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You might not know that several of the most successful CEOs have partnered with mentors to propel their careers and organizations. In fact, CEOs often have several mentors throughout their careers and simultaneously. The presenter of RedCloud’s latest internal “Lunch and Learn” has 10 mentors! Many of our teammates have expressed interest in mentoring programs so we invited Tatia Zuloaga, CEO and Co-founder of Upnotch, to share the value of mentorship at our Lunch and Learn series in May.
There are a lot of myths surrounding mentorship and how people perceive the process, and most people don’t realize there are actually a variety of ways to benefit as either a mentor, mentee, or even both. Taita explained the benefits of being a mentor and a mentee and that “you become a better mentor by being a mentee and you become a better mentee by being a mentor.”
A few “Mentorship Myths” we learned from Tatia:
You only need one mentor.
Successful people don’t need mentors anymore.
Having a mentor is a sign of weakness.
Your mentor must be in your industry.
You can only be a mentor or mentee.
Your mentor must be older than you.
It’s one-sided.
It’s time-consuming.
Your mentorship stops once you reach your goals.
Mentorship is commonly known as a way to give back, but as Tatia taught us, it is equally as important to our growth. “Reverse mentorship” is a recent trend in which professionals with more experience and a well-established career seek mentors younger than them to understand the new generation and the perspectives they bring to their work.
Tatia explained some key points on how the workforce has evolved today:
Millennials now outnumber baby boomers.
Learning from the new generations is critical to success.
A focus on continuously upskilling, as current skills could become obsolete.
Larry Page (Google), Warren Buffet (Berkshire Hathaway), Bob Iger (Disney), and Jeff Bezos (Amazon) are a few more CEOs who’ve benefited from mentorship. While partnering with a mentor used to be for the elite, mentorship is now accessible to all professionals, from interns and CEOs. The value of mentorship results in happier workplace relationships and allows companies to retain top talent.
Benefits of mentorship:
Helps to retain talent.
Reduces burnout.
Creating space for managers to build more human relationships with their employees.
658% increase in equity, fairness, and inclusion since 2018 (Harvard Business Review).
Tatia also shared tips and resources to ensure that whether you’re a mentor or mentee, you prepare for your role to create a successful partnership where both individuals benefit and grow.
Here are a few tips for preparing for a mentorship:
Set clear expectations.
Come prepared with questions (3-5).
Give gratitude and get feedback.
Our team was intrigued to hear how mentorship is a continuous learning cycle beginning with meeting a mentor, growing, becoming a mentor, growing again, and seeking another mentor when you have a challenge or new leadership role that would benefit from mentorship.
If you missed this Lunch and Learn, catch the recorded video below.
Thank you, Tatia, and the Upnotch team for an informative presentation on mentorship!