According to the recent Women in the Workplace study, women are 18 percent less likely to be promoted to a manager position than their male counterparts. One contributing factor to this gap is that women are less likely to receive advice from their leaders on how to advance. One way to combat this trend is to encourage women to seek mentors that will help them build their confidence and advance their careers.
The Women’s Leadership institute strives to help businesses elevate women through our ElevateHER Corporate Challenge. One of the areas an organization can work on is to Establish a Leadership Development and/or Mentoring Program for Women. One company in our challenge that has done a great job in this area is CHG Healthcare.
CHG Healthcare has been recognized as one of the Best Workplaces for Women by Fortune magazine. One way the company supports career advancement for female employees is through their mentorship program.
CHG senior vice president Leslie Snavely was matched with Bobby Stevens, a director at CHG, through the company’s mentorship program when Bobby was first hired at CHG. Over the past three years, Leslie has helped Bobby navigate CHG’s unique people-centric culture, provided her with the tools she needed to complete the company’s new headquarters project, and provided her support and advice when Bobby became a new mom returning to work.
Learn more about their mentorship and six tips on how to find success with your own mentorship in this video.
Leslie and Bobby offer 6 tips that have really worked for them to create a successful mentorship:
- Get to know each other. Go beyond what they do at work and get to know each other on a personal level.
- Identify needs. What does the mentee really need out of this relationship? Is there also a benefit for the mentor?
- Find a mentor that matches you. Bobby mentions the importance of picking a mentor that is already down the path you hope to be someday. Someone also with similar goals and values.
- Go beyond networking. Leslie talks about how mentors can offer deeper guidance and feedback.
- Look for future mentees. As a mentor, always be on the look-out for someone you can support.
- Identify strengths and possibilities. As a mentor, help your mentee see what they are good at and open their mind to various possibilities.