Dear Reader

Many senior professionals have mentors.
People they can call for advice. Who listen. Who share perspective.

That's valuable.

But here's a question worth sitting with:
When a promotion or a big role is being discussed and you're not in the room…
who is saying your name?

That person isn't a mentor.
That's a sponsor.

A mentor gives you advice.
A sponsor spends their credibility on you.

Because it costs them something, sponsorship isn't handed out. It's earned.

Sponsors tend to back people who do three things:

They make the sponsor look good.​
Their work solves problems the sponsor cares about, beyond their own lane.

They deliver when it counts.​
When the sponsor puts them forward for something visible, they come through, and the sponsor is glad they took the risk.

They make a clear ask.​
"I'd love your advice" builds a mentor.
"I'm aiming for the regional role next year. If you think I'm ready, would you be willing to put my name forward?" builds a sponsor.

Most people never make that second ask.
They don't expect a no.
It just feels uncomfortable.

A quick exercise:
Write down the three most senior people who know your work well.
For each, ask yourself: Are they mentoring me, or sponsoring me?​
What would it take to move one of them from the first to the second?