More Leaders Need to #MentorHer

You can learn about LeanIn.Org's #MentorHer movement here: leanin.org/mentorher 

We are in an empowering time for women, and thank goodness for that. Over the last few months, countless scandals have shined a bright light on what many women have known for far too long: They are often victims of inappropriate workplace behavior, or worse. Thanks to the bravery of hundreds of women who have come forward to confront their aggressors, corporate America has been put on notice, and I am optimistic that conditions will improve. In the meantime, there is an unintended negative consequence of the #MeToo and Time’s Up movements: Some males may now be less likely to mentor women for fear of being in a situation that could be construed as inappropriate. But this is a total cop-out excuse, and male leaders need to step up and set an example.

This isn’t just hypothetical. According to recent research (1), the number of male managers who feel uncomfortable mentoring a woman has tripled in the wake of the widespread report of sexual harassment scandals. This is a problem, because mentorship fuels the pipeline for future leaders.

Mentorship has been critical to me throughout my career, from Susan in the NBC newsroom, who taught me the value of hard work as a high school intern, to Andy at Goldman Sachs, who taught me not just financial analysis but also many soft skills about navigating life inside an investment bank (“Junior analysts shouldn’t wear cuff links, Spencer”), to Rich at Zillow, who continues to teach and challenge me every day to think bigger. These people all unlocked future opportunities by extending their hands to help me up the career ladder.

There aren’t enough hands extended to women, and that’s partly because there aren’t enough women leaders. Just 6 percent of Fortune 500 companies are run by women, and less than 20 percent of U.S. Congress is comprised of women. This underrepresentation at the top creates a vicious cycle where women, who might not be part of the sports teams or the boys clubs, are left sidelined in the places where mentoring hands are often extended. That inaccessibility is wrong and unfair, and it makes companies worse.

Now more than ever, male leaders should be leaning in to mentoring women. We can’t improve on our embarrassingly low representation of women at the top if we only mentor other men.

I’ve had the privilege of mentoring two people on our executive team, both women: Kathleen Philips and Amy Bohutinsky. Kathleen and I started as colleagues at Hotwire (my startup before Zillow Group), and when we hired her as Zillow’s general counsel I became a mentor to her. Throughout our mentorship, Kathleen and I worked on ways to push her beyond her comfort zone. I encouraged her to pursue roles where I knew she could thrive. As a result, Kathleen became our first chief operating officer; today, she’s our chief financial officer.  

Amy started as our director of communications, something she’d done for Hotwire prior to joining the Zillow team. Having worked with Amy for a number of years, I saw the potential for a future for her that was much broader and bigger than her role at the time. So I made sure to invest time in broadening her everyday experiences – inviting her to meetings and strategy sessions outside her area of expertise, so she could learn about other parts of the business. She and I developed a close relationship where she felt comfortable asking a lot of questions. It took my time, but it was a long-term investment with her in her future. And over time, Amy grew to become chief marketing officer, and then COO at Zillow Group.

Mentoring has also helped me be a better leader. By mentoring others who aren’t carbon copies of me, I’ve strengthened my abilities and addressed my blind spots while also nurturing their development. Kathleen taught me how to advocate for one’s team; Amy helped me become a better communicator. I advocated for them, but I suspect I’ve learned more from them than they have from me.

My job as CEO, and the job of all leaders, is to develop other great leaders through mentorship. Excluding half the workforce from that opportunity because of feared reprisal is nonsensical. I challenge every male manager to find a woman you can mentor. We all need to address this together, without excuses, because it’s the right thing to do, and it’s long overdue. Step up, and #MentorHer.

1. Research conducted by LeanIn and SurveyMonkey.