. If the conversation goes into topics from the past that are better addressed through a trained counsellor or therapist, then it’s recommended that you work on those first. Such issues often need to be addressed and resolved before you can move forward.
I’ve found that most organisations have access to external resources that employees can access confidentially, especially if the person is struggling or if the topics are not work-related. Talk to your HR lead to find out more.
When to access support
Most people access support when something has happened that forces them to make a change. Perhaps they’ve:
- Been made redundant
• Been passed over for promotion
• Been overlooked in some way
• Failed to do themselves justice in a meeting or at an event
• Tarnished their reputation in a way that can’t easily be clawed back
In those circumstances, it’s quite understandable that they would be driven to get advice on what steps to take.
On the other hand, support isn’t only useful when something ‘bad’ has happened. For example, you might want to move towards a goal, such as:
- Change your career
• Get promoted
• Move to a different area of the business
• Return from a career break such as secondment or maternity leave
• Get support from elsewhere because your line manager doesn’t provide it
In a rapidly evolving work environment, no-one’s role is static, and no-one’s role is 100% safe. This means that it’s wise to shore up the job that you have and continually have an eye on the next job up, the next diagonal role or even a Plan B, ensuring internal and external stakeholders know your value, appreciate and respect you.
A focus on career progression should be an ongoing part of your time management, and getting support from multiple sources can be a fun, and enriching means of doing this.
As for timing, there’s sometimes a perception that a mentoring, coaching or sponsor relationship has to cover a lengthy period of time. But it doesn’t have to take long. You could have a one-hour life-changing conversation that catapults your career to the next level.
When NOT to access support
There are a few situations when you wouldn’t need the support of a mentor, sponsor or coach.
One is when you’re settled and happy, maybe you’ve started a new position and you’ve have trusted feedback and tangible evidence that you’re respected and valued for doing what you do.
Another scenario is when you’re so busy, stressed, stretched and overwhelmed that it’s not the right time to have that type of conversation. In this case, you could even damage your reputation by missing meetings with your coach/mentor/sponsor or turning up without being as prepared or articulate as you could be.
Don’t reach out for support ‘just because’. For example, coaching won’t go well if the person has been told they “need coaching” and they don’t agree or believe that coaching will help – that’s just a waste of everybody’s time.
How a successful relationship works
Successful mentoring and sponsorship
From an organisational perspective, it’s important to provide the infrastructure for mentoring and sponsorship relationships to flourish, by creating a culture where such opportunities are embraced rather than rejected.
At an individual level, there needs to be trust on both sides, with a clear understanding and contract of trust.
The mentee or person being sponsored is opening up and sharing vulnerability. Perhaps they’ll need to discuss confidential opinions that could even damage their perceived credibility. They need to trust their mentor or sponsor and be confident this information won’t go any further.
On the other hand, the mentor or sponsor needs to ‘stick their neck out’ on behalf of the other person. They will provide precious insights and information trusting that the individual will give it the attention it deserves, act on it, and keep the relationship respectful and private.
Getting the most out of coaching
Coaching can be a big investment on both sides, so give it the attention it deserves. Allocate time in advance to plan what you want to work on.
I find it best in the first session to:
- Be clear about what you want to achieve
• Define a shared vision of success
• Be specific about the difference you want after working together
• Identify 3-5 SMART objectives to work on
I often ask people I’m mentoring or coaching to send me a couple of bullet points before each session so we can hit the ground running and make the most of the time we’ve got.
And, each time we check in, we monitor whether progress is on track and reflect on how far you’ve come.
How to ask for support
Remember, asking for help is a strength, not a weakness. One of the most valuable steps you can take is to ask for support. But the way you ‘make the ask’ is important.
Whichever type of support you seek, make sure you’re clear on your purpose. What’s the outcome you want as a result of the conversation? What specifically will be different afterwards? How will the other person view you and your request?
- Going to a senior leader and asking: “Can you mentor me?” is a broad, open question that’s hard for them to interpret.
- Similarly, don’t say to a potential sponsor: “Please sponsor me, because I’d like to reach the next level and become a Director.”
These kinds of request can come across as naïve, self-serving and even egotistical.
For a mentor or sponsor, it’s best to position your ‘ask’ by explaining how progressing your career will add value to the organisation. Lead on the benefits to the business rather than the benefits to you.
Start by sharing the organisational context, opportunities and challenges and explain how you see yourself uniquely contributing to the mission, visions, values and KPIs by stepping up to this new position.
It might be that collaboration is one of the organisation’s values. If so, you can use that as a reason why you want to get support in collaboration with the mentor or sponsor. Be clear and tangible about the benefits you could bring and how working with the mentor or sponsor will help you achieve that.
Case study: When ‘the ask’ goes wrong
Cary worked part-time and wanted to earn more money. “You can do more hours,” her boss offered. But she didn’t want to do that. The next suggestion was: “You can take more responsibility by leading the team.” But Cary didn’t want to do that either. She just wanted more money for the same work. As you can probably imagine – she didn’t get it.
Case study: When ‘the ask’ works out
Paula spotted an opportunity to become a senior manager. She approached her boss to suggest combining her current job with another role in a different department. By taking on increased responsibilities, she added demonstrable value to her role and won the promotion.
More Information
To get coaching or mentoring support from Antoinette or one of her team, please check out her comprehensive executive coaching offering. To create a coaching culture, take a look at our bespoke Leadership Development programmes.
Other blogs
- For advice on handling changes at work, please see my article on Leading through change: How to avoid the most common pitfalls.
- For guidance on how to raise your profile, take a look at Increasing visibility and impact at work: How to get noticed for the right reasons.
