Mentoring is a development relationship where someone more experienced shares guidance, perspective and support to help another person grow. Most people meet mentoring long before they hear the word sponsorship, and it’s valuable when it’s set up well.

What does a good mentor do?

A good mentor listens, asks the hard questions and helps you see your own patterns. They build your capability and your confidence. What a mentor usually doesn’t do is speak up for you when you’re not in the room. That’s sponsorship. Mentors build capability. Sponsors build visibility.

Why mentoring alone isn’t enough

Research from the Workplace Gender Equality Agency found women are more likely to be offered mentoring, often with a relatively junior mentor, while men are more likely to be actively sponsored by a senior leader. Capability without visibility rarely leads to promotion. These articles look at where mentoring helps, where it stalls and why organisations need to offer both.