Although we can’t promise you a magic lantern with the requisite genie, we can tell you that in the past 20 years researchers have been busy assessing the various benefits protégés receive from mentoring. In fact, all the “career wishes” just listed are related to positive mentoring relationships. In the past, a great deal of emphasis was placed on learning exactly what protégés derive from mentoring. More recently we have seen a shift in this trend, with greater attention now given to what mentors—and even their organizations—gain as well. We suggest that being a mentor is not a purely altruistic act. In our interviews with power mentors and protégés, we found an enormous emphasis placed on the idea of exchanging mutual benefits—or what is known as reciprocity. The key to a sustained network of power mentoring relationships is that those involved must feel the relationship creates a win-win situation. In short, power mentoring relationships typically provide tangible benefits for both mentor and protégé—and their organazations.

Consider as an example a reverse mentoring relationship in which a junior employee mentors a senior executive. When Jack Welch at GE first conceptualized this idea, it was seen as far-fetched by some and revolutionary by others. In a reverse mentoring situation, the junior employee might exchange her technical know-how for a senior employee’s political savvy regarding organizational issues. As it has become a more accepted practice, the idea of exchange between both parties became the glue that kept these relationships together. Therefore, what they are exchanging might be very different, but both parties see the process of exchange as important. This idea of exchange and reciprocity was reiterated many times by our power mentors and protégés. In the following sections of the chapter, we provide an overview of the kinds of benefits power mentors and protégés exchange with each other and discuss what each group ultimately gains from the relationship.

How did you do? If you answered “True” to all of these statements, you are ahead of the game by already understanding how important mentoring is for your career development and success. Many of these research findings are derived from traditional mentoring relationships; the question remains, To what extent do they apply to power mentoring? The good news is that the various forms of mentors introduced in the previous chapter—known collectively as power mentors—also offer the same range of benefits. So, if you can’t find a traditional mentor, you can still enjoy these benefits by developing your own network of power mentors.

Although it is true that a protégé has a lot to gain from a mentoring relationship, it is also important to look at the other side of the relationship. That is, how does the mentor benefit?

As you reflect on these power mentoring relationships, we encourage you to keep in mind your own relationships, not only what you can gain from mentors, but also what you can offer. For those of you currently not in a mentor-protégé relationship, take stock of what you might need from a mentor in order to move ahead in your career and what you might offer a mentor in return. For mentors, think about your current relationships. Could you be asking more of your protégé so that you could benefit more from the relationship? If you are not sure of the reciprocal benefits of your current relationship, be sure to keep reading, because our power mentors and protégés will surely provide you with lots of great ideas!

Bob accepted the 2001 Excellence in Mentoring Award given by the National Mentoring Partnership Act for corporate leadership on behalf of NBC/GE. He was a protégé of the legendary Jack Welch, former CEO of GE; thus it makes sense that Wright would excel at developing talent through mentoring relationships.

Wright’s protégés are illustrious and successful people in their own right. One is Pamela Thomas-Graham, chair of CNBC. As we mentioned earlier, Pamela seems to belie the myth that Superwoman doesn’t exist. She has an amazing educational pedigree (she’s a magna cum laude graduate of Harvard-Radcliffe and a former Harvard Law Review editor) and has an impressive list of work and personal accomplishments, including being recognized as the first black woman partner at McKinsey and Company. In addition to excelling in the work arena, she finds time to balance her personal life with a flourishing career as a best-selling mystery author. Pamela recently published the latest in a series of books titled Orange Crushed: An Ivy League Mystery. She was named one of Fortune’s “50 Most Powerful Black Executives in America” in 2000 and Glamour magazine’s Woman of the Year in 2001.

In subsequent chapters you will learn more about how Bob Wright connected with his protégés, but here we focus on the reciprocity inherent in these relationships. Bob felt one of the most important things he gained from being a mentor was the satisfaction in watching other people develop: “I think you get a lot more than you give. You get a lot of satisfaction, at least I do. You watch people and their abilities grow. If their talent develops or it becomes more exposed, that’s very satisfying. It’s just a wonderful feeling, especially since you’re generally working with people that you like in this role and people that you really do think have promise and abilities. So you’re very excited about seeing them do well.”

Bob certainly had the satisfaction of watching his protégés rise to difficult challenges, because he presented Pamela Thomas-Graham with the formidable task of staffing the CNBC dot-com organization; then, a year and half later, she had to completely dismantle it. Pamela reflected on the superb coaching and support she received from Bob during this process, and in turn, he expressed his admiration for her. So what does Pamela offer Bob in return? From her standpoint, she offers unique insight into her demographic group:

The power mentoring lineage continues with Pamela both giving and receiving valuable—albeit different—types of support with her protégé, Lilach Asofsky. Lilach has flourished at CNBC as senior vice president of marketing and research. She is responsible for all customer experience and marketing efforts, and under her leadership, the number of registered users increased by 220 percent in an eight-month period.⁴ What does Lilach offer Pamela? She offers loyalty and acts as a trusted confidant. In exchange, she gains insight into Pamela’s unique brand of savvy and style. In Lilach’s words:

Bob’s second protégé is another superstar—Paula Madison, currently president and general manager of KNBC. It is said that success is the best revenge, and Paula’s early triumphs over adversity serve as sweet inspiration for anyone who has ever been told, “No, you aren’t good enough,” or “You can’t do that.” She was the youngest of three children of Jamaican immigrants, and her parents instilled in her an immigrant’s determination to succeed. When she told her high school guidance counselor that she intended to go to Radcliffe or Vassar, the woman laughed. “Not just a chuckle, but a robust laugh. ‘Paula,’ she said, ‘people like you don’t go to schools like that.’”

Paula went on to received a prestigious Vassar scholarship and begin her fast-track career as a print reporter. She has a long string of distinctions marking her as the “first” and “best”—for example, she was the first African American woman to become general manager at a network-owned station in a top-five market. She has also taken a dual role as the regional general manager for the two NBC/Telemundo television stations in Los Angeles (KVEA and KWHY). For all of her accomplishments, Paula has been awarded the Ellis Island Medal of Honor (1999) and was selected as one of New York’s 100 Top Minority Executives (1998) by Crain’s New York.

Paula reflected on a memorable meeting with Bob when he convened a task force on diversity; she also spoke of the give-and-take inherent in their relationship. What Bob especially valued were the style and voice that Paula brought to NBC. The following exchange highlights the importance of candor, of clarifying expectations, and of being straightforward about what can be offered. Paula recalled:

From this lineage of important mentoring relationships, we see the important lessons and benefits that flow both ways, not only within the relationships, but throughout the organization as well. Even though we have probably uncovered only part of the Bob Wright mentoring lineage, it is obvious that all those involved in these relationships gained unique and important benefits.

Plugging into these important mentoring relationships in organizations is a fantastic method of accessing the informal network bound up with the real work of many organizations. Even trying to plug into these networks from time to time, maybe outside of a mentoring relationship, will give you valuable information about the organization and ways to move your career forward. In some ways these mentoring lineages can be viewed as important components of social capital that allow organizations to achieve their goals through the relationships people have that are outside of normal reporting relationships. People with high levels of social capital, who network effectively in organizations, make more money and are seen as the most effective performers. ⁵

Through his mentoring relationships, Bob gained both important perspectives and employees who contribute to NBC’s success. In turn, the different perspectives and innovative ideas that many of Bob’s protégés brought to NBC affected the careers of others throughout the organization and the customers they served. In sum, the benefits made evident by Wright and his protégés include

In Chapter Two, we introduced you to the unwavering, unconditional support that Rosario provided to Araceli Gonzalez early in Gonzalez’s career, during the crisis when she discovered corruption among her colleagues in the Cudahy, California, city council. Later in Araceli’s career, Rosario also helped her think through whether to run for the California State Senate. Marin said that when Araceli was contemplating running for office, she used the same tactics with Araceli that her own mentors had used with her: “I tried to help clarify what the questions were that she needed to answer. I can guide the questioning versus providing the answer. I see Araceli as fearless—she is willing to take on a Goliath for the good of the community.” Once Araceli made the decision to run, Rosario also made calls behind the scenes to help her with her election bid.

But what did Araceli offer Rosario in return? Araceli was quite modest in her assessment of her role in helping Rosario, yet her actions spoke louder than words. Araceli helped to nominate Rosario for the Remarkable Woman Award from the National Association of Women Business Owners. Also, she was a loyal supporter and acted as a gatekeeper for Rosario when she was in Washington. She had access to her private line and cell phone number and made sure that important information got through to her. In 2004, Rosario mounted a campaign to run against Democratic incumbent Barbara Boxer for U.S. Senator, and Araceli was one of the main organizers and supporters behind this effort.

Much has been written about the difficulty of getting and keeping political office, whether at the local, state, or federal level. Obviously, mentoring benefits protégés who receive public support from an incumbent, and if the protégé wins, the mentor can act as a confidant to share methods for success within a job for which training is difficult to come by. Although political mentoring may differ somewhat by state, we think it holds important lessons for both political and nonpolitical careers. The evidence suggests that this type of mentoring is not without risks, especially when it involves making a public endorsement of a protégé or mentor. David Dreier, U.S. Representative (R-CA), tells the story of a candidate he supported through a public scandal. His unwavering support for this politician temporarily hurt David’s reputation and underscored to him how supporting another person publicly can be risky. On the other hand, mentoring can be especially important for careers in which training and development are virtually nonexistent; in these situations, the guiding hand of someone who has been there before is invaluable.

Another aspect of mentoring unique to politics is the idea of mentoring across party lines. We were particularly impressed by both Marin and Dreier for mentoring across party lines because their ultimate goal was to provide the best political representation for their constituents, whatever it took. Mentoring relationships involving political appointees like Condoleezza Rice (said to have been mentored by Brent Scowcroft, National Security Advisor to George Bush Sr.) probably have more similarity to organizational mentoring relationships, but also provide important lessons for mentors and protégés about the immense benefits both can gain.

Rosario Marin and her protégés present a great example of the importance of complementary skills and of how mentoring across boundaries can be so beneficial for both parties. Think about the boundaries that exist in your own profession or organization and how helpful an ally or even just candid insight could be in working across these boundaries. In sum, a number of important benefits were evident in the relationship between Marin and her protégés:

Due to the differences in these relationships, what Patty offers Larry and what she provides to Debra are very, very different. For Larry, she plays the role of trusted advisor and confidant, and provides him with unrelentingly candid feedback. Patty feels, and Larry confirmed, that she is a person Larry can relax with and exhibit his sense of humor to. In short, they trust each other implicitly. As for Debra, Patty is careful to follow her advice, show her appreciation, and be worthy of her tutelage. She gives Debra a chance to reflect on her role as a prominent woman in technology and lets her know she is making a difference in Patty’s life. Here are Patty’s reflections on what she provides to Larry in their relationship:

So looking at the other side of the dyad, what does Larry think he gets out of the relationship with Patty? Carter feels that he learns strategies for improvement that can be used organization-wide. Here are his words:

What did Patty feel she gained from each of her mentoring relationships? She spoke of presenting the same dilemma to both Larry and Debra and being struck by the similarities as well as the differences in their advice. Here’s her take on what she gained from Larry:

The relationships that Patty has with Debra and Larry both benefit her career, but in slightly different ways. The different perspectives and advice that she gains from her mentors highlight the importance of the network approach to mentoring. Debra gives Patty “sisterhood,” a female perspective, and emotional support along with a refreshing glimpse of life outside Cisco. Because of their shared gender and interest in fitness, they can enjoy a level of commonality and locker-room bonding that Larry and Patty can never have. Larry, on the other hand, with his high status and close relationship with John Chambers (Cisco’s CEO), can help Patty smash through the glass ceiling and make inroads into the rarefied air of the executive elite. Debra and Larry are happy to be an integral part of Patty’s career, because they both mentioned that Patty gives as good as she gets.

In sum, the benefits obtained through these relationships were:

As part of this program, Laura was given a choice of mentors. One, Rod Holcomb, is a highly successful TV director with a long career of notable TV pilots (and shows and movies) including The Education of Max Bickford, ER, and China Beach. As a mentor he has been incredibly generous and giving of himself, his time, and his knowledge, and continues to do so. She also picked Marc Buckland because of his great work and reputation. Marc has a long string of “A list” TV series directing credits to his name and is highly regarded in the industry for his work on hit shows like NYPD Blue, The West Wing, Felicity, and many others. A former associate producer and protégé of eminent producer Steven Bochco, Marc has learned from the best. He was honored to receive a 2002 Emmy Award nomination for outstanding director of a comedy series for his directing work on Scrubs. In 2001, he was a People’s Choice Award Winner for Favorite Comedy (for Ed). More recently, Marc executive produced and directed the pilot for the Medical Investigation TV series. In an industry known for temper tantrums and screaming, Marc is notable for his good humor and ability to create a professional and enjoyable atmosphere on the set.

A heartwarming movie was released in 2000 called Pay It Forward, about a young boy, Trevor (Haley Joel Osment), who is inspired by his social studies teacher (Kevin Spacey) to do favors for those who can’t reciprocate directly, but instead must pass a favor forward to others who need help. In the movie, Trevor gives a homeless man a place to sleep and shower; the man repays his favor with a kindness to a homeless woman, who passes her favor on to a young reporter—in the film, paying it forward soon spreads across the country.

This idea of paying it forward is akin to the Hindu idea of generating positive karma; it came up often in our conversations with mentors and protégés. We found that since power mentors had themselves been given assistance in their careers, they feel an obligation and a commitment to give back to others—in other words, to pay it forward. Marc Buckland told us that he gets a sense of gratification from helping someone like Laura, and views his assistance both as a tribute to and as a way of paying back those who were so helpful to him. In other words, from those who have been given much, much is expected. Here are Marc’s reflections:

Marc feels good about helping Laura out of a global sense of obligation to give to others; however, he definitely benefits from the relationship as well. He mentioned that it is very helpful for him to have access to Laura’s informed and yet unbiased opinion when he is on the set. Often, people on a set or the various stakeholders have very different agendas for what they want or need from the director. The actors may want to make sure they look gorgeous, the producers want to make sure the project is profitable and stays within budget, and the line producer wants to make sure the shoot proceeds in a timely fashion. In this sense, in addition to having to be creative and shoot his vision, a director like Marc must constantly manage a formidable set of competing expectations. Therefore, when Laura shadows Marc on the set and he solicits her opinion, it is one of Marc’s few opportunities to gain an opinion that has only his best interest in mind. Laura is very cognizant that she can be helpful to Marc in that way. In her own words: “I give him my honest opinion about what he was doing [that is, about his performance in directing and the look of the daily shots]. It was genuine and I thought he needs people to say things to him too. And so I give him my opinion. I’m completely outside of the process, whereas everyone else is vested in some way or another.”

What does Laura gain from the relationship? She talked at length about some of the technical skills she learned from Marc. She had transitioned from working on movies for nearly 20 years to aspiring to direct TV shows. She noted that “Marc is the most focused and organized director I have ever seen. In television the time pressure is so much greater than in film. He knows exactly what he wants and pretty much gets it. I really like watching his manner with people. He leads very well but does it with a light touch so everybody likes him. And also he is very funny.”

Marc and Laura’s relationship provides insight into the workings of a formal mentoring program in an industry that is somewhat unfamiliar to many: television directing. From outside the industry, directing may appear to require primarily technical skills, but in the course of our interviews you could see how there are many interpersonal facets to the job. The surprising importance of these nontechnical parts of the job has implications for other, ostensibly technological occupations for which interpersonal skills are usually considered an afterthought. Laura was able to go “behind the curtain” and observe the difference between a good technical director and one that gets called back to work time after time because he or she brings a great set of skills that impresses the producers, cast, and crew.

Even though their relationship was a formal mentor pairing through the DGA, maybe somewhat to Marc’s surprise it was not unidirectional. He felt he also gained from Laura’s presence on the set, specifically in thinking of shots in different ways because she brought an outside perspective. In our interviews with television directors for another project, many of the questions we asked got them thinking more carefully about the techniques they use on the set to motivate others. Through the act of articulating one’s strategies to others, self-learning is an important outcome.⁶

In addition to self-learning, benefits that were highlighted in this relationship that also apply to other mentoring relationships include

You will meet two of Anne’s protégés. First, we look at the relationship between Anne and Kathleen Von der Ahe, whom Anne was formally assigned to be a mentor to as part of Disney’s high-potential mentoring program for women and people of color. Since 1999 Kathleen has been vice president of Affiliate Relations at ABC. In this role, Kathleen managed and redefined relations between ABC and its affiliates. What Anne offered to her protégés was considerable. She provided Kathleen with a tremendous female role model, insight into Disney at the higher echelons, and critical advice at a time when Kathleen was at an important work-family balance juncture. Anne reflected on the reciprocal nature of her mentoring relationship with Kathleen. She felt that she received encouragement as well as new ideas and inspiration from Kathleen. As Anne said:

Next, we look at the relationship between Anne and her informal protégé, Diane Robina. Diane Robina is the executive vice president and general manager of The New TNN. In this role, Diane led the rebranding of the network and is responsible for its day-to-day management, including programming, marketing, and promotional strategies. Anne and Diane met when Anne hired Diane at Nickelodeon, and even though their organizational affiliations made them competitors, their relationship has stood the tests of geography and time.

Anne was originally a boss mentor to Diane; over the years they transitioned into becoming lasting friends, even though they live and work on different coasts. What benefits do Anne and Diane exchange with each other? Diane reflected on what she gets in her relationship with Anne: “From Anne, I get a friendship from someone who is in similar shoes that I am in. So we can understand a lot of the ups and downs of life in general because we have similarities. The main thing I think I get is a friendship in someone who you can sit down with and say, ‘Oh, my God, what am I supposed to do now?’” Diane went on to speculate on what she offers Anne in return: “We have kids that are the same age, so we have similar pressures. I would also hope that she takes part in my successes and gets satisfaction in that respect. Even though our companies are extremely competitive, we can still maintain our friendship.”

Anne Sweeney is an extraordinary mentor, and what she receives in return has been and undoubtedly will continue to be useful in her career. Anne knows that cultivating these relationships has put her where she is today. For example, she participates in a formal mentoring program and in doing so learned more about other parts of her organization from her protégés. She has also benefited enormously from the mentoring she received from the industry’s best, including Rupert Murdoch, Geraldyne Laybourne, and Fred Silverman, the programming genius who worked at all three networks. Moreover, Anne’s protégés, and in turn their protégés, are plugged into a powerful lineage, like those working within the powerful Bob Wright lineage at NBC. Tapping into the success strategies of powerful individuals is an invaluable benefit for would-be protégés, and mentors such as Anne can take pride in turn in what those they mentor accomplish for the organization and the industry. In sum, here are some of the mentoring benefits suggested by the experiences of Anne and her protégés:

Martha Morris is a long-term IBM employee; her ascension up the ranks has been through a series of line positions. First joining IBM in 1981, she has held a number of top management positions for IBM all over the world. Her areas of special emphasis include issues of manufacturing competitiveness, diversity, education, and strengthening IBM’s leadership in the global marketplace. Joan Buzzallino represents the classic upwardly mobile IBM employee, because she has spent nearly her entire career—spanning more than 30 years—at IBM and has been successfully promoted and lauded for her management skills. Since 2003 she has served as vice president, Human Resources for Enterprise on Demand Transformation, the next phase of e-business. We discuss Linda’s exchange of benefits with Martha and Joan here and provide more information about Charles later in this chapter, when we discuss organizational benefits.

All three of Linda’s protégés had similar things to say about what they learned from her, because she is an excellent teacher, connector, nurturer, and listener. In particular, Martha said one of the most valuable things she gained from Linda was access to her as a person and to someone at her level, as well as the ability to watch and learn. In Martha’s words: “I get access to someone who’s on the Top 20 List of the most influential women in the country. And that’s amazing. And someone who you respect in that role that didn’t get there by climbing over people and leaving a lot of broken glass. And I get to watch her and ask questions. She’s a role model that I can also use as I talk to the folks I mentor or if I have roundtables, particularly with women, in the various plants.” Martha also reflected on what she gives to Linda in return: “What she gets is a loyal employee that if she said, ‘Martha, I want you to come do this again for me and take this,’ I’d do it in a second. She gets a better IBMer in me because she has spent some time with me. And so she’s made me better.”

Joan Buzzallino talked about gaining the benefit of working with senior executives. Also, Joan and Linda have a peer mentoring relationship. Here is what Joan felt she got from her relationship with Linda:

Finally, we turn to Linda’s perspective. What does she feel she gains?

In a tightly knit community such as IBM, mentoring relationships are very valuable for many different reasons. First, as we mentioned earlier, they serve as a way of increasing one’s social capital and making connections that help accomplish organizational goals. Second, these relationships can be a valuable means of motivating individuals and of building two-way trust among organizational members. For example, in discussing her relationship with Linda Sanford, Martha Morris noted that because of the trust they had built and the mentoring Linda provides, Martha motivates her group to do its best for Linda.

Linda Sanford exemplifies a mentor who truly understands the importance of mentoring within her corporation. She mentors many people and derives different benefits from each relationship. Even more important, she cultivates a dedicated workforce she can count on. The following is a summary of benefits derived from the mentoring experiences of Sanford and her protégés:

It is no wonder that Hilda Solis became involved in a mentoring relationship with California State Assembly Member Judy Chu. Since the beginning of her professional career, Dr. Judy Chu has dedicated her life to public service. In her illustrious career she has served on a local school board for three years, been a member of the Monterey Park City Council for 13 years, and served as mayor of Monterey Park three times. Judy and Hilda share a passion for many of the same issues, because Judy also has made significant inroads in protecting the environment, has served as an advocate for health care reform, and focuses on serving the underrepresented. She was recognized by the California Journal as one of California’s top new legislators.

As a benefit of their mentoring relationship, both Judy and Hilda emphasized the importance of coordinating their efforts on causes of interest to them, which has enabled them to share resources. In Judy’s words:

Hilda also talked about the benefits of working in partnership with Judy: “I worked very closely with her when she was on city council when I was in the Senate. We helped to provide funds for a lot of projects, community expansion of the senior center, expansion of the library, and other public work projects that benefit the community. So we were able to work together. And we’re still doing that. We are good examples of how good things can happen when you coalesce.”

Hilda and Judy have one other important thing in common: they both serve as mentors to up-and-coming politician Sharon Martinez, former mayor of Monterey Park. Sharon counts herself fortunate to be mentored by both of these extraordinary women. Sharon brings the sensibilities of a small business owner to her role as politician. She is founder and president of SMART Temporary Personnel Services, specializing in clerical, bilingual, and promotional staffing. This company employs more than 100 people daily, with gross annual revenues of more than $2 million.

Sharon spoke passionately and at length about what she gained from her mentors, Hilda Solis and Judy Chu. She received coaching early on about how to raise money for her campaign, was sustained by Hilda’s encouragement when her opponent sent nasty letters about her, and benefited from Hilda’s support and political endorsement. From Judy she gained an understanding of the political process, an endorsement, and a positive role model. In return, Sharon felt that she offered the following to Solis and Chu:

This group of legislators shows the importance of productive mentoring relationships. Solis, Chu, and Martinez are well regarded by their constituents for fighting for what is best for their communities. They chose to ignore the typical ethnic divides that characterize their districts to tackle issues such as education, minority rights, and pollution. By pooling their strengths, they have become a formidable group engaging in power mentoring. Their relationships characterize what is typically called step-ahead mentoring. Solis began the process, Judy Chu has followed one step behind her, and Sharon Martinez is one step behind Chu. The advantage of a step-ahead mentor, as we pointed out in the previous chapter, is that the protégé has a mentor with a very recent perspective on how to navigate his or her career. Regardless of the form their mentoring took, for our three legislators the reciprocal benefits have been immense and show the importance of mentoring support. The benefits described here include

Lee counts himself fortunate to have had several influential mentors and what he calls “angels” in his career, including General George Brown (chair of the Joint Chiefs of Staff in the 1970s), General Russ Dougherty (commander of the Strategic Air Command from 1974 to 1977), and General Colin Powell (Secretary of State from 2000 to 2004). Although Lee was effusive about what he learned from his mentors, he was perhaps even more eloquent when he spoke of his relationship with his former protégé, General Donald Pettit. Lee served as a boss mentor to Pettit during their tenure together in the 1980s, when Lee was deputy director of Air Force Operations and Don was his executive assistant.

Brigadier General Pettit, in his last assignment, served as commander, 45th Space Wing, and director, Eastern Range, Patrick Air Force Base, Florida.⁹ Additionally, he was Deputy Department of Defense Manager for Manned Space Flight Support. As commander, the general oversaw the preparation and launching of U.S. government and commercial satellites from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida, and granted final approval for all launches on the Eastern Range. Lee reflected on the type of exchange inherent in his relationship with Don:

This set of interviews showed the intense reciprocity of benefits characteristic of successful mentoring relationships. Lee Butler focused on the high-level benefits he received from his protégés that almost took the form of another conscience. In this day and age, many high-level executives could use a person who might challenge them around ethical issues. The type of close mentoring we saw in this relationship between Lee and Don may be somewhat unique to the life-and-death decisions faced by military personnel. Formal and hierarchical relationships may spawn close and trusting relationships that may have a different feel from mentoring relationships in other, more informal organizations. This doesn’t mean that close relationships cannot be developed in other types of organizations, but these relationships may take longer to develop or may be expected to focus on less pivotal decisions. In sum, the benefits ascribed to this formidable mentoring pair pertain to the roles of

We conducted a complete analysis of all 50 of our interviews and created a comprehensive list of benefits gained by protégés, mentors, and organizations. Next, we took our list and compared it to the considerable body of research that already exists on mainly traditional mentoring benefits. We found that our list of benefits from our power mentoring interviewees and those from past research on traditional mentoring were very similar. This means that power mentoring confers many of the same benefits as traditional mentoring and can be just as beneficial to your career as traditional mentoring. Incidentally, you might wonder if the benefits we discuss in this chapter apply if you are not as far along in your career as many of our interviewees are. Let us reassure you that the answer is a resounding Yes. Past research has found that the various benefits of mentoring have been well documented among workers at all stages of their careers in a variety of organizations, industries, and professions.

How can you develop your power mentoring relationships so that they provide maximum benefits to both parties? Begin by assessing what you want from a particular mentoring relationship as well as what you have to offer. As a protégé, think not only about what your mentor can do for you, but also about what you can do for your mentor. As a mentor, think about the added benefits you could get from your mentoring relationship and what more you might give. We provide you with many more specific ideas on how to do this in future chapters, particularly in Chapter Seven. In the next section of this chapter, we examine what organizations stand to gain from effective mentoring relationships.

Every IBM interviewee with whom we spoke referred to the mentoring they received from Lou Gerstner either directly, as in the case of Linda Sanford and Nick Donofrio, or indirectly, as filtered through Linda to her three protégés. When we asked Linda and Nick what they tried to pass on to their protégés, they said it was the maxim, “Be yourself, be your best self, be your true self.” While this might sound a bit trite, what is interesting is how this represents a change from typical IBM culture²—and how the maxim was translated into some pretty dramatic behaviors. Pre-Gerstner, the maxim might have been, “Be like us,” and “Be yourself only if it is like us.” This kind of implicit message kept gay employee and Sanford protégé Charles Lickel in the closet for 16 years.

Charles Lickel, who described himself as an extremely shy executive, had typically worked 70 hours or more a week at IBM for 16 years when he decided to confide his secret to his mentor, Linda Sanford. This moment of self-disclosure and ultimate trust became a defining moment for both of them. Not only did it draw Linda and Charles closer together, resulting in a long relationship through which she was able to give him some painful but necessary constructive performance criticism, but it also gave Charles a career boost.

With Linda’s encouragement, he wrote a letter to Lou Gerstner offering his assistance in the newly formed diversity caucus. Lou named him cochair of the gay and lesbian caucus; as a result, Charles has been nationally recognized as one of the 25 most influential gay and lesbian executives in the country, and IBM enjoys a reputation as an excellent work environment for gay and lesbian employees. Charles is vice president of Software and Storage Development and is responsible for a 2,500-person organization that drives IBM’s worldwide storage systems solutions. When you consider that gays and lesbians make up 10-15 percent of our workforce, tapping into this population is a shrewd move that can yield significant recruiting opportunities.

Past research has provided a great deal of compelling evidence that organizations benefit from providing an environment where mentoring can flourish. As the previous example shows, the benefits for organizations include improved recruitment and attraction of talented employees. As an organization becomes known as one that develops people, its reputation is enhanced in the professional community, making it much easier for the company to win the war on talent and attract the best and brightest.

Another benefit is greater organizational productivity. In fact, in some of our past research we discovered that effective mentoring relates to greater organizational commitment and better citizenship behavior. In workplaces like IBM, where mentoring flourishes, we typically find a greater esprit de corps, and overall better workplace communication and relations with employees. Mentoring can help to orient new employees and bridge the gap between training and learning. There is even some evidence that mentoring can help employees adapt readily to change.