Mentoring vs. Sponsoring

Conceptual Distinction and Strategic Necessity

To exercise high-impact inclusive leadership, it is imperative to distinguish between two roles that are often confused: the mentor and the sponsor.

While mentoring focuses on giving advice, guidance and sharing wisdom ("talking to the person"), sponsorship involves using one's political capital to advocate for someone ("talking about the person") when the person is not present in the decision-making room.

In male-dominated industries, women are often "over-mentored" but "under-sponsored," lacking that power figure who will risk their reputation to push them forward. The inclusive leader acts as an active promoter of talent.

He or she doesn't just be a good colleague; he or she ensures that competent female candidates are considered for critical vacancies, increases their visibility to senior management, and openly challenges stereotypes that might hold them back from advancement.

Although many organizations formally require their managers to sponsor high-potential talent, the reality shows that less than 20% actually exercise this role effectively.

Sponsorship is not an act of altruism or "charity" toward women; it is a business intelligence strategy to ensure that the organization does not waste valuable talent through lack of exposure.

Diversifying the Talent Pool

There is a natural, biased tendency in sponsorship: men tend to disproportionately sponsor other men, perpetuating the status quo through affinity (the "mini-me" phenomenon).

Before considering himself an ally, a leader should audit his behavior with an honest question: am I sponsoring anyone? And if the answer is yes, is that person a reflection of myself.

If the protégé shares the same gender, background and style, the leader is not diversifying the future leadership of the company.

The golden rule to break this cycle is equal reciprocity: for every door a leader opens for a man, he must commit to giving equivalent access to a woman with potential.

This requires creativity and proactivity to identify talented women who may not be in the immediate circle or who have not explicitly asked for help.

By diversifying who we support, we not only promote fairness, but we enrich organizational decision making wit