I did eventually get a sponsor, and we became friends, but I never worked steps with him. I did learn the steps, and I understood their purpose. Some of them were of little use to me, but I modified them to make them more meaningful. I never formally worked them in order, but I was aware of situations in my life when a step would come in handy. Some members told me they should be worked in order, but I outright rejected that. For example, If I needed to make an amends to someone, I wasn't going to put it off just because I wasn't at step 8 yet. If there was anything useful about a step, I believed it should be used when it was needed. If a step was never needed, I wasn't going to go through some mock effort to work it. And I don't believe one ever finishes the steps. They are recipes to live by, not something to do so they can be completed. Instead, they should be internalized, so they become second nature, and you can use them when necessary.
So to get to the point, you don't need a sponsor to do the steps. If you need help with a step, you can do it with a sponsor, but you can also do it at meetings. Many AA groups have Step Meetings devoted to specifically that, where steps are dissected, clarified, and discussed in depth. There were times when I used my sponsor as a friend and discussed personal things, but that was because he became a trusted friend. Most AA members in my group, while helpful, would never have gained that kind of status with me. And the only reason I had a sponsor was because some guy got all over my case one time, and said, "Get a sponsor," without even explaining why. So I got a sponsor to make him happy.
Any help I ever needed with a problem, I could get from meetings from more than just one person, so the opportunity to find solutions was increased dramatically with a larger variety of ideas, and occasionally, one of those ideas would be a perfect fit. That's one way I used AA. Others might say, "No, no. Do it this way." I'm just telling you how I used AA to make a successful program for myself.