What is the difference between Advisors, Mentors, Coaches, Sponsors, and Advocates?
The role that Advisors, Mentors, Coaches, Sponsors and Advocates play in your career and life journey is different, yet there are some common elements that overlap.
What is common? The common element is YOU. In each role, the person is there for you and providing help in a specific question, goal, or direction you wish to go. Other common elements include the encouragement and support, and a level of mutual respect.
What varies or may be slightly different between the roles is the scope of the support, formality, longevity of the relationship, and the type of conversations.
Advisors or Mentors are similar terms to describe a person that you lean to for advice, guidance, and recommendations. They may be someone you know well and trust or sometimes connections who because of their experience and/or expertise, is someone that you feel comfortable to discuss a situation where you need help. Advisors and Mentors talk with you and share their perspectives based on personal experience or examples they know. They may be your leader, a colleague or peer, or friend.
Coaches usually are called in to help in different situation – to develop a specific skill, to improve performance, to focus on longer-term development, or tackle a more extensive question transformation of ones career or life.
Sponsors or Advocates are sometimes used as interchangable terms. These may be senior leaders within your organization that speak highly of you and help to raise your visbility to others. Often they assist you by opening doors to new project opportunities or “pound the table” to support your career advancement/promotion. Many in this position have an influential voice in the organization which may include decision-making power, and oversight and influence on budget and talent matters. Sponsors and Advocates however can also members of your team and those whom you work with. They are cheering your accomplishments and supporting you visibility by talking to others about your leadership, contributions and character.
The table below provides a brief overview of the roles.
Throughout your life and career you will have a diverse set of people on your personal advisory board. Consider this quote from US Vice President, Kamala Harris:
“Surround yourself with really good friends. Have people around you who cheer you on, and applaud you, and support you, and are honest with you, and tell you, you know, when your breath stinks.”
Source: Meiava
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