Mentors are great but they are not enough

When I started my career, I was not assigned any mentor. I did not know what was a mentor and a mentee. Later when I heard the terms, I did not know what was special about them. So I was not actively looking for any mentor in a huge part of my career. After I had gathered more than 7 years of experience; I had people looking up to me. Then too, I was not into the definitions so I did not realize that I had started playing the role of a mentor to a few.

I understood the importance of a mentor pretty late in my life but I do not want to regret it. I want to devote all of my time to search for a great mentor. A Mentor who has a different perspective than me; who has seen things I have not, who is my well-wisher; someone who can be my friend philosopher and guide. uh uh, that’s too much to ask for; isn’t it? And still, it’s not enough to get the corner office in a career.

Let me take into account a typical scenario to take this forward.

You have a mentor who is in a different company. You are following the advice of your mentor; you successfully navigated through office politics, you are ready for a bigger opportunity, you did right and informed certifications to get a better position, and much more but you are still at the same place. When the promotion cycle came; you were skipped, when on-site came; you were not chosen. You wonder, you reflect and you blame too. What is stopping you when you have got all to move forward? Did you feel this way before?
There is something missing; or should I say there is someone missing from your life. Who could be that and what could they have done differently?

This someone is a “Sponsor” who is senior with influence, knows about your work; who thinks you are ready for more responsibility. Who is there when a decision is being made; who is one of the beneficiaries of your added set of responsibilities. Who has your back when you are not there. They can help you to make connections to clients, senior leaders and they promote your visibility.

With a mentor, you can talk good, bad and ugly. With a sponsor, you talk good, good and good.
Your mentor can be at any position. The sponsor will be senior with influence.
Mentors talk with you; Sponsors talk about you.
Mentors do not expect anything in return. Hail the mentors. Sponsors expect loyalty and stellar performance.
Mentors provide perspective. Sponsors provide opportunities.

Now you are getting the picture.

Do not limit yourself to your manager. The world is your oyster. Find your Sponsor. Shine like a gem you are.