The Power of Mentorship and Sponsorship for Strategic Career Moves

Sep 9

Your career shouldn’t be something that just happens to you—it should be something you shape with intention. That begins with asking yourself some fundamental questions: What truly matters to me? What kind of company culture, leadership, and team do I thrive in? How do I want to spend half of my awake time in this life—and does my current career path reflect that?

Answering these questions isn’t just an exercise in self-reflection. It’s how you align your career with your core values—the principles that keep you grounded, healthy, and fulfilled. Without that alignment, even the best job title or salary can feel empty. With it, your work becomes energizing, balanced, and meaningful.

But getting to that clarity isn’t always straightforward. Many professionals feel stuck at some point, unsure whether they’re in the right role, company, or even industry. This is where a career coach can be invaluable: helping you explore what matters most, identify blind spots, and build a roadmap that keeps you both strategic and true to yourself.

Coaching is not about giving you answers—it’s a co-creative process that challenges your perspectives, helps you sharpen your focus, and creates those “aha moments” that shift how you see your career and yourself. Once that clarity is built, a mentor becomes a powerful complement: someone who shares their experience, opens doors, and offers guidance to help you navigate challenges along the way. Together, coaching and mentorship ensure your career moves aren’t random, but intentional and impactful.

When I first started navigating my career in the industry, no one told me I needed a mentor. I thought having supportive manager was all I needed and their feedback and input would be enough for me to learn and grow in my position. Moreover, I truly believed support by my manager and being in a growing team would be sufficient to power my career growth and advancement. It seemed totally right to trust the system and that my own hard work would eventually pay off. This approach proved to have very sporadic effects that often seemed to be way out of my sphere of influence.

Then I noticed people who were more strategic about their career were mentioning having a mentor, and through talking to my peers I realized they were right—having someone to guide you, share wisdom, and help you avoid common pitfalls was invaluable.

Mentorship: Growth Through Guidance

Looking back, mentorship was one of the most important accelerators of my growth. My mentors were the people I could turn to when I needed advice about navigating a difficult project, balancing priorities across functions, or even understanding the unwritten rules of corporate life in a global pharma company.

What made mentorship powerful was that it gave me a safe space to learn. I could test ideas, ask the “dumb questions,” and receive feedback without fear of judgment. Mentors didn’t hand me the answers, but they offered perspectives I couldn’t have seen on my own. And in an industry like pharma—where the stakes are high, timelines are tight, and regulations are unforgiving—having someone who had already walked the path was incredibly grounding.

Some mentors helped me with technical expertise: how to deal with difficult situations, how to lead cross-functional meetings, or how to communicate more effectively with medical and commercial teams. Others helped me think long-term about my career: which roles would broaden my perspective, which experiences would make me a more valuable leader, and how to manage my own energy to avoid burnout.

Mentorship shaped me. It gave me resilience, perspective, and skills I wouldn’t have gained as quickly on my own. But as much as mentorship helped me grow, I eventually realized something important: mentorship alone wouldn’t get me promoted.

How to Be Strategic About Choosing a Mentor

Having a mentor is valuable on many levels—but choosing the right person should be a thoughtful and strategic decision. Before you approach anyone, ask yourself:

What do I want from the mentor–mentee relationship?
Where do I want my career to go?
What skills or perspectives am I still missing to get there?

Being clear on these questions can make the difference between drifting in multiple directions versus deliberately reshaping your career path. Often, the most beneficial mentor is someone who has already walked the path you’re considering, or who is currently in the role you aspire to. Observing how they got there, what skills they developed, and what leadership qualities they embody can give you a reality check: is this truly what you want, or is it an idealized version that only looked good from afar?

If you’re considering a leap to a different business unit or area within your company, a mentor from that unit can be especially valuable. They can help you gain exposure to stretch tasks, cross-functional projects, or “growth gigs” that give you a real taste of the work. This not only broadens your experience but also gives you crucial insight into the team dynamics and culture of that business unit—so you can make informed career decisions without stepping blindly into the unknown. Think of it as staying in the stretch zone, where most of the learning happens, rather than in the panic zone of total uncertainty.

Another common mistake is aiming too high in the hierarchy. In most cases, a mentor just a couple of levels above you is enough—unless your long-term strategy is to build sponsorship through mentorship. For example:

If you’re a team leader looking to strengthen your leadership skills, focus on someone whose leadership style you admire in practice, rather than chasing an executive role simply because that’s where you see yourself one day.
If you’re struggling with repeated reorganizations, seek out a mentor who has not only survived but thrived in similar turbulence, even among peers at your level.
If you’re thinking of switching companies or industries in the long run, connect with mentors already working in those spaces. This way, you’ll gain first-hand insights into their company culture, leadership style, and whether it’s a true fit for you.

And one last point: being a mentor myself, I realized these relationships are never a one-way street. Every time I’ve mentored someone, I’ve grown too. My mentees have given me fresh perspectives, challenged my assumptions, and reminded me that we all have something valuable to offer. The best mentorships are truly mutual—where both sides learn, grow, and walk away stronger.

Sponsorship: The Wake-Up Call

In pharma, where organizations are highly matrixed, compliance-driven, and global in nature, decisions about promotions often happen in rooms I wasn’t in. And that’s where I realized the difference between a mentor and a sponsor.

My mentors helped me refine my skills and navigate challenges. But a sponsor? That’s a different story. A sponsor is the person who speaks up for you when you’re not in the room. They are the voice that says: “She’s ready for this promotion,” or “He’s the right choice to lead this launch.” In pharma, these decisions usually happen at senior leadership tables where every promotion is weighed carefully against business priorities, budgets, and succession planning.

The first time I truly felt the impact of sponsorship was when I got promoted into a role and later heard that a senior leader strongly supported me. It wasn’t just my performance that mattered—it was also that a leader I had worked with on a cross-functional project had spoken up on my behalf. They had seen my reliability under pressure and my ability to bring teams together. Without their voice, I might have stayed in my old role much longer.

A sponsor is the person who speaks up for you when you’re not in the room.

How I Learned to Build Sponsorship

I didn’t go around asking people to “be my sponsor.” That felt awkward and unnatural. Instead, I focused on creating opportunities where my work would be visible to the right people:

· Cross-functional projects: In pharma, these are the lifeblood of visibility. I volunteered for task forces that touched medical, regulatory, and commercial functions. It gave leaders outside my reporting line a chance to see me in action.

· Clarity of impact: I learned to frame my work not just as “tasks completed” but as outcomes for patients, business, or compliance. That made it easier for a potential sponsor to advocate for me in simple, compelling terms.

· Consistency and credibility: In our industry, credibility is everything. People won’t stick their necks out for you unless they trust you completely—both in your results and in your integrity.

· Relationships that matter: Instead of networking for the sake of it, I started seeking advice from leaders I respected. Over time, some of those conversations evolved into genuine sponsorship relationships.

Why Both Mentors and Sponsors Matter

Pharma is a unique industry. It’s heavily regulated, deeply matrixed, and constantly evolving. Promotions don’t just come from good performance—they come from being seen as a trusted leader across functions and sometimes across geographies. That’s why mentorship and sponsorship aren’t optional; they’re critical.

· Mentors help you grow. They give you guidance, perspective, and the confidence to keep going.

· Sponsors help you advance. They put your name forward, open doors, and ensure you’re seen when it matters most.

Your line manager may support you, but often they don’t have the final say. It’s the cross-functional or senior leaders who carry weight in those closed-door discussions. And when they know you, trust you, and believe in you, that’s when doors open.

Bridging Mentorship and Sponsorship

One final thought: sometimes the path to sponsorship starts with mentorship. By choosing a mentor within your organization who has influence where it matters, you create the space for them to first get to know you, see your strengths, and trust your consistency. Over time, that relationship can organically evolve into sponsorship—when guidance shifts into active advocacy. This way, you’re not “asking for a sponsor” outright, but creating the conditions for it to emerge naturally.

My Advice for Others

If you’re working in healthcare industry and looking to grow your career:

· Seek both mentors and sponsors—they play different but equally important roles.

· Deliver beyond your role—take on projects that stretch across functions.

· Make your impact visible—help leaders translate your work into business or patient outcomes.

· Be consistent and credible—trust is the foundation of sponsorship.

· Seek advice, not favors—let relationships grow naturally.

Mentorship shaped me, but sponsorship propelled me. If I could go back, I’d tell my younger self: don’t just look for someone to guide you—look for someone who will stand up for you when you’re not in the room.

Aleksandar Boro