Members' Suggestions: Modern Mentoring Q & A

Ruby Gottlieb, Director of Learning & Development Initiatives at Horizon Media Inc., shared with us an article recently published in The New York Times Jobs section on how the modern mentee has gone from being a silent partner to a contributor of ideas and even a reverse mentor. Here is an excerpt:

A Modern Mentor Is a Listener, Too by Eilene Zimmerman
Published on June 4 2010 in The New York Times

Traditionally, a mentor has been someone senior to you who helps you build skills and make connections. Although that definition generally still holds, the boundaries have changed somewhat, says Lois J. Zachary, president of Leadership Development Services in Phoenix and author of “The Mentee’s Guide: Making Mentoring Work for You.”

“The mentee or protégé has gone from being a passive learner — where the mentoring is done to you as you sit at the foot of the master — to an active learner who directs the process,” Ms. Zachary says. “It’s much more collaborative now; there is more precision and structure.”
Click Here to Read More...

If you would like to share ideas and suggestions with the AWNY Mentoring Program, please email us at awnymentoring@gmail.com.

Taking it to the Next Level by Lori Wigler

A topic Beth and I have discussed is motivating a team and leading key people to the next level in their careers. While some things are easy to measure (e.g. understanding media and using tools), it’s difficult to teach someone how to think “big picture”, to be “strategic”, and to think from a “holistic brand perspective”. I've been struggling with this task as I prepare my Account Executive for the next level. Beth gave me great suggestions and I recently put one to immediate use with a twist!

If a team member's work is not up to par or has errors, rather than fixing it for them or pointing out the issues, inform the employee that it isn't client ready. Direct the employee to spend more time with the project to find the mistakes. For example, I recently set up time with my Account Executive for something I call “Supervisor School”. I gathered a few recently completed emails or projects which I had revised. We spent about an hour going through four examples and talked about why I made revisions from a bigger picture perspective. Some of my key rules:

• Always ask why: we often are working at such a fast pace that we become task oriented vs. thinking about the big picture. You should attain the objective and end goal for each project. This will ensure the employee is always thinking about the next steps and will ask the right questions.
  

• 5 W’s (who, what, where, when, why & how): think back to elementary school--does the final project address all of these key points clearly? For example, who is the consumer/demo? What is the objective? How will we achieve it? These are basics, but are imperative for discussions.
  


• Get back to the clients' initial requests: have we answered it in the simplest terms? For example, we were asked for cancellation dollars and the AE provided a very detailed spreadsheet that highlighted by quarter, media type, etc. However, it failed to include a bottom line. While all the details were pertinent, we could have provided this as back-up and simply provided the bottom line amount to most efficiently answer the initial question.
  

This process helped set the precedence for my Account Executive of what the next level entails. I also made her aware that in the future, she should expect that I wouldn’t fix her work and instead have her spend more time with it. This process allowed me to set up my expectations upfront. My AE’s reaction to “Supervisor School” was incredibly positive. It was clear that I was invested in her growth and wanted to see her succeed. I have seen immediate positive changes in her work.

Members' Suggestions: Mentoring Article on Financial Times

Ruby Gottlieb, Director of Learning & Development Initiatives at Horizon Media Inc., shared with us an article recently published in Financial Times that talks about mentoring and its application in all situations. Here is an excerpt:

The Careerist: Mentoring by Rhymer Rigby
Published on January 24 2010 in Financial Times

Viewers of The X Factor television talent show in the UK will be used to hearing judges like Simon Cowell and Cheryl Cole talk about “mentoring” their new acts. Indeed, whether you are dealing with boy bands or bankers, there is more to mentoring than just pep talks and pointing out directions to the nearest pub. Click Here to Read More...

If you would like to share ideas and suggestions with the AWNY Mentoring Program, please email us at awnymentoring@gmail.com.

The All-Important Plan B by Lyle Landon & Adrienne Blanks

The AWNY Mentoring pairing of mentee Adrienne Blanks, Account Executive at the New York Times, and mentor Lyle Landon, National Sales Director at NCI got off to a great start with a friendly phone conversation and plans to meet for lunch in January. As soon as they were seated, Adrienne announced, “I have some news, I’ve been laid off.”

Lyle, an experienced mentor, realized that her anticipated agenda would have to be scrapped to deal with this new, urgent development. Adrienne was adamant that she wanted to continue with the program, and that she would be relying on it even more to help her develop and execute a new short-term and long-term plan. When Lyle got back from lunch, she got the news that her position, among others, also had been eliminated, effective immediately. What a beginning!

Adrienne and Lyle continued to have mentoring meetings - in diners in NJ, in cafes in New York and then via phone conversations when Adrienne went home to Houston to explore employment opportunities there. They both encouraged one another to investigate other specialties within media, as advertising sales positions were continuing to disappear. Adrienne networked through colleagues and friends and worked as an Independent Contractor managing regional marketing promotions. Lyle, who had established her own company in 2007 for freelance sales and marketing projects, became an independent representative for her former employer and an out-of-home college media company. These were short-term solutions for both women, but important steps that generated cash flow and built confidence.

As of December, Adrienne continues to do contract work as a marketing manager and has launched theblvdmag.com, an online magazine catering to the lifestyle of the culturally aware twenty-somethings in the greater Houston area. Lyle’s client base has expanded beyond ad sales to include an outplacement services company, Bloomingdale’s, the US Census and a nonprofit dance company.

Adrienne said, “The AWNY mentoring program afforded me the opportunity to meet a dynamic mentor who helped guide me through this challenging year.” Lyle said, “I can’t wait to see what happens in the AWNY Mentoring 2010 program!”

Grow: Inspirational Quotes

"A lot of people have gone further than they thought they could because someone else thought they could."

- Unknown

Grow: Think Big

A great mentor encourages her mentee to "think big," inspiring the exploration of business without any upward boundaries.

Many mentees are inspired by the stories of successful women - whether listening to the method with which their mentor solved a complicated strategic challenge, or reading the stories of successful leaders .

Even if you've seen this already, you can help but be inspired by Fortune's list of the 50 Most Powerful Women In Business:

http://money.cnn.com/magazines/fortune/mostpowerfulwomen/2008/full_list/

Think big. Then, get there.