The value of a mentor is invaluable to ones career success. Whether it be a family member, coach, teacher, fellow colleague or boss, many great success stories give praise to the people who played a major role in helping them reach their full potential.
The following are leading executives who made Black Enterprise’s 50 Most Powerful Women in Corporate America list, and their insights on the role mentorship has played in their career.
Thasunda Brown Duckett, CEO of Chase Auto Finance:
“When I think about mentorship I take on a much broader definition in terms of how I look at it. For me, I learn from everybody,” says Brown Duckett. “My team mentors me. The people who are doing the work mentor me. Clearly, my peers and my colleagues mentor me. It’s important because to be a leader, it’s not just about getting that next job, it’s also about surrounding yourself with people who can help you excel in your current job.”
In addition to mentorship, Brown Duckett also says that advocacy and sponsorship is important when navigating throughout your career.
“You want people to be compelled to talk about you. You want people to know you, know your performance and what you represent so when opportunities come along, or when people hear about a business problem, they’re thinking about you because they know who you are and they can advocate on your behalf.”
Brown Duckett says that her colleagues Kevin Watters and Gordon Smith have been not only mentors to her, but also advocates and sponsors.
Freda Lewis-Hall, M.D., Chief Medical Officer and Executive Vice President at Pfizer Medical:
“I think mentorship is absolutely essential,” says Lewis-Hall, while pointing out that career mentors, coaches and champions are not the same thing. “Mentors, I think, are people who learn you intimately. They kind of understand what your values are and
who you are as a person. They understand your strength and are willing to look for and describe to you where they think your opportunities are for development. They’re the ones that I’ve had for years and tap into over time.”She names Dr. LaSalle Leffall, Jr., whom she met while earning her medical degree from Howard University College of Medicine, as someone who she turns to for advice.
Teresa White, President of Aflac U.S.:
“Mentoring is absolutely important because it gives you an opportunity to reassess your own career goals and what’s important to you at whatever point in
time it is for your career,” says White. “Mentors get to know you and they understand who you are and where you’re trying to go. They hold a mirror up to you and give you candid feedback as to, ‘Here is what you said you want to do, but here is where you fall short.'”She credits former Aflac employee Becky Davis as having a huge influence in her career early on and says that Aflac’s CEO Daniel Amos has also served as a huge mentor to her.
Kathy Waller, Chief Financial Officer and Executive Vice President at The Coca-Cola Company:
“I truly believe I would not be where I am today if so many great mentors had not taken the time and invested in me,” says Waller. “One of the best gifts a great mentor can give is the gift of total and brutal honesty.”
While Waller says that there are absolute too many people to name who have helped her along her career, she cites her previous manager, Gary Fayard, and current manager Muhtar Kent as being huge influences in helping her reach her potential.
Michelle Robinson, President, Southeast Region at Verizon Communications, Inc.:
“Mentorship has been important for me personally, and I try to pay it forward by making time to be a mentor for others. It doesn’t always have to be as formal as many people imagine,” says Robinson. “I also think having multiple mentors is not unreasonable. Everyone has strengths and weakness and some mentors may be great support in some areas while others have strengths in other areas.”