Mentoring Matters

Hello,

Last month I promised to share my perspective on Women in New Energy (WiNE), and I’m guessing you want me to get on with it. I’ll do so but with a caveat.

The Executive Brief has a couple of meanings, it relates to the brief I receive from clients when they first approach me about a board-level appointment. I also intended that it would indicate that you could read this newsletter in a few minutes - that it would be brief.

Therein lies a problem. I could talk at length about the brilliantly organised and enthusiastically attended event, so to keep to the brief (get it ??) I’m focussing on my highlights.

Let’s dive in.

Mentor Super-power

WiNE aims to empower women’s growth and leadership in the UK’s energy industry. Last month’s event highlighted the delegates' concerns about a lack of role models, access to leadership roles, and the significance of mentorship: having someone (male or female) to help develop the leadership skills needed for board roles; to be guided, and have as a trusted sounding board on tough professional situations. The discussions touched on the perceived scarcity of mentors too.

My personal experience is that mentorship, like friendship, works best when I choose someone because I feel a genuine connection that allows me to be open and vulnerable when I need to be.

Finding my mentors has involved:

• Facilitated introductions to potential mentors. Sometimes the fit has been right, on other occasions, after a preliminary discussion, we’ve agreed not to work together. That’s fine.
• Putting myself “out there” and asking someone I already know to become my mentor when I realise they have the qualities I’m looking for at a particular point in my career. These relationships can endure or have a shelf-life as we both personally develop and prioritise other commitments.
• Recognising the value of informal mentoring and not worrying about putting a label on a professional relationship that provides me with a sense of validation and support.

Mentors often transition into sponsors, people who advocate for you in promotion and appointment decisions, and that can make all the difference for reaching the boardroom.

The WiNE discussions got me thinking about my colleagues, Hannah Smith and Taylor Hobbs , who have volunteered to become Career Ready mentors. This will involve working with local young people while developing skills they’ll use in many different ways throughout their own careers.

If this sounds like something you'd enjoy there's more information on the Career Ready website.

Like-ability v Capability

The Like-ability penalty certainly struck a chord at WiNE, with consensus that women have to be both likeable and capable. Stereotypes demand that women be warm and agreeable, and success seems to undermine that. How on earth can you be successful, likeable, a woman AND fantastic at your job. Imagine that?

It’s baffling to me that leadership could have a gender.

In this month’s Business Bulletin, I comment on how understanding your strengths and working style is an important early step to developing leadership capability.

I’ve explored my strengths using Gallup’s StrengthsFinder. There are 34 leadership themes in this assessment and considering these alongside the attributes people tell me they look for in their executive leadership I encourage aspiring leaders to cultivate their inherent talents in parallel with:

Trust

It’s a basic relationship filter and involves always doing what you say you will do and being candid – especially when communicating difficult news to your team.

Seen To Lead

Take a moment to consider how visibly you convey with confidence that you are in charge. Are you energised and making real inroads to the business plan, or do you appear distracted, constantly reacting to the demands of the day?

Centred

Despite the mercurial characteristics of celebrity business leaders, most employees want their leaders to be level-headed, fully present, active listeners and a source of good advice.

Emotional Intelligence

Fundamentally, everyone wants to feel valued in the workplace, this requires empathy, the ability to be supportive, show appreciation and care.

Action Over Allies

Being aligned with the imperatives of gender balance, female leadership, and the advancement of women at work is one thing.

The real value sits in being an advocate, taking action to help achieve the goals.

I know recruiters have a vital role to play – and it makes me feel proud and energised in equal measure.

What actions could you take?

The list is almost endless…… become a mentor, champion a female co-worker, share your knowledge to help someone learn something new, encourage a woman to go for the promotion you know she deserves, increase the visibility of great work and the person who created the work, call out inherently biased behaviour ………….

Ladies, action sits with you too, here are my top tips:

You can read about the Big, Hairy, Audacious goal set at WiNE: ?Women in New Energy challenge: Ban the 'manel'.

Sporting Hero

My household is football daft, and I’ll admit to enjoying the kudos from my boys when I told them I was working with a local sporting hero (maybe you can relate to the general air of indifference kids have for their parents’ careers ??). In the next Executive Brief we’ll talk about making the transition from sport to business.

Until then,

Amanda

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