Success is a Team Sport: How to Help Others Up the Career Ladder

Managing transitions in a career is one of the most challenging time periods in our lives.  

To paraphrase my friend and corporate director, Susan Stautberg:  When God closes one door, he opens another, but the hallway is fiendishly difficult. 

Whether stepping back due to family matters or stepping up to fill a void, anxiety can create many sleepless nights particularly if you have battled to achieve the status and position which you currently hold and are looking for opportunities to stabilize your life or make a breakthrough by leading. Unfortunately, life offers few high-speed elevators which accelerate us to the upper levels.  Many times, we may find ourselves hurtling to the basement instead.  Those mentors who proactively help others succeed by bridging gaps and serving as an ongoing sounding board are some of our greatest assets. 

Today, our pandemic world is complex. It has never been more critical for mentors to be tenacious in providing support for women and diverse talent who may not have the familial, corporate or academic infrastructures to lay the groundwork for their advancement.

If you want to create a measurable difference, be prepared for a long-term alliance. I was fortunate to have such a relationship with the mentor I met while serving in the Reagan White House.  She was hands-on in opening doors, providing recommendations and specific advice to me for 15 years and is still a friend today.  When leaving a board, she recommended me to that board—a philosophy I have actualized through with my mentees.  By her willingness to make introductions to other high-level women, I have a network I call for advice and resources when I faced a complex conundrum.

In Washington, DC, there is a network of association and non-profit CEOs who graciously introduce their peers to personal attorneys, public relations gurus, digital profile experts and compensation professionals. As a woman advances to her CEO role, she does so with a reliable turnkey infrastructure that strengthens her position.

My favorite “hobby” is facilitating introductions, identifying credentialing opportunities and promoting the voice of amazing individuals with whom I am fortunate to interact.  Rising leaders need credentials to succeed. Be tangible by helping them publish, be a guest on podcast and/or nominate them for a recognition award or an appointment to a board or commission.  

The world requires we check certain boxes to be taken seriously in our careers.  Help your mentee do so not just once but a few times. Then they too will be able to reach back down and create that chain of interconnections to help the next generation.

Mentorship is a movement and not a moment. It is easier than you think to do your part.