Mentors, coaches, and sponsors: the professional’s trifecta

When you’ve been at a company like Microsoft (in my case, 24 years!) you learn a thing or two about making connections, navigating the career space, and what it means to lead teams. Each week I make time to reflect on my experiences at Microsoft and my career in the tech industry and share these takes in an email newsletter to my team called “Tuesday Thoughts.”

Looking back on my reflections, I thought I’d share some of the “thoughts” with my network on LinkedIn and Twitter. My hope is they will spark new ideas and discussion, shed light, offer encouragement, and explore different ways we can improve our perspectives on leadership, our organizations, and our teams. I hope you find them useful!

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One thing I always suggest to people looking for a way to advance their career is to identify or establish relationships with mentors, coaches, and sponsors. I attribute much of my own success to the people who have opened doors by teaching me new skills, giving me confidence, and helping me understand business in new ways.

But to identify and cultivate these relationships, you need to understand the differences between the three, and the various ways they can help you reach your goals.

So, let’s break it down.

Mentors

Usually, a mentor is someone you’d like to learn a skill from or who has the experience in the industry or business area you aspire to have. A mentor might be someone who can show you how to navigate an industry or client relations, learn about a new role, or help you better understand an area of business you’re unfamiliar with.

Often, people seek out mentors when they’re looking for their next career step. But I would argue, it’s more productive to find someone willing to mentor you long before you’re looking for your next job.

I often check in with my mentors when I need to gain outside perspective on a challenge I’m facing. Seeing how your mentor would approach the challenge using their previous experience can help you make better decisions.

Also, don’t be afraid to have multiple mentors at the same time! Each person may offer a different skill or perspective. For example, when I was switching roles at Microsoft years ago, I worked with two mentors: one in product planning and one in engineering. This helped me better understand the perspectives of the people I would be working with and gave me a preview of the challenges I might face.

When looking for a mentor, seek out multiple, diverse individuals who don’t share the same personal or professional background and experiences as you. Find someone who’s different than yourself but offers a skill set you want to learn.

Coaches

While a mentor teaches you something based on their own experiences, a coach is there to help guide your behaviors, actions, or choices as you work through challenges. Coaches observe the way you work and offer feedback. They should test your decision-making framework by asking questions that help you determine a course of action. Rather than telling you what to do, good coaches help you work through a situation, so you learn how to approach the matter independently.

Coaches don’t always need to provide input; many coaches are great listeners and can help you work through your own feelings. Again, their job isn’t to take anyone’s side, but to help you look at something from a different angle.

Ultimately, coaches are fantastic when you’re learning a skill but need the coaching to make sure you’re managing or executing correctly. They may even identify new skills to develop based on your professional goals.

A coach can be your manager or someone you work with frequently who has the chance to observe you at work but beware that they may be biased by their engagement in the work you are doing. I’ve often chosen coaches who were separate from my line of business and team, which allowed me to get a fresh take or new perspective on group dynamics or business functionality at a larger scale.

Sponsors

Last, but certainly not least, are sponsors. Sponsors are your allies. They stand up for you and your work, even when you’re not in the room. These are people who vouch for you and are willing to offer up your name when opportunities arise.

Unlike coaches or mentors, sponsorship is not something you ask of someone. Instead, sponsors stem from the relationships you’ve developed over time by doing quality work, collaborating well, and delivering great results.

A sponsor can be your peers, your manager, peers of your manager, or your skip-level manager and their colleagues. Some of my best sponsors have been people I’ve worked with in a virtual team associated with a project across the company, that have been willing to “sponsor” me into a group or role when it becomes available. Some of my best sponsors have been my peers. 

I’ve found the best way to find sponsors, is by treating everyone with respect, doing your best to work well with others, taking initiative, and holding yourself personally accountable for your work and your actions.

There are countless factors that go into nurturing relationships and building professional rapport. Identifying your allies and being unafraid to ask higher level co-workers for mentorship or coaching is a big step that is worth your time and energy.

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Another great resource for finding mentors are networks like LinkedIn that let you build professional relationships both inside and outside your company. Many people are willing to share expertise or advice and open the door to future opportunities!

I’d love to hear how you approach mentorship and your experiences with coaching. Leave a comment below. Who knows, maybe you’ll find your next mentor in the comment section you’d love to learn from!