9 Lessons From the World’s Best Mentors
Our consultancy had a chance to work with GE recently, and we were thrilled to find it a culture that has taken mentoring to new heights. Senior people are encouraged and rewarded when they develop less experienced employees, usually colleagues who are not even in their own departments. Is it just to be nice? Hardly. It’s been great for business—helping develop a new generation of talent for this multinational conglomerate. It’s one reason GE is known as a leadership factory.
In my career no one ever assigned me a mentor. I had to go out and find them on my own. Here are just a few and the 9 lessons they taught me:
Kaye Jorgenson was the head of HR at a company I worked at.
She taught me: - Take your time. If it’s a big decision, take a deep breath, think things through, get some advice, and test out your decision before pulling the trigger.
- Look out for others. Kaye and I worked in offices 2,000 miles apart, but she called regularly to track my progress, sent me notes, and called with warnings or heads up when I’d ruffled feathers in the company and was unaware—which was pretty often. The point, root for each other, watch out for them, and if people come to you with confidences, then put them in the vault.
- Sometimes you have to fire people. Kaye taught me to give people a chance, but if a person is in the wrong job then make the tough call and let them go. She taught me how to do it with dignity, and care, and generosity.
Donald Bowers was my client—an executive at a pharmaceutical
company—when I was a young consultant just starting out. He taught me:- Learn their story. Donald not only knew everyone’s name in his building, but he had learned their stories. He never said a generic, “hi!” He made every greeting specific: “Bob, how’s your mother doing?” or “Susan, congrats on the promotion!” And people loved him for it.
- Give selflessly. He gave of himself to a dozen causes and hundreds of people. Even today, well into retirement, he works with the FIRST Robotics Competition—encouraging kids to enter the sciences.
- Stay in touch. Over the years Donald has stayed in touch with not only me but hundreds of others. He uses Facebook to drop a note, sends a text or calls with a funny line that he’s heard me on the radio that makes him think of you. Great mentors find ways to let you know they’re still out there cheering for you, even years later.
Kent Murdock was the CEO of the company I worked at for many
years. Perhaps no other mentor had a greater impact on my career. Three
lessons:- Take a risk on talent. It was Kent who first suggested that I get together with my now writing partner Adrian Gostick and put together a book about the cool consulting we were doing. In his very words: “Go make some noise.” He took away the corporate barriers, let us run, and trusted us; and in turn we made sure we never disappointed him.
- Deals can be redone. At one point I was on a trajectory that would move my family to the corporate headquarters for a desk job. Kent sensed I was distressed and said, “What do you really want to do?” I told him I wanted to stay at my home near New York and work with clients. He said, “Deals can be redone.” I’ve never been so relieved. I learned that sometimes a first deal isn't the right deal, and it’s more important to get things right for your people.
- When your time is up, have no regrets. When Kent retired he went off to serve a mission for his church for three years! Wow. When he came back to sit on the company’s board he didn’t butt in, but let the new leaders craft their way. He was at peace with that. I learned that when it’s time to move on, you move on with no regrets.
Top photo: Mike Hill/Photographer's Choice RF via Getty Images
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