Stacie Rankey
Mentor. The word has become a buzz word in the professional world. All the cool people are talking about it, speakers are doing Zoom presentations on it and organizations are promoting it. I had mentors before it was cool, and I have two mentors. One is younger than me by a few years and she brings honesty, financial savviness, and wisdom to our relationship; we have been connected for 13 years. The other one I connected with at the beginning of my career is my big sister. She brings perspective, truth, and care to our relationship and we have been connected for about 17 years. My life both professionally and personally are richer because of these women. It was never a formal ask, it just happened, and they readily gave of themselves. I called before I changed jobs, when I had a gal who did not want to work with me at the office, but against me. I called for advice about different segments of the industry and networking and sometimes just to ask for prayers. We text a lot, we are all busy, but I always find a way to connect to them. And if it has been too long, they check in on me. That is the beauty of mentoring and why I feel called to do the same. We can make the path a bit easier by sharing our knowledge and offering advice. You generally know who is open to that, and those that aren’t to share the value. If we do not talk and tell each other our professional stories and how we navigated it in muddy waters, then we risk younger women not understanding the importance and value.
Some younger women do not know how to find a mentor or how to ask someone to be their mentor. As professionals and certainly as women, we are encouraged to have a mentor. Mentoring is the future for our industry; there is a lot you cannot learn in a book. The good news is more people are sharing that they have or have had mentors.
And there seems to be two groups: those that do not have any idea about mentoring and how much it can add to your growth and those that do and embrace multiple opportunities to mentor or be mentored It is not a spoken rule, but in any industry and certainly in a male dominated one, it is key in navigating office politics interactions, meetings, and conferences.
It was never really spoken about when I entered this industry 19ish years ago. Luckily it is becoming an ongoing conversation as women are taking a proactive role in their professional development, including looking for additional resources through coaching, networking groups, and mentors. I think of it as a gift I am responsible for paying it forward. A simple way to thank all those that have extended themselves for me as I have gone through my professional journey. That college graduate who has great ideas but is reserved with the team. Share with her some direction for those ideas and tell her what you see in her. And there are many ways to mentor. You can have a regular schedule with your mentee, or it may be more that your actions are visible and you are able to mentor a larger group. This can be incredibly helpful in navigating the questions of what they should expect in situations that can have a positive impact on them, the business, and their industry reputation. Not knowing can lead a person new to the industry down the wrong path. And the effort it takes to reestablish your reputation can take years. You can do a lunch and learn preparing them for conferences, strategizing for a client meeting, or even how to participate in the industry. We all know there are tons of places to connect and network, share that information with a younger colleague, or better yet invite them to something you are attending and give them an idea what to expect. You can then answer any questions that they may have or be able to make an introduction to someone that they want to connect with but were afraid to reach out to because of their reputation in the industry or title.
We are so blessed to have women-focused groups within the industry, but chances are, and especially now in our new world of Zoom, you know about that group because of your connections and networking. Are you sharing that information with your team or with someone that you know is struggling and needs to connect with some leadership that is not at the office? What a perfect time to mentor someone. Think back to your first mentor. Chances are most of us will say a parent or a teacher. We did not know that the support and encouragement was mentoring, but we all made our way with that support and encouragement. And as we gain positions and responsibilities, we need different types of support and encouragement or just a good kick in the pants when we are not fulfilling our goals. Sometimes the work is hard, but the payoff is so worth it, and the best part is you have someone by your side to reassure you that you are on the right path or back up and take another shot. Failure is the key to success.
I consider myself lucky, in my little country town population of 5,000. My mom chose a career outside of the home, not to be a homemaker, and my grandmother stayed with me. I was blessed to have that close relationship. All my friend’s moms stayed home. I knew I was not nurse or teacher material, but I was intrigued by business. When I went to college a semester late because I was working, my mom gave me a copy of John Molloy’s Dress for Success, which was a hot topic in the late 80’s. More women were choosing a career, but we had missed a lot of information on the office and Molloy sought to provide solutions. This book taught me a lot and really set me up for a lifetime of mentoring and be mentored. Mentors give freely of their experience and expertise to others so that we, as women, learn and then we can reciprocate. Mentoring is meant to be taught and shared.
I encourage you to look around and see who you can help by either talking to them about mentoring or being their mentor. Mentoring makes us all better and another way to leave your legacy. We are all called to make this industry better than it was when we got here. The question is are you going to answer it?
