Short-term Mentors, Long-term Effects

"Many of the CEOs I interviewed for my book had traditional mentoring relationships when they started out," says Lucinda Watson, author of How They Achieved: Stories of Personal Achievement and Business Success. "That's what happens in a corporate hierarchy. You come to a company as a young person and you find somebody who is going to lead you up the ranks, and you get groomed for success that way.

"But that's definitely not the only kind of mentor there is. I taught communications in the business school at Berkeley for many years. Part of my job was to speak with the students and talk with them about their futures and what they wanted to do. So I was a mentor to them for the time that they were in my school.

"I used to organize luncheons with CEOs in the San Francisco area. I'd invite them to come and speak to 10 young MBA students and share their thoughts and experiences for an afternoon. No one ever turned me down.

"You can be a mentor to someone for a matter of minutes. My grandfather was the founder of IBM. He wanted my father to take over the business. But when my Dad went into the army, he wanted to be a pilot, and he thought he would be an airline pilot when he got out.

"One day, my grandfather had a conversation with General Omar Bradley about what my father would do when he left the armed forces. My dad expressed his doubts about being able to run IBM. General Bradley told him, 'You can do it. I've seen what you can do here, and I know you can run that company.' My dad believed in himself because the General believed in him. That one conversation changed my father's whole direction in life, and he always considered General Bradley his mentor.

"It's amazing that one individual can have such an extraordinary effect on another individual. We usually don't believe that we can really effect change. But if you see someone and you discover what his strengths are, then a chord resonates between the two of you. That person has faith in you because you recognize the best in that person. And you are able to provide the support that a person needs, even if it lasts for no more than one conversation.

"Once you've made your success in life, you look around for what's going to you reward you next. If it's not money, it's developing a mentoring relationship with a younger person. There's nothing like helping someone and having that person say, 'Thank you. You helped me believe in myself.'

"How exciting is that?"

It wasn't the actual information my mentors gave me that made them essential to my career and personal growth. What they did for me was to pay attention, to listen to me, and to give me the kind of confidence that says, 'Yes, of course you can do it.' They believed in me. That's very important.

—Dr. Rhoda Dorsey,
president, Goucher College

If you are a mentor, you are also a leader, even if you're only leading one other person. We are put on this Earth to find out what we do best, do it to the best of our ability, and share our experiences with others so that they can carry on afterward. This is leadership. Some people are quiet leaders, others are more obvious about it. The best leaders are those who are passionate about what they do. Great leaders are people who are so excited about their visions and goals that people are inspired to walk with them and follow in their footsteps. Chapter 14 explores the real meaning of leadership and the role it plays in all of our lives.