WOB MyMentoring in Action

Dianne Jacobs
Women on Boards Mentor

  April 2010

Dianne Jacobs is Founding Principal of The Talent Advisors, a boutique consulting firm specialising in talent capital strategies, executive coaching and career mentoring. Dianne helps   women achieve success and be real contenders for leadership or Board roles. She is a former equity partner at Goldman Sachs JBWere.

I was delighted to accept the invitation to join the Women on Boards Mentoring Panel and          support this important initiative as I am passionate about and committed to accelerating women’s advancement.  

Experience shows that women are more successful when they have access to mentors who can help them navigate the ‘unwritten rules.’ This mentoring program is different to others – the objective is specific to preparing for a Board search. This Mentoring Program is best suited to those who have the capability and commitment for directorship and now want to translate that ambition into a plan to get started.

As a Mentor my motivations are to see my Mentee succeed in attaining the goals that she has set out to accomplish; to help her develop further to the point where she will be a serious candidate for executive leadership or directorships; and to ease the roadblocks along the way.

The mentoring works best in conversational style.  Although we may start with a broad range of pre-determined topics, we quickly shift into the tactics that are particular and unique to my Mentee’s personal aspirations.

Clearly, since each Mentee will be an individual with individual needs, it is impossible to be prescriptive about the content that follows, but the principle is to help my Mentees think through their motivation, the contribution they will bring to a Board, their relevant networks and connections, identifying proposed Boards to target, setting timeframes, the application process and going about due diligence; while exercising good judgment on how to ‘pitch’ their capabilities, business acumen and instinct.

During any moment, as a Mentor, I may act as a source of information and encouragement; assist my Mentee assess choices and options; build self-confidence and resilience on difficult issues; articulate skills and experience; help her develop her thinking; or provide guidance.

A good mentoring relationship is when the Mentee takes responsibility for their own development; has realistic aims for what can be achieved; brings real situations, issues and development needs to the agenda; reflects; challenges intelligently; is prepared to be challenged; and will implement actions and discusses progress.

Mentoring can help you be more effective than you may be able to be alone.

There are several reasons for this:  you have access to a neutral sounding board to test assumptions, get clear about what you offer and how best to counter those questions concerning your suitability; it is a luxury to take time out and focus on yourself, so the mentoring provides a discipline to moving forward with your Board search; and you do get access to constructive insights or ideas that you may not have considered.

There are some requirements of which Mentees should be aware. The first is that they need to have carefully thought through whether they have the skills and time commitment for a directorship. The second is a willingness to share, to be able to talk freely and openly about their work, their ambitions – and what gets in the way of those – and about what they find easy or more difficult in preparing for a Board search. The third is a willingness to listen to the advice – and to be prepared to try it, to reflect, to learn and discuss the outcomes. Finally, it is the Mentee who is responsible for taking action and moving forward even though you may feel out of your comfort zone when you start to be proactive, self-profile or approach contacts.