Mentors vs. Sponsors

So, it sounds like you currently have mentees as well, or have had mentees? We often talk about what makes it work. But there are also challenges in mentoring relationships. What would you say is the most challenging factor in a mentoring relationship? And how can that be overcome?

One of the challenges is just not necessarily being able to do it as much as I would like. And then figuring out from a formal mentoring relationship standpoint, how long should that go? And when should it maybe end? And that was probably one of the mistakes that I made early when I started mentoring other people, is I almost made it indefinite. And then you can’t continue to add more and more people who you’re trying to connect with and mentor.
So, I definitely learned out of that to have more of a set timeframe and to be really open about hey, “I would love to play that role with you. Here’s a period of time, why don’t we do that for the next year?” Another challenge is just making certain there’s an investment both ways from a mentor and mentee standpoint. So, I have learned to maybe give an assignment to a mentee that “go please and do this, identify what your goals are, or identify what you think are your priorities over the next three months, and then come back and let’s talk about that.” So, there’s a little bit of outside work and thinking that’s done, that not only I think produces a better conversation, but it also makes certain that the mentee is serious about wanting to invest in themselves and taking that time.
And then the last challenge I’d mentioned is the difference between mentors and sponsors. And making certain that you’re clear, in your mind, at least, which, one, you’re playing from a role standpoint. And I think sponsors are really important, someone who saw my capabilities and wanted to invest in me, but maybe wasn’t somebody who was going to meet on a regular basis from a mentor standpoint. And so I think that’s important. I think of them sometimes as a difference between a coach is more like a mentor, and maybe an agent is more like a sponsor. And so it’s important to have both.