Mentorship and Sponsorship

This Tactical Toolkit is one of a series of research-based guides to help women, including those with complex, intersectional identities, meet the unique challenges they face in the workplace and beyond. The toolkits provide insights, strategies and practical tips that will help empower everyone, regardless of their gender or identity, to thrive and to strive towards greater self-confidence, self-advocacy and leadership roles.

Executive Summary

While women make up almost half of all managers, only a few rise to executive leadership. Despite a recent focus on establishing mentorship programs for women and other underrepresented groups, more needs to be done. This toolkit differentiates mentorship from sponsorship and offers guidance on why mentorship and sponsorship matter, as well as tactics for both mentees/sponsees and mentors/sponsors that will enable them to make the engagement as productive and mutually beneficial as possible.

High-potential women are often over-mentored and under-sponsored compared to male peers, limiting their advancement opportunities. Definitions vary, but in general, mentors provide advice and sponsors are advocates on a sponsees’ behalf. While many see mentors as older or more senior, they can in fact be peers or from a younger generation. Essentially, it is the experience of the mentor (often in the mentees’ same field or a similar role) whether a digital native or an older person with a wealth of skills and wisdom) that counts. Meanwhile, sponsors take an active role in the career of their sponsees by championing their work and using their influence to advocate for them and advance career opportunities and open doors for them.

Mentorship and sponsorship have many benefits, from enhancing networks to clarifying career goals and professional identities, as well as making it easier to learn about job opportunities. Mentorship and sponsorship also provide signals to decision makers about who might be a fit for a particular job or profession. Using the tactics in this toolkit, anyone—whether a mentor/mentee or sponsor/sponsee—can maximize the benefits of this form of workplace support.

  • There are different approaches to mentorship and sponsorship that can influence the extent to which the relationship is helpful and enables growth and career advancement. Tips on making the most of mentorship and sponsorship include the following:

    • Take initiative, define your goals, cultivate the relationship, seek out advice, attend meetings or events and foster connections with people who can offer a warm introduction.

    • Ask for sponsorship directly by highlighting your accomplishments and then acknowledging that you need someone to advocate for you.

    • Articulate your goals and develop a clear understanding of your individual strengths and weaknesses so as to identify who can help you learn and what advice to seek.

    • Look for mentors or sponsors in any setting, since informal mentors can be found anywhere, from conferences and events to affinity and women’s groups.

    • Seek a diverse group of mentors and sponsors, which will connect you with people who can give you access to their myriad networks and unique opportunities.

    • Ask for sponsorship directly by highlighting your accomplishments and then acknowledging that you need someone advocating for you.

    • Articulate your goals and develop a clear understanding of your individual strengths and weaknesses so as to identify who can help you learn and what advice to seek.

    • Find a mentor you work with closely and who knows your work and how you react in different situations.

    • Look for mentors or sponsors in any setting, since informal mentors can be found anywhere, from conferences and events to affinity and women’s groups.

    • Lead with generosity and ensure your relationship with a mentor or sponsor embodies reciprocity by asking if there is anything you can help them with.

    • Establish why both parties are there, which will set the tone and make a mentor or sponsor feel more invested in helping you.

    • Show respect by using your mentor/sponsor’s time wisely and coming prepared to meetings with an agenda, specific asks and real challenges to discuss.

    • Always follow up by staying on top of any to-dos from your meetings and making a formal expression of gratitude, whether by email, phone or letter.

  • Approach the relationship in an intentional way to ensure it is productive. Tips include the following:

    • Start at any stage, from a woman coming up behind you to a student or a friend’s child, since it is never too early to start mentoring or sponsoring.

    • Set clear expectations on things such as how often you will meet and what kinds of opportunities you can help them access. 

    • Give honest, direct and actionable feedback rather than compliments or vague, unspecific feedback in order to maximize key learning opportunities.

    • Treat this as a mutually-beneficial relationship two-way relationship and make it clear why you are investing time in someone, since mentorship has benefits for mentors too. 

    • Use your mistakes or moments of failure as examples that can give mentees and sponsees tools for facing their own challenges and learning from them.

    • Help your mentee or sponsee develop a career or professional goal roadmap, with near-, intermediate- and long-term goals, along with benchmarks to stay accountable.