By Jennifer Ian, MBA, CAE
What do Sheryl Sandberg, Tina Fey, Mark Zuckerberg, and Richard Branson all have in common?
They all had mentors.
Click image to enlarge
Jean Lahage Cohen (second from right), Executive Director, Mentoring Partnerships of New York and Long Island, led a session on mentoring for NYSAE’s Executive Women in Nonprofit (EWIN) SIG. Also pictured (left to right) are: Jennifer Ian, MBA, CAE, Director of Member Services and Chapter Relations at the American Thoracic Society; Linda Ferm, CAE, Ferm Strategies, and Chair of the EWIN SIG; and Valerie Cammiso, CAE, Executive Director, International Council of Shopping Centers.
On November 13, NYSAE’s Executive Women in Nonprofit (EWIN) SIG attendees heard inspiring words about the value of mentoring from Jean Lahage Cohen, Executive Director, Mentoring Partnerships of New York and Long Island. Cohen spoke about the value of mentoring, indicating that people who mentor experience health and career benefits. Some of the benefit derives from being in touch with other people, noted Cohen. In addition, there is the satisfaction of giving back, of helping someone to grow and thrive.
Cohen referenced a Sun Microsystems study, which compared the career progress of approximately 1,000 employees over a four-year period. The study found:
- Both mentors and mentees were approximately 20% more likely to get a raise than people who did not participate in the mentoring program;
- 25% of mentees and 28% of mentors received a raise, versus only 5% of managers who were not mentors;
- Employees who received mentoring were promoted FIVE times more often than people who didn’t have mentors;
- Mentors were six times more likely to have been promoted to a bigger job.
Many EWIN SIG members have served as mentors, working with younger staff members at their organizations, new NYSAE members, board members at their organizations, students, interns, emerging leaders, and even women living in shelters. These relationships provided much satisfaction to the mentors themselves. Among the benefits cited by attendees were:
- Watching someone blossom and take on new challenges;
- Seeing mentees recognize they had the abilities and skills that they had previously questioned;
- Learning a Gen Y perspective of the world;
- Enjoying paying it forward;
- Knowing mentees were able to grow their skills, use their talents, and accomplish their goals;
- Getting pleasure from discussing strategy and values;
- Watching people become their best selves.
Cohen placed flipcharts around the room and set attendees loose with markers to comment on questions, which included:
What were the best qualities of your mentor?
- Self-confident; generous;
- Honest and supportive;
- Ethical and funny;
- Encouraging;
- Had an open-door policy;
- Interested in different parts of the organization’s stories
- Non-emotional, non-judgmental;
- Had a wealth of career growth ideas and referrals.
What great lesson did you learn from your mentor?
- Don’t be afraid to try something new;
- How to adapt to and navigate change;
- Non-emotional, non-judgmental;
- Take a chance on someone for work at the next level
- Flexibility;
- Don’t complain; don’t come in with a problem unless you’ve thought about potential solutions.
- Plan concretely;
- Do your homework; sell yourself with confidence.
What are some characteristics of a good mentor?
Be a good listener! Be open minded, creative, available. Don’t try to solve everything.
Of a good mentee?
Mentoring is not about asking for a job. Ask questions, and listen to the answers. Do your homework between meetings. Be open-minded, listening before deciding if advice is good or bad. Be open and honest with yourself and your mentor. Be open to new ideas..
If you could have a mentor now, what would he/she help you with?
- Serving as a thinking partner;
- Helping me clarify career objectives;
- Figuring out what’s next; should I stay or should I go?
- with difficult board members;
- Dealing micro-managers without losing my own creativity;
- Providing assurances; helping me build my confidence;
- Teaching me how to delegate;
- Inspiring me.
Timeless Lessons About Mentoring
Author Jeffrey Zaslow offers these lessons on mentoring:
- Great mentors don’t give answers. They ask questions.
- Great mentors are proactive, not reactive. They don’t just respond to outreach, they reach out to their mentees.
- Great mentors see more potential in their mentees than their mentees see in themselves.
- Great mentors focus on their mentees’ success, not their own.
Perhaps these two quotes sums up the mentor/mentee relationship best.
"The delicate balance of mentoring someone is not creating them in your own image, but giving them the opportunity to create themselves." Steven Spielberg
"Search for role models you can look up to and people who take an interest in your career. But here's an important warning: you don't have to have mentors who look like you. Had I been waiting for a black, female Soviet specialist mentor, I would still be waiting. Most of my mentors have been old white men, because they were the ones who dominated my field." Condoleeza Rice
Jennifer Ian, MBA, CAE, is Director of Member Services and Chapter Relations at the American Thoracic Society, and a member of NYSAE’s PR & Marketing Committee. She can be reached at 212-315-8697 or jian@thoracic.org.