The Value of Mentorship in Technology

𝗪𝗵𝘆 𝗘𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘆 𝗟𝗲𝗮𝗱𝗲𝗿 (𝗘𝘀𝗽𝗲𝗰𝗶𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘆 𝗧𝗵𝗼𝘀𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝗨𝘀 𝗢𝘃𝗲𝗿 𝟱𝟬!) 𝗡𝗲𝗲𝗱𝘀 𝗮𝗻 "𝗨𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗿 𝟯𝟬" 𝗠𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗼𝗿 During my military career, I had a reputation for early adoption of technology. In 1990, I set up my section’s first desktop computer. In 2020, I implored our four-star generals to invest in high performance computing, data storage, networking infrastructure and other resources required to implement AI. Especially as a general officer, I sought out "Under 30" mentors. Their perspectives were critical in making decisions that would solve today's problems, vice rehashing yesterday's solutions. Lately, I've been working with Ethan Rapkin-Stiles, our fantastic MTF.TV's MEET THE FUTURE fellow. Collaborating with him is a powerful reminder of the value of an "Under 30" mentor. Are you thinking "But wait, with all these new AI functions, won't agentic AI do the 'intern' jobs?" While AI can handle many tasks, there are many aspects of a human that AI can't replicate. Reasons for "Under 30" mentors: 𝗥𝗲𝗮𝗹-𝗧𝗶𝗺𝗲 𝗧𝗲𝗰𝗵 𝗜𝗻𝘀𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁𝘀 (𝗪𝗵𝗼 𝗞𝗻𝗲𝘄 𝗧𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝗪𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝗦𝗼 𝗠𝗮𝗻𝘆 𝗣𝗹𝗮𝘁𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗺𝘀?) Under 30 mentors live and breathe digital. From the nuances of social media platforms to the applications of AI or VR/AR, they've got the pulse on what's new and what actually matters. They offer fresh insights into the technologies reshaping industry markets. 𝗘𝘃𝗼𝗹𝘃𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗖𝗼𝗺𝗺𝘂𝗻𝗶𝗰𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗗𝘆𝗻𝗮𝗺𝗶𝗰𝘀 (𝗧𝗵𝗲𝘆 𝗗𝗼𝗻'𝘁 𝗔𝗻𝘀𝘄𝗲𝗿 𝗣𝗵𝗼𝗻𝗲𝘀) For many young people, to include my kids, phone calls are intrusive or for emergencies. Texts and direct messages are the default for everything from quick questions to detailed plans. 𝗛𝘆𝗽𝗲𝗿-𝗣𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹𝗶𝘇𝗲𝗱 & 𝗩𝗶𝘀𝘂𝗮𝗹 𝗜𝗻𝗳𝗼 𝗖𝗼𝗻𝘀𝘂𝗺𝗽𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 (𝗕𝗲𝘆𝗼𝗻𝗱 𝗡𝗲𝘄𝘀 𝗦𝗼𝘂𝗿𝗰𝗲𝘀) Despite the possible disinformation risks, TikTok and YouTube Shorts platforms are significant sources of information, where news, reviews and trends are consumed in bite-sized, highly engaging video. While older professionals still use traditional sources, young people use short-form video to receive information quickly. These personalized feeds are the default. 𝗜𝗻𝘁𝘂𝗶𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗡𝗮𝘃𝗶𝗴𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 (𝗧𝗵𝗲𝘆 𝗚𝗿𝗲𝘄 𝗨𝗽 𝗪𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗧𝗵𝗶𝘀!) Young people intuitively grasp new apps and digital interfaces, often learning by trial and error, not formal instruction. The first iPhone came out when my son was five, leading to early and ongoing exposure. Investing in “Under 30 mentors” will help the “seasoned” leader build an agile, informed, and forward-thinking team by bridging generational gaps and gaining fresh, unfiltered insights into the technologies, platforms, and digital behaviors that are reshaping markets and talent pools. So, if you're over 50 trying to keep up, I highly recommend recruiting at least one "under 30" mentor! #Leadership #Mentorship #GenerationalInsight #TechTrends #WorkplaceCulture #Innovation #AgenticAI

𝗦𝗵𝗲 𝗟𝗲𝗮𝗱𝘀 𝗦𝗧𝗘𝗠 𝟭𝟬𝟬 𝗟𝗲𝗮𝗱𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝗥𝗲𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁: 𝗣𝗼𝗱𝗰𝗮𝘀𝘁 𝗗𝗿𝗼𝗽 𝗦𝗵𝗮𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗙𝗶𝗻𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴𝘀 I recently had the honor of being interviewed for the Empowering Women’s Podcast “Sisters in STEM” series. Host Shannon Bumgarner and I discussed: ✅My journey as a woman in engineering and what inspired me to write "She Engineers." ✅Findings from my "She Leads STEM 100 Leaders Project" report related to success trends among women STEM leaders and what organizations are doing to support emerging and current women leaders ✅The crucial roles that mentorship, self-advocacy, and communication skills play in helping women advance their STEM careers ✅A sneak peek of upcoming initiatives from my company in 2024 As I shared with Shannon: "Do not allow someone else's lack of imagination to limit where you go." 𝗜𝗳 𝘆𝗼𝘂'𝗿𝗲 𝗮 𝘄𝗼𝗺𝗮𝗻 𝗶𝗻 𝗦𝗧𝗘𝗠 𝗹𝗼𝗼𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗼 𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗽 𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗼 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗽𝗼𝘄𝗲𝗿 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗿𝗲𝗱𝗲𝗳𝗶𝗻𝗲 𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗱𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗽 𝗻𝗼𝗿𝗺𝘀, 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗲𝗽𝗶𝘀𝗼𝗱𝗲 𝗶𝘀 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝘆𝗼𝘂! Links to access this interview are in the comments. One key insight we explored is the vital role of mentors and sponsors as it relates to advancement and seeing more women STEM leaders within our organizations. In my research for the 'She Leads STEM 100 Leaders Project,' I found that 89% of the current women leaders I interviewed could point back to a mentorship moment that, in hindsight, was a catalyst to rise into their current leadership role. This underscores the importance of mentorship in our journeys. 🚩I'm curious: who has been a valuable mentor in your STEM career journey? What impact did they have? Share in the comments! #womeninindustry #womeninSTEM #STEMcareers #womeninengineeing #empoweringwomen

Embracing the Role of a Mentor: Empowering New Professionals We have a wonderful opportunity to give back to our community and shape the future of our industries. One of the most rewarding ways to do this is by offering mentorship to those just starting their careers. Mentoring not only benefits the mentees but also enhances our own growth as leaders. Here are some great tips, add more to the comments! Be Approachable and Open: Create an environment where new professionals feel comfortable reaching out for guidance. Offer a friendly and non-intimidating demeanor that encourages them to share their thoughts and questions openly. Listen Actively: Take the time to actively listen to your mentees' aspirations, challenges, and concerns. By understanding their unique needs and goals, you can tailor your mentorship to provide the most valuable insights . Set Clear Expectations: Right from the start, establish clear expectations for the mentorship relationship. Discuss the frequency of meetings, preferred communication channels, and specific areas of focus to ensure both parties are aligned. Share Your Experiences: Draw from your own experiences, both successes, and failures, to provide valuable insights. Real-life stories can be incredibly impactful and help mentees navigate their own paths. Encourage Goal-Setting: Help your mentees set realistic short-term and long-term goals. Guide them in creating actionable plans to achieve these objectives, and provide support and motivation along the way. Expose Them to Opportunities: Offer exposure to new opportunities, such as workshops, conferences, or networking events. This can broaden their horizons and help them build valuable connections within the industry. Challenge and Encourage Growth: Mentorship is not just about offering praise. Encourage your mentees to step out of their comfort zones, embrace challenges, and foster growth. Constructive feedback is key to their professional development. Be a Role Model: Lead by example. Demonstrate the values and work ethic you want your mentees to adopt. Your actions speak louder than words, and they will look up to you as a role model. Respect Their Individuality: Recognize that each mentee is unique, with their own strengths and weaknesses. Tailor your approach to meet their individual needs and learning styles. Celebrate Their Successes: Acknowledge and celebrate your mentees' achievements, both big and small. Positive reinforcement boosts their confidence and motivates them to excel further. Stay Committed: Mentorship is an ongoing process, and it takes time to see meaningful results. Be patient, committed, and supportive throughout the journey. By providing mentorship to new professionals, we can make a profound impact on their careers and the industry as a whole. Let's continue to pay it forward and empower the next generation of leaders! #MentorshipMatters #LeadershipDevelopment #CareerGrowth 

Let me be clear… I wouldn’t be in the tech industry today if it weren’t for my network and my mentors. I would not be in DC, I would not be in my current role, and I most likely would not have even gotten my first DEI internship if it were not for someone believing in me and pushing me to do what I didn’t even know I could. This is why I talk about mentorship and networking so often because their significance cannot be overstated! Before my best friend and mentor, Noelle Fall took time out of her day to connect and recommend me to roles in tech, I had never even thought about working in the industry because I didn’t know anyone in it. Before Jeanne Bronson and Mary Frances Weatherly encouraged me to apply to my first DEI internship at Pearson, I didn’t even know that DEI was being done on a corporate scale. Before Dr. Florida Starks closely mentored me as I completed that first DEI internship, I would not have had the courage or the knowledge to apply to my internship at Adobe. So you see, someone had to pour into me each step of the way. Growing up in Alabama as a young girl, encountering individuals who resembled me in influential positions was a rarity. Prior to college, the world of big tech seemed distant and unfamiliar. It wasn’t until others illuminated the path for me that I realized my own potential. So remember, the best walks through life are not taken alone. Seek out mentorship opportunities, connect with others, and don’t hesitate to seek guidance when necessary. Surround yourself with advocates who can champion your cause, especially when self-advocacy feels daunting. And if you ever need someone to talk to along the way hit me in the dms! I would love to help in anyway possible 🫶🏾 #tipswithtaylor #mentorshipmatters #blackintech

The advice of someone three or five or ten years ahead of you is critical if you want to know where the high leverage opportunities (and also landmines) are. Four ways to maximize the value of a mentorship: 1. Lead with value. Want a long term relationship? Figure out how you can add value to the mentor also. Maybe it’s a book you read, podcast you discovered, or inefficiency you noticed and can help them solve. 2. Show up prepared. Bring pen, paper, and good questions to any lunch or coffee. 3. Be ready to execute. Whatever advice you get, act on it. Or be ready to lose the relationship. Good mentors don’t have time to give to people who won’t act. 4. Follow up. Let your mentor know what you tried, what worked, and what didn’t. Maybe the issue was the advice… maybe it was your execution… work with them to figure this out.

Micro-mentorship Many young people have asked me questions such as: “Should I do a master/PhD?” or “How do I prepare for this interview?” My first response is usually: “Do you have friends you can talk to about this?” What surprised me is how often the answer is no. Most people understand the value of mentorship: learning many things from one mentor. Yet, most people underestimate the value of micro-mentorship: learning something from everyone. It’s very hard to find mentors who are much ahead of us career-wise: they are at different phases in life and care about different things. Even if we find one, it might be hard for mentors to relate to us, or for us to be completely open with them. I find myself learning the most from peers who are better than me at something. A coworker who spoke at a conference I want to speak at. A college friend who got a job at my dream company. A friend who has a lot more experience hiring than me. What helped me the most in the first few years after college was these friends/micro-mentors. I had a pact with a few friends: we checked in regularly to share the challenges we are facing, what we want to achieve, and how we are moving toward those goals. These friends kept me accountable, helped me talk things through, and occasionally helped me regain my confidence and perspective after the poor decisions I made. So, what if you don’t have friends you can talk to about important career and life decisions? Find new friends. You don’t have to stop spending time with your existing friends. You can have both. Put yourself in an environment where you can meet people who care about the same things you do: take online courses, befriend the course assistants, attend guest lectures and ask questions, talk to organizers about how you can help, join communities, volunteer to run those communities. Reach out to acquaintances. All good things take time. It took me two years after graduation and many many weekends to finally feel like I’d found my people. But now, looking back, I believe the effort was more than worth it. #careergrowth #mentorship

Tough conversations with a client are never easy. Try having one when you’re a freshly minted consultant (who didn’t know what “case interview” is when faced with one!), and your client is down 20% in revenue, and you’re explaining the need to get back to parity by getting revenues increased by 25% (as opposed to 20%). This was me early on in my career. The client and I were both frustrated, and I was also naive. So how did it overcome the situation? I met with my mentor who recommended ignoring the math for now (a tough task for a math major!), which the client is getting stuck on, and just talk about her goals, reservations and opportunities for growth – and how we were going to achieve this. My sponsor helped me broker the conversation with the client, and we were able to turn the conversation around and we successfully helped them to embark on a transformation journey. If I didn’t have a solid network of #mentors, #sponsors or #coaches, I would’ve been stuck and likely failing at delivering for the client. Even today for me, there is immense value in having mentors, coaches, and sponsors. You can think of these three as: ▶️ Mentors: helping you with direct feedback and advice ▶️ Coaches: helping you hone your skills ▶️ Sponsors: helping you grow your career For me personally, I have had a mix of all three my entire career; and they range from personal friends to business contacts who have also become friends. They’re also made up across a variety of ages, backgrounds and geographies. As we reach mid-point in the year, we’re now in mid-year review season. Likely, we are all doing mid-year reviews of ourselves, our colleagues and direct reports, or we’re part of a summer internship program. In any case, having mentors, coaches and sponsors is absolutely critical for success as we reflect on our achievements and tackle our goals. We can try to do it alone, but we typically get stuck or fail trying as I learned early in my career. We need each other. And it doesn't stop there! As we progress in our careers, it's essential to #payitforward and become mentors, coaches and sponsors ourselves. By sharing our knowledge, offering guidance, and championing emerging talent, we can cultivate a culture of growth and uplift those around us.

The Power of Mentorship: A Personal Reflection 🤔 My mother is my first mentor, she gave me the base to succeed. She had a GED education and was a teenage mother. She has been my best mentor. Throughout my career, I've been fortunate enough to have exceptional mentors who provided guidance, support, and inspiration. Their influence has had a profound impact on both my professional achievements and personal growth. In this post, I'd like to share some insights I've gained from this invaluable relationship and the importance of mentorship. 🌟 The Importance of Asking Questions One of the vital lessons that my mentors taught me was to never hesitate to ask questions. They encouraged me to challenge the status quo, be curious about different perspectives, and seek opportunities for growth – all by simply asking the right questions. 🚀 Embracing Failure Another key takeaway from my mentors is that failure is part of the journey to success. They helped me understand that failure offers us an opportunity to learn, grow and ultimately become better individuals and professionals. 👥 Networking and Building Relationships My mentors also placed great emphasis on networking and building meaningful relationships with people both within and outside my industry. They emphasized the importance of being open-minded, receptive to feedback, and learning from others' experiences. In conclusion, mentorship has played an integral role in shaping my career and personal development. Not only did it provide me with guidance during challenging times but also encouraged continuous learning and growth. I'm grateful for everyone who has been part of this journey as a mentor or mentee. If you haven't experienced the power of mentorship yet or want to pay it forward as a mentor yourself– now's the time! Share your own story or thoughts about mentoring in the comments below 👇We wrote a book together. #success-reinvention Success Reinvention #booksuccessreinvention

Let's talk about something that's been on my mind – the fading vibe of mentorship in our hustle-driven world. Why does it seem like everyone's on a solo journey to success? Let's dive in and explore why mentorship is the secret sauce we all need for personal and collective growth! First off, the hustle culture has got us believing it's all about "me, myself, and I." But guess what? True success is a team sport! Mentorship is like passing on the cheat codes of life to level up together. Why go through every level alone when someone's been there, done that, and can guide you? Our crazy schedules and non-stop lives make it tough to connect on a deep level. But here's the deal: mentorship isn't about adding more to your plate; it's about making what's already there more meaningful. Let's ditch the notion that being busy means being successful – real success is about uplifting others on the journey. Knowledge is power, and mentorship is the ultimate power-up! Imagine a world where seasoned pros share their wisdom, not just their wins. It's not just about climbing the career ladder; it's about creating a ladder for others too. Now, let's get real about diversity and innovation. Mentorship isn't just a chat over coffee; it's a game-changer for breaking down barriers. When leaders actively mentor, they bring fresh voices to the table, sparking ideas that can rock the industry. So, my fellow change-makers, let's flip the script. Embrace the responsibility of being a mentor. It's not about preaching success; it's about sharing the messy, real journey. Let's be the leaders who build bridges between generations, creating a community where everyone's on the rise. Remember, success isn't a solo act – it's a collaborative masterpiece. Let's break the mold, be the mentors we wish we had, and turn the professional world into a thriving playground of shared victories!

#Mentorship is often framed as a benefit for employees, who gain knowledge, skills and a deeper level of engagement with their organization. This is certainly true – I’ve been a beneficiary of this – but it’s important to make the case for how mentorship programs help organizations, too. Take fintech/payments, which is an extremely complex field. It’s a mix of stakeholders, technologies and processes that affect the transfer of money around the globe – all with hefty regulatory oversight. And it changes so often that someone entering (or re-entering) the field starts out with a lot to learn. Mentoring relationships ensure the collective wisdom of the organization is shared. When organizations recognize the value of mentorships, it creates the perfect environment for a win-win: Employees receive valuable skills, and the company encourages mentorships because they cultivate highly effective leaders. I’m proud Global Payments Inc. embraces this important activity. #NationalMentoringMonth