Sponsorship vs. mentorship. It’s the latest and greatest debate.

Okay, maybe not the greatest, but they’re both terms that continue to make headlines in the rapidly-changing modern workplace.

And because they’re two peas in a pod, we often see leaders lump sponsorship and mentorship together. The blurred lines are to be expected, given that they both play major roles in career development, workplace DEI, and employee engagement.

But here’s the thing—they aren’t the same.

So let’s unpack the differences between sponsorship and mentorship and how they benefit everyone in the workplace.

What is workplace sponsorship?

Workplace sponsorship pairs junior and mid-level employees (the sponsee or protégé) with executives and leaders (the sponsor) who can advocate for their professional growth and career advancement. ‍

The goal of workplace sponsorship is to create opportunities for junior employees to develop their skills, take on new projects and eventually progress into senior roles. Career sponsors play a critical role in employee career advancement. Yet, only 23% of employees report having a sponsor in the workplace.

Over 70% of Fortune 500 companies have formal mentorship programs in place. But when it comes to sponsorship programs, that number becomes much less clear.

Of course, sponsorship relationships do happen organically in the workplace. Some employees may actively seek out sponsors or relationships can be built by chance. But not all employees have the connections and resources necessary to get an effective sponsor, which means underrepresented employees often get left in the dust.

Formal workplace sponsorship programs bridge the gap by connecting senior leaders with high-potential talent of all backgrounds to ensure sponsorship opportunities are equitable for all employees. 

Mentorship vs sponsorship: the key differences

You’ll find that sponsorship and mentorship are often used interchangeably. 

They do work closely together, but each plays a distinct role in employee development and career growth.

The role of a mentor

Mentors are trusted and experienced leaders who offer insight and advice to their mentees. They’re often individuals who have experience in a similar field or have a similar career path.

In a mentor-mentee relationship, the mentee typically shares their career goals and any roadblocks that they’re facing. Their mentor is then able to dig into their own expertise and experience to help guide and support them.

A mentor will often:

• Share personal knowledge, experience and expertise with their mentee.
• Provide feedback on their mentee’s skills and areas of improvement.
• Offer advice for navigating challenges and obstacles in the workplace.
• Be a sounding board and support their mentee through their career experience.

The role of the mentor is to empower their mentees with the knowledge they need to make informed decisions in the workplace—whether that’s career pathing, managing workplace relationships, upskilling or beyond.

Anyone who has the expertise to support another individual has the potential to be a mentor. But the best mentors provide actionable advice and help their mentees craft a career strategy, so they’re confident about the next steps in their professional development.

The role of a sponsor

A sponsor, on the other hand, takes that career strategy and helps put it into action. Career sponsors are often executives or senior leaders who have leverage and influence within the organization. They then use power to create opportunities for their sponsee.

An effective sponsor might:

• Recommend a sponsee for a promotion or career opportunity.
• Introduce a sponsee to their network and other influential leaders.
• Endorse a sponsee’s skills and experience to other individuals within the company.
• Advocate for a raise or title change for a sponsee.

Of course, many sponsors also double up as mentors by offering guidance and advice for their sponsees. But the transition from mentor to sponsor happens when they go to bat for their sponsee, particularly in situations where they might not be able to advocate for themselves.

Which leads to the all-important question…

Career sponsor vs. mentor: Is one better than the other?

We’re not fans of playing favorites. But when it comes to making a real impact on an employee’s career trajectory, sponsorship is the way to go. 

Why? Well, by unlocking opportunities, sponsors play a very direct role in helping sponsees reach their full potential.

But that doesn’t mean mentorship doesn’t have its own place in the workplace.

For example, consider a junior employee who still hasn’t narrowed down their career path. It would be difficult for a sponsor to effectively advocate on their behalf since it’s unclear what opportunities they’d need to reach their goals. A mentor would be more valuable in helping that employee brainstorm ideas and create a career strategy.

But once that employee has a clear picture of their next steps, they need a sponsor.

Look at it this way: a mentor guides an employee to a door, but once they reach the door a sponsor opens it for them. 

Turning mentors into sponsors

Mentorship on its own isn’t enough, but it can be a great stepping stone to sponsorship.

The high stakes of workplace sponsorship can be a challenge. It requires sponsors to risk their own reputation to back their sponsee and not all leaders are comfortable doing this. This makes the barrier to finding a sponsor much higher, especially in underrepresented groups where existing relationships may not already exist.

By contrast, the risks of  mentorship are much lower. Which is why you’ll find mentorship much more common in the workplace. So, unfortunately, what ends up happening is that employees often become over-mentored and under-sponsored—women are a prime example.

The good news is that sponsorship can be a natural evolution of mentorship. The same person who guides an employee to a door can also be the same person that opens it for them.

Mentorship has its own role in employee development, but it can also help to foster trusting relationships between leaders and junior employees. Over time, it paves the way for sponsor-sponsee relationships.

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Benefits of sponsorship in the workplace

There are massive benefits for employees who score a sponsor. But it’s not just a one-way street.

Sponsorship is rising in the ranks of talent strategy because it can boost company culture, employee experience, and business success.

1. Sponsorship and employee retention

We all know that employee turnover and hiring a replacement can cost a pretty penny. And that’s before you even consider the indirect costs of losing high-performing talent and the loss of institutional knowledge.

Mentorship has been proven to unlock employee engagement, potential and ultimately, retention. A 10KC survey found that 60% of respondents would leave their current organization in favor of one that offered opportunities for mentorship.

Because sponsorship directly boosts a sponsee’s professional growth, they’re even more likely to stick around—particularly in underrepresented groups that are often prone to low retention rates. As highlighted by the Harvard Business Review, Black employees who are sponsored are 60% less likely to quit within a year than their unsponsored peers.

But it’s not just sponsees and mentees. A Gartner study of a California tech company found that retention rates were much higher for mentees (72%) and mentors (69%) who participated in a mentorship program, compared to those who opted out (49%). And this trend is likely applicable to sponsors as well.

2. Sponsorship and career advancement

The vast majority of employees want to see advancement in their careers. But unfortunately, 40% of employees don’t see a clear career path ahead of them. 

Sponsors play an active role in helping employees achieve the next step in their careers—whatever that may be. The overwhelming majority of sponsored employees are satisfied with their career advancement, with 70% of men and 68% of women reporting that they feel confident in how their careers are progressing.

However, it’s not enough for employees to just feel satisfied with career advancement. Sponsorship makes sure that advancement actually happens.

Let’s step back from sponsorship for a second and consider external hiring. It’s well known that referred candidates are 3-4x more likely to get hired than those who apply without a referral.

Now imagine if an internal leader referred someone to a role. They’d probably rise to the top of the resume pile, right? 

Having a sponsor is like having a referral, but better, because it comes from a trusted voice within the organization. Sponsors can even identify opportunities for new roles and promotions that employees may otherwise not be privy to. So it’s no surprise that employees with sponsors are 19-23% more likely to move up in their roles compared to their unsponsored counterparts. 

Those who actively sponsor junior employees are also much more likely to be satisfied with their own rates of advancement.

3. Sponsorship and individual career development

While sponsors can help employees land new roles, it’s not all about promotions, job titles and climbing the career ladder. 

Employees want to learn and make an impact in their work. It’s why 93% of employees are more likely to stay at a company that invests in their career development. 

Workplace sponsorship ensures that high-performing employees get development opportunities that are tailored to them. Sponsors can help unlock career development opportunities including:

• Stretch projects: Sponsors can push for sponsees to be considered for more challenging projects to help them develop new skills and prove their competencies.
• Networking: Sponsors can introduce a sponsee to individuals in their own network that can help further their career.
• Visibility: Sponsors can talk about their sponsee behind closed doors and in public, so their accomplishments and contributions are visible among other leaders within the organization. 
• Professional development: Sponsors can help provide access to training programs, conferences, or certifications that may have otherwise not been available to the sponsee.
• Pay raises: Sponsors can advocate for pay raises and other benefits so sponsees are happier in their roles and stick around longer.

Sponsorship also gives employees the confidence to advocate for their own career advancement. When they have a sponsor, women are 27% more likely to ask for a raise. They’re also 22% more likely to ask for challenging assignments that help position themselves as future leaders.

And turns out, it all pays off because sponsored employees earn 11.6% more on average than those who don’t.

4. Sponsorship and employee engagement and productivity

As a general rule, engaged employees lead to better productivity and better business outcomes.

Sponsorship helps unlock hidden potential and reduce invisible underemployment. They usually have a solid understanding of their sponsee's abilities and talents. And when they put names forward for projects or promotions it can help you make the most of your existing workforce. 

Not only does it save on external hiring costs, but internal mobility shows that your organization is committed to employee growth and development. When employees see opportunity in the workplace, they’re more likely to be motivated at work.

5. Sponsorship and leadership development

When sponsorship relationships exist in your organization, you benefit from a more robust pipeline of future leaders. But sponsorship also helps sharpen and expand the skills of your existing leaders.

As it happens, employees who take on the role of sponsor don’t just help set their sponsees up for success. They’re more satisfied with their own ability to deliver on difficult projects, as well as their professional legacies. 

It’s often said that people managers are successful when their team or direct reports are successful. The role of a sponsor is similar. When sponsors see their sponsees succeed and achieve their goals, it validates their own expertise, experience and their success as a sponsor. 

This confidence reflects in their own work. When managers proactively sponsor, they’re also 53% more likely to also be promoted themselves.

Sponsorship also creates more inclusive leaders. Inclusive sponsorship requires sponsors to think outside of their own biases and experiences, to help create equitable opportunities for someone other than themselves.

6. Sponsorship and diversity, equity and inclusion

A common concern around sponsorship in the workplace is that it can often feel a bit like systematic favoritism. And when left up to chance, sponsorship can 100% be a breeding ground for bias and inequity. (We can thank our own affinity bias for that one.)

But at the same time, there are few things that move the workplace DEI needle like intentionally diverse sponsorship. When DEI is part of the sponsorship process, it breaks down barriers that would traditionally prevent underrepresented groups from being able to progress in their careers.

A study found that mentorship alone boosted representation at the managerial level by 9% to 24%. Given how closely mentorship and sponsorship are intertwined, it’s probably a safe bet that sponsorship has a similar impact on representation as well.

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Sponsorship vs. mentorship FAQ

What’s the difference between sponsorship and mentorship?

The biggest difference between sponsorship and mentorship is how the person supports their mentee or sponsee’s career development. A mentor will provide feedback and advice to help them position themselves for the next step in their career. However, a sponsor will actively advocate for their career advancement. For example, they might bring their sponsee up in conversation, introduce them to their networks, or recommend them for a promotion.

What is the role of a mentor?

A mentor’s role is to provide advice and support to their mentee. Mentors are typically more experienced employees who can share their expertise with a more junior employee. The goal of a mentor is to provide their mentee with all the information they need to make decisions about their career and work.

What is the role of a career sponsor?

A career sponsor’s role is to advocate for their sponsee. They’re typically respected senior leaders or executives who have the experience and influence necessary to create opportunities for their sponsees. For example, a sponsor may endorse their sponsee's skills and expertise, put their name forward for a challenging project, or even recommend them for a promotion.

Sponsorship can be considered an extension of mentorship, where the sponsor takes an active role in their sponsee’s career growth. Because effective sponsors need to personally vouch for their sponsees, the barriers to employees landing a sponsor can be high, especially in underrepresented groups. Sponsorship programs can help close the gap so opportunities for growth are more equitable across the board.

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