MIKE ABEL: Diversity in mentorship is key to career growth

The value of mentors in the development of young people cannot be overstated, especially in a highly competitive world. In the context of driving inclusion and a transformed society, mentorship relationships are not only fruitful, but crucial in promoting excellence and diversity in the workplace, as well as growing careers.

There isn’t a leader who, if they are honest, would claim they achieved their level of growth, self-awareness, and success — however it is measured — without the influence of formal or informal mentors. My life has been blessed with mentors in the shape of my grandparents and parents, advertising and marketing pioneers, and one of the greatest statesmen of the 20th century, Nelson Mandela.

Perhaps the best place to start with understanding mentorship is to wipe the slate clean and replace “the one” with “many”. Mentors are all around us all the time, and rather than seeking out a single personality, it is key to understand that mentorship is multilayered and ongoing, not a singular event or moment. Indeed, seek out difference. If two people share the same thoughts, views and opinions, from a business perspective there really is only a need for one of them.

James Keller wrote that “a candle loses nothing by lighting another”. People should seek out those who light others’ candles in a generous manner. Candles can be lit in many different ways, but the result is still light. That said, candles can be extinguished in different ways too, particularly where ego is a driving force.  For anyone entering a mentorship relationship, approach the exercise to learn, not to inveigle or ingratiate oneself. Honesty and authenticity are the engines that will propel someone to a successful career.

Being honest and vulnerable will bear fruit. The relationship is about listening, absorbing, challenging, pushing, and stretching. With the right intentions, a mentee should avoid becoming angry at a mentor for pushing and stretching them. Challenge is the only opportunity to grow, and that’s the point of mentorship. It’s all well and good to agree that mentorship is vital in the development of young, talented people, it is equally important for them, and the leaders they wish to learn from, to appreciate the core tenets of a good mentorship relationship.

The way to understand those tenets and how they apply to your current mentorship mix is through my mentorship matrix. From this you can begin to understand where your gaps are and where you need help:

• Affirmation. These are the people who offer the truth and help validate dreams, which are often brave and outrageous. These are often family members, friends, colleagues, and work superiors. This affirmation is jet fuel. When a small team filmed My Octopus Teacher, their dream of accepting an Oscar was stratospheric, but their success in achieving this was helped no doubt in large part by those people that ignited the rocket fuel of affirmation and validation.
• Challenge. At the same time as being validated, people must want to work with, and learn from, people who challenge them. These are the people who push back, question, and debate. The mentee must embrace the challenge and not become annoyed. They are being stretched to reach higher.
• Inspiration. We all need to feel inspired. Mentees, too, need to find people who inspire them. If they cannot engage them personally, they should read up on those people, and if they are published, read their works. Watch their content. This is vital as it shows us what is possible in our own lives. It is the light we need.
• Service. Perhaps the most important quadrant in the matrix of successful mentorship is the principle of service. In life we don’t receive because of what we take. Rather, we receive because of what we give. A mentor should ask: where can I contribute and make a difference? How many candles will I light along my journey? A mentee should ask: what can I take from this and how do I, in turn, contribute and make a difference? How do we shape and build those multilayered mentorships together?

Mentorship is not a simple transactional relationship that results in predefined steps up a career ladder. It is about a process, involving several different personalities, that shapes and moulds young talent into rounded and capable people. A mentor will never be able to answer every question a mentee asks, but together, if they work through a beautiful process underpinned by trust, they will decipher key aspects of the learning that enriches them both.

Leaders across industries can have a profound impact on shaping the minds and careers of young people, and that’s a gift for both parties.

• Abel is CEO partner at M&C Saatchi Abel, and the M&C Saatchi Group in Africa.