Who’s in Your Professional Support Network?

If you asked yourself that question, what would your answer be? For many professionals, it might be “I’m not sure” or simply “my colleagues.”

Whether you work in a one-person office or as part of a large team, it’s easy to assume that career advancement and effectiveness depend solely on technical skills, subject expertise, or hard work. Yet, in highly analytical and often siloed roles, long-term growth and impact are deeply shaped by the people who provide guidance, encouragement, and advocacy.

This is a seldom-discussed aspect of the Institutional Research/Institutional Effectiveness (IR/IE) profession: the value of structured professional support networks—and the common hesitation to seek them out. Discomfort with networking, fear of being a burden, or uncertainty about how to start can leave professionals without the relationships that are essential for development, resilience, well-being, and retention.

Four Key Roles in a Support Network

To get started, consider four essential roles that can strengthen your professional journey:

• Mentors – Offer perspective, reflection, and long-term growth.
• Coaches – Provide targeted skill development and accountability.
• Advisors – Share specialized expertise when you need it.
• Sponsors – Actively advocate for your advancement and visibility.

Each role contributes something unique to the strength of your support network. No single person can (or should) fill them all. Let’s explore each role in more depth.

Mentors

Mentors help professionals—especially those in one-person offices—connect to a broader community of practice, reducing isolation and expanding institutional capacity. For those on larger teams, mentors provide tailored guidance and cross-functional perspectives that often extend beyond reporting lines. Many people already have informal mentors; they just haven’t named those relationships or tapped their full value.

Coaches

While mentors may have walked in your shoes, coaches don’t necessarily share your career path. Instead, they help you clarify goals, navigate obstacles, and receive constructive feedback. Just like in sports, a coach may push you harder than a mentor, but the goal is your growth. A coach may work with you on one particular area of growth, such as leadership skills, public-speaking, negotiation skills, or working effectively in a team. IR/IE folks may need to look beyond their officemates and possibly outside their institution when selecting a coach.

As Jarosz (2023) notes, effective coaching requires active listening, unconditional positive regard, the ability to challenge and empower, and a willingness to hold the coachee accountable. These criteria are above and beyond what one is likely to ask of their co-workers.

Advisors

Advisors bring targeted expertise. You might seek one out for a specific project, topic, or career decision. Unlike mentors or coaches, advisors aren’t expected to track your long-term progress or recall past conversations. Their role is to provide valuable and actionable insight at the right time.

Sponsors

Sponsors are advocates who open doors. They actively promote your work and your potential—both when you’re in the room and when you’re not. A sponsor might be a senior leader, a former employer, or someone in an expert role who values your contributions. While you may not interact with them regularly, maintaining visibility and staying on their radar is key.

Strategies to Build Your Network

So how can you strengthen your professional support system? Here are some practical steps:

1. Clarify your path. Consider where you want to go. As Grant (2023) puts it, “The more uncertain the path and the higher the peak, the greater the range of guides you’ll need.” Establishing a roadmap and some initial goals will help when brainstorming and selecting individuals to approach.
2. Identify the roles you need. What could a mentor offer? When would a coach be useful? In what areas do you need an advisor? Where might a sponsor help advance your career?
3. Seek out the right people. This step will take intentional effort, especially for those in analytical roles whose work is often siloed. You may want to begin by looking beyond your institution. Professional associations often offer formal mentoring programs. Online discussion groups, virtual events, and networking opportunities are also places to connect with others in the field. Attend professional conferences and talk to people. (We’ll cover that in Step 5.) If communication is one of your goals, join Toastmasters. Volunteer for committees focused on initiatives that matter to you in order to meet people who have common interests and work together toward common goals.
4. Engage within your institution. Participate in cross-functional projects. Notice who shares knowledge, elevates others’ voices, and fosters inclusion—those people may be strong candidates for your support network.
5. Prepare for conversations. Don’t expect mentors or advisors to drive the agenda. Bring questions, topics, and goals to each conversation. As Brooks (2025) points out in Talk: The Science of Conversation and the Art of Being Ourselves, people often spend more time choosing an outfit than preparing discussion topics—don’t make that mistake.
6. Follow through and show appreciation. Share how you applied advice, update people on outcomes, and thank them for their time. Support networks thrive when relationships are reciprocal.

Maintaining Your Network

With intentional planning, you can assemble your own “dream team” of professional support. Like any team, it will evolve—people may come and go—but maintaining and refining your network is vital at every career stage.

The bottom line: success in IR/IE isn’t just about what you know—it’s also about who supports you along the way. Identifying and maintaining your support network requires intentional effort and thoughtful decision-making on your part.

References

Brooks, A. W. (2025). TALK: The science of conversation and the art of being ourselves. First edition. Crown. 

Grant, A. (2023). Hidden Potential: The Science of Achieving Greater Things. Penguin Random House.

Jarosz, J. (2023). The cube of coaching effectiveness. International Journal of Evidence Based Coaching and Mentoring, 21(1), 31-49.  https://doi.org/10.24384/gkny-df71