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.

Share: Fran Hauser answers more questions!

Fran Hauser graciously volunteered to answer a few questions after speaking at the Leadership Breakfast Series in June. The following are Fran's answers to two questions posted by our blog readers.

Q. As a woman with an impressive job who has climbed the career ladder to a spot that many of us aspire to reach someday, what do you see as your next steps? What are the next set of goals you'd like to achieve, either for yourself personally and/or your career?

A. I would like to run my own business one day. I think that would be an incredible next step in my career (although, I don't think I am quite there yet). I am still enjoying my current role too much. On the personal side of things, I would love to start a family.

Q. While managing 150 people at age 27 at Coca Cola, you obviously grasped some key principles of management at a young age. What are key pieces of advice for: 1) first-time managers and 2) young managers whosupervise older colleagues?

A. Key pieces of advice for first-time managers: learning how to delegate doesn't mean totally letting go (you still need to stay close enough to the situation to be aware of when you need to get involved). Remember that different people are motivated by different things (someby money, some by public recognition, some by being given exposure to senior management, etc..) so you need to adapt your style. Always take a step backand and revisit what success looks like for the business and/or for a specific project. Be specific with what your expectations are (especially with junior staff) sometimes to the point of working with them to sketch out a template of what the final product/presentation should look like.

Key pieces of advice for young managers who supervise older colleagues: identify what the older colleagues' strengths are that complement your "gaps" and let them know that you are really going to be relying on them for that. Do a lot of listening (make it clear that you respect their experience and their opinions) and earn their respect by delivering results.

Special thanks to Fran Hauser & Cheryl Darmanin.

Share: Fran Hauser at the Leadership Breakfast Series by Christa Babcock

Fran Hauser, President of Digital for the Time Inc. Style and Entertainment Group,was interviewed by Cheryl Darmanin, Sr. Director of Account Management at Yahoo, at Yahoo as the first speaker for an exclusive Mentors/Mentees breakfast meeting series at Yahoo on June 9th. Fran oversees all business, sales, product development and production functions for the digital products of the PEOPLE Brand, Entertainment Weekly, In Style and Essence. She joined PEOPLE Digital as General Manager in February 2006. She shared incredible insights into the life of a leader, and how one can grow into a leadership role, and answered questions from the floor. Below are questions and answers from the event. If you didn’t make it to the event and have questions for Fran, please blog them here. Fran has graciously volunteered to answer a few questions and the mentoring committee will make selections by Monday, June 22nd.

Q: I think a lot of people have parents that guide them into or away from certain careers. Tell me a little bit about your childhood, growing up and how that impacted your career today?

A: Growing up, I got great guidance right at home. My parents were actually both new to this country from Italy. They didn’t speak a word of English, so there I was as a child, making the phone calls if something needed to be fixed in the house, and helping to take on that more adult role. As for the career I chose, I remember in college that they were fine with me studying business and pursuing finance. They didn’t think it was a bad thing, at all. However, I also saw both of my parents work incredibly hard and despite the language barrier, I saw them succeed. Just watching them do that gave me huge motivation to succeed, as well.

Q: What do you look for in a leader – whether you are hiring externally or promoting from within? Why is that important to you?

A: At Time, all of the leaders have one characteristic in common; they exude a quiet confidence. As leaders, we ask ‘am I projecting confidence as a leader even during a tough time?’ Quiet confidence, not aggressive confidence. Watch people during difficult situations.

Q: How do you manage work/life balance?

A: Scheduling. I schedule time for philanthropy and for time for my family. Every Sunday to this day, I see my family. We spend time together. At first you say, ‘Oh. I’m going to get back on Monday and have 200 e-mails, so let me just get some of that done now.’ But then you realize that you get sucked into that and that it is, in fact, okay to wait until Monday. By scheduling that time, you can make sure that you fulfill your work life balance. It is important not to get sucked into the weeds.

Q: You are a board member of the Women’s Leadership Foundation. Tell me about that organization and why is it important to you?

A: The goal of The Women’s Leadership Foundation, which works primarily in New Jersey and New York City is to help girls in Urban areas, who wouldn’t otherwise be able to, get into college. We provide Financial Aid and Scholarships. When the Executive Director first met with me, she said it was important to make sure I was only on one Board and that this was it and I liked that. The girls who participate in this program would never have a chance to go to college. It makes me cry to think about it and it is amazing to see what they accomplish.

Q: What do you like most about your job?

A: Thinking about building products that excite and delight in what consumers want!

Learn: The New Executive Woman

According to Forbes Woman, "the new executive woman doesn't wear opaque panty hose and doesn't wait around for a promotion."

A new age of young female executives are taking the corner office by storm, viewing their careers strategically and not settling for jobs that do not challenge and advance them.

Read more about the new wave of female leaders, from Melissa Mayer of Google to Cheryl Sandberg of Facebook to Anne Mulcahy of Xerox.

http://www.forbes.com/2009/04/01/workplace-career-ladder-women-power-executive.html

Learn: Leadership Lessons from a Philanthropist

In the March 2009 issue of The McKinsey Quarterly, Jacqueline Novogratz, CEO of Acumen Fund, shares leadership lessons from her experience in venture philanthropy in Africa. The video is embedded above - you can also view the transcript of her interview here:

http://www.mckinseyquarterly.com/Organization/Talent/Women_and_leadership_Learning_from_the_social_sector_2336
Key leadership lessons from Jacqueline include:

• "I had to learn to have the humility myself to really listen to their perspectives, and yet not stop there; to have the audaciousness to say, “It’s a good starting point, but we want to get you to this other place.”
• "The real lesson for me was how that dignity is so much more important to the human spirit than wealth"
• "[...] leadership as a way of inspiring, listening, and letting people [...] grow themselves in their own way.
• "I’m a big optimist. I really believe in setting impossible goals and then making them possible."

Learn: How Talented Women Thrive

We thought you would appreciate this recent study from The McKinsey Quarterly. McKinsey interviewed more than 85 women around the world to learn what drives and sustains successful female leaders. They distilled a model called “Centered Leadership” based on five broad, interrelated dimensions. The five dimensions are as follows:

Meaning – finding your strengths and putting them to work in the service of an inspiring purpose
Managing Energy – knowing where your energy comes from, where it goes, and what you can do to manage it
Positive Framing – adopting a more constructive way to view your world, expand your horizons, and gain the resilience to move ahead even when bad things happen
Connecting – identifying who can help you grow, building stronger relationships, and increasing your sense of belonging
Engaging – finding your voice, becoming self-reliant and confident by accepting opportunities and the inherent risks they bring, and collaborating with others

Click below for the full article from McKinsey:
http://www.mckinseyquarterly.com/Centered_leadership_How_talented_women_thrive_2193

Comment to share your thoughts on this study.