You want to be a great mentor, but how should you go about it?
Mentoring – it’s more than just advice-giving or casual conversations. When done well it can transform careers. I’ve navigated this terrain over my career and it wasn’t all smooth sailing. It took time to find an effective approach. Along the way, I found that following a mentorship program enabled the best success, and made me a better mentor.
Trial & Error: Early Mentoring Journey
Early on, my mentoring experiences didn’t feel like they were bringing value to the people who sought me out. Sure, I was used to coaching my employees and providing guidance, but forming a truly impactful mentorship relationship with someone outside of my team?
That was new territory. I knew the importance of having a mentor. I’m grateful to the great mentors who generously advised me throughout my career. And core to my purpose is to make a difference for another person, in some way, every day. Yet, when it came to mentoring, I never received formal training on how to be a good one. I learned through trial and error.
In the early days, I played more of a stakeholder role. My mentees and I would meet monthly. Advice was given, and maybe even some opportunities were created and doors opened, but something was missing. I knew I could do better. I couldn’t put a pin on it, but I could feel it. It took some trial, error, and introspection. And once or twice, the relationship just wasn’t a good match.
Basic Need: Career Transition
A common thread for the people who I have mentored is a drive to rise from middle management to VP-level roles. That career transition has gravity, especially for women looking to advance within the same company. It can often seem to be an insurmountable challenge. I felt that this was where I could have a significant impact: helping women break through middle management to the executive tier.
Programmatic Approach to Mentoring
Enter Ceresa. It wasn’t a magic wand, but as a mentor, it was game-changing. It introduced me to great discussion topics and ways that managers develop next-level leadership skills. What stood out was that it paired our rising leaders with mentors from outside our company. And it provided a turnkey 6-month program enabling mentor and mentee to succeed.
That was exactly the type of resource I needed to be a more confident and effective mentor.
While our rising leaders were paired with mentors, I volunteered to mentor women from other companies. Thus began my first mentorship where I felt like I was truly mentoring in a way that was impactful for my mentee. It was a six-month journey. The software guided me through understanding my mentee’s aspirations, suggested conversation rhythm, and provided how to handle challenging topics, as well as things to avoid. For the mentees, it simplified scheduling, enabled confidentiality, and focused conversations to truly add value.
Structure That Enabled Shared Wisdom
I modified my approach. Less advising. More posing thought-provoking questions and sharing some mistakes and misunderstandings that I faced in my career. Including what I would do differently had I known then what I know now.
Ceresa’s structured approach makes me much more prepared as a mentor, enabling me to bring my best to each session. It helps bridge gaps in experience and knowledge. It’s not just advice; it’s a roadmap for growth, filled with intentional conversations and opportunities.
Even after my tenure at the company using Ceresa ended, I’ve continued to mentor. The software continues to improve — as does the mentoring experience.
For those hesitant about mentoring — not sure how to get started — or seeking a more defined process, I urge you to consider volunteering with an organization like Ceresa.
Mentoring isn’t just about guiding someone. It’s about shaping careers, opening doors, and creating equitable opportunities to give women the lift up that they need. It’s time. And for me, being a part of that journey has been nothing short of fulfilling.
Software available to kick-start your mentoring impact:
Ceresa is one mentoring platform that I have direct experience with and can recommend. They are women-led with a mission of “addressing the persistent lack of leadership diversity” through a turn-key platform for providing inclusive leadership development focused on the whole person. Their solution includes a guided journey for employees that includes professional coaches, a personal development curriculum, and mentors. Pricing is designed for procurement by corporate HR teams. Mentors are voluntary and vetted by the Ceresa team.
Ceresa is one mentoring platform that I have direct experience with and can recommend. They are women-led with a mission of “addressing the persistent lack of leadership diversity” through a turn-key platform for providing inclusive leadership development focused on the whole person. Their solution includes a guided journey for employees that includes professional coaches, a personal development curriculum, and mentors. Pricing is designed for procurement by corporate HR teams. Mentors are voluntary and vetted by the Ceresa team.
Women in Tech is another organization that I have also partnered with in the past and highly recommend. The largest global community of women in STEAM reaches more than 10 thousand members on 6 continents and has a goal of “Empowering 5 Million Women and Girls by 2030” per their website. They have a breadth of offerings including education, 100+ events, awards, advocacy, and a fee-based (EU9 per month) subscription to an online mentorship and networking program called WIT-h.
Women in Tech is another organization that I have also partnered with in the past and highly recommend. The largest global community of women in STEAM reaches more than 10 thousand members on 6 continents and has a goal of “Empowering 5 Million Women and Girls by 2030” per their website. They have a breadth of offerings including education, 100+ events, awards, advocacy, and a fee-based (EU9 per month) subscription to an online mentorship and networking program called WIT-h.
While a quick web search shows that there are many other mentoring programs out there, I’ve chosen to list a couple that focus on women in the workforce. I don’t have personal experience with any of the following. So if you do, please add your feedback in the comments to aid other readers who are beginning their mentorship journey.
Women Who Create is a volunteer-run 501(c)3 global community of and for creative women of color. They are donor-funded and offer mentorship, curated events, and grant programs to help creative women rise into leadership positions. Their mentorship platform called Charisa, is a free digital matchmaking app that connects mentors with mentees in advertising, fashion, music, and technology. Mentors can connect with up to five mentees, and mentees can connect with one mentor.
Women Who Create is a volunteer-run 501(c)3 global community of and for creative women of color. They are donor-funded and offer mentorship, curated events, and grant programs to help creative women rise into leadership positions. Their mentorship platform called Charisa, is a free digital matchmaking app that connects mentors with mentees in advertising, fashion, music, and technology. Mentors can connect with up to five mentees, and mentees can connect with one mentor.
Goldman Sachs 10,000 Women is focused on women entrepreneurs. According to their website, they offer a free online education program of 10-week-long courses available in English as well as Hindi, Brazilian Portuguese, and Latin American Spanish. They are designed for women business owners in emerging economies but are open to anyone. Women who complete the 10-week course gain access to the graduate alumni network. A few are also selected to join a select group of “Growth fellows” that attend in-person a next-level business coaching and training program in New York City.
Goldman Sachs 10,000 Women is focused on women entrepreneurs. According to their website, they offer a free online education program of 10-week-long courses available in English as well as Hindi, Brazilian Portuguese, and Latin American Spanish. They are designed for women business owners in emerging economies but are open to anyone. Women who complete the 10-week course gain access to the graduate alumni network. A few are also selected to join a select group of “Growth fellows” that attend in-person a next-level business coaching and training program in New York City.
Read more about the benefits of mentoring: Making Waves in Mentorship.
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