#5 Power Plays for Women: 5 Mentors

Posted by in Career & Leadership, Mentors_Role Models, POWER PLAYS for WOMEN

#5 Power Plays for Women: 5 Mentors

By Kathy Korman Frey

 

Today I’m sharing some of my research for the first time. I have proof that women not only need mentors, but also HOW MANY they need.  The short answer: The number is 5. How to think about this, organize yourself, and find these mentors is a huge part of what is discussed in my Sis U seminars / Digital Classroom for women, and that I teach to my students at the George Washington University School of Business.  In the next few posts, I share highlights of these tips with you

Not 2, not 3, not 4, but 5

First of all, Samantha and her buds had it all wrong. There are MARKED differences in women who have between zero and four mentors, and those that have five or more mentors. Four for cosmos….great, for career achievement…not so much.

 

People with mentors are more successful

First things first. Mentors ARE very important. From the halls of academia we know that individuals who seek out mentors go higher up the ladder and are paid more.  (1)  In the mainstream, we heart Keith Ferazzi for emphasizing the importance of close, lasting relationships in Who’s Got Your Back.

But how does this apply to women? Is it different for us? YES.

From the halls of academia, Cox, Mueller, & Moss tell us that women and girls are more likely than men to limit their career choices due to lack of confidence or, more specifically, self-efficacy. Guess what RAISES self-efficacy? Exposure to mentors and role models. (P.s. This is why I created the Hot Mommas Project, world’s largest library of virtual mentors and role models).(2)

How MANY mentors do women need? 5 is the magic number

A study from the Hot Mommas Project (with support from GWSB’s Center for Entrepreneurial Excellence) shows us, without question, that five is the magic number.  Working women with five or more professional mentors:

  • Shoot higher: Women with five or more mentors are SIGNIFICANTLY more driven than their peers with 0 to 4 mentors.
  • Think bigger: Women with five or more mentors are more confident about their abilities to achieve a big dream or goal.

If self-confidence and self-efficacy are problems for women and girls, then mentoring is one clear solution. So how do we get some of that confidence and drive which make us more successful? Stay tuned for upcoming posts where you’ll learn some special tips shared at #sisUdc this past fall. Here’s a preview:

Millionaires have 5 or more mentors

Did you know some of the world’s most elite entrepreneur organizations are anchored in  peer mentor groups containing - you guessed it – five or more members. These folks are all millionaires and, clearly, they have some things figured out.

 

Please help us, and share here: Is mentorship on your radar screen? 

If this post made you think, or helped you, leave a quick comment about your mentors – link back to them.

The secrets for building your group of 5 (or more) are next! And, also stay tuned for this concept of “5” in depth in my upcoming book. Write here, I may interview you about your mentor experience!

 

*****

 

Related posts:

Hot Mommas = Dynamic Women.

We increase confidence of Gen Y, Gen X, and beyond.  We are the world’s LARGEST women’s case study library (HQed at the George Washington University School of Business, CFEE). We measurably increase confidence and success factors (through our #SisU learning tools and events) up to 200%. More about us.

Join the movement.

 

(1) Blickle, Witzkia and Schneidera. Self-initiated mentoring and career success

(2) Cox, L., Mueller, S., & Moss, S. (2002). The impact of entrepreneurship education on entrepreneurial self-efficacy. International Journal of Entrepreneurship Education, 1, 2

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  • http://havemomentum.com Holly Pavlika

    I’ve had many mentors in my career. And before.

    In college, the head of the art department took me under his wings, let me come over to share work over the summer and was the influence that took me on my path to NYC. Because of him, I had the only one woman show in my class. My first job in New York, I had three. A creative director who taught me everything he knew and advice for working in a man’s world, an account director who fought for my ideas when they started to make the creative director jealous, and a boss who bought my art and shared it with clients. That same account person told me when it was time for me to leave the nest and handed me a piece of paper with my next job.

    And so it went over the years.

    But it’s not enough to just have a mentor, success falls squarely on your own shoulders. You have to want it and work for it. They open doors and give advice, but ultimately in the long run, you need to take your skills, drive, energy to make the most of their guidance. I’m just about to take a huge next step at Big Fuel, and I owe it in large part to the mentorship, patience and faith they have shown in me.

    And let’s not forget all the wonderful women, we’ve all met through our blogs and on twitter. I don’t know how many mentors I have as a result of the social web. When I had very few followers on Twitter, Erica Ehm, of the Yummy Mummy Club discovered my early tweets. She told me when she met me finally at Blogher that she knew early on I was one to follow. I believe she has sent many wonderful Moms/women my way for Mom-entum.

  • http://www.twitter.com/debdookeran Deb Dookeran

    My mentoring experience has been mostly informal. My first mentors were two of my high school history teachers (one male, one female) who gave me a deep love for the subject and encouraged my interest by pointing me to books and other resources.

    Coming from a developing country where active mentoring was not readily available, I adopted mentors from books, business newspapers, magazines, television. I learned more from the interviews I read. If I ever came across someone who impressed me, I selected something I admired and sought to adopt it in my professional life.

    In my PhD. program here in the US, I had two wonderful female professors who filtered their high sense of professionalism to me. Today I still have the habit of adopting mentors (both male and female). I find them everywhere! Altogether, I have had hundreds of mentors to date and continue to add to my list. Because of my own experience, I see the tremendous value of The Hot Mommas Project.

  • http://www.hotmommasproject.org hotmommas

    These two stories are wonderful. Thank you Holly and Deb. You make me think of my early mentors, as far back as high school. Taking the time to talk to and encourage someone says, “You’re special. I believe in you.” It’s addictive. I try to foster this healthy addiction in mu class of future women leaders where they become so reliant on each other and the interaction that the minute class is over, they want to recreate it in their own lives.

  • http://www.hotmommasproject.org hotmommas

    P.s. Mentors start with great contacts at “the top of the funnel” so so speak. I suggest everyone try Brazen Careerist’s Networking Roulette on Thursday

    From: @ChiefHotMomma
    Sent: Dec 10, 2010 5:53p

    Bleeding edge networking opp. Free, Thurs at 8 ET http://bit.ly/g8uOAv C U there.

    sent via ÜberTwitter
    On Twitter: http://twitter.com/ChiefHotMomma/status/13365650583982080

  • Ana Carolina

    In my experience, having more than a mentor has been helpfull and of extremaly importance. Reading this post, made me stop to think of people that I consider as my mentors and I realized that I have more than only one person that I trust for his/her words and respect for their opinions. It was one of my mentors that helped me to see my profession and all the faith she depposited on me only pushed me forward towards my real “calling”. She taught me to have faith and belive in myself and my tallents. My second mentor is my mother, with all her love and support she helped me continue with my education, being so patience and willing bo be one of my “models”. My mom taught me how to be aptience during a long process.
    Me third mentor is another person, that I call a friend who taught me to intertpretate every obstacle as an option to grow and outgrow every challeng that I would have in my life. She helped me to be able to see that after a rainy day, comes a rainbow. She taught me another very important thing: how to be positive.
    After reflecting, I was absolutely positive about all the importance of mentors in our lives, they can be a family member, a friend or someone you look after. It doesen’t matter who your mentors will be and how related to them you are. The importancy relies on the impact that they will have in your life and if you turn to be someone’s mentor, the impact that you can have in a person’s life aswell.

    • http://www.hotmommasproject.org hotmommas

      True. Mentors can come from all angles. You just need to develop a plan, and know where the mentors fit in. Frankly, sometimes the mentors help you develop the plan itself.

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  • http://www.hotmommasproject.org hotmommas

    Wow, what a response! Thank you to our Twitter friends….

    myrthekf

    RT @ChiefHotMomma: Proof that women need mentors, and how many http://ad.vu/6cg3

    jentorres

    Proof that women need mentors, and how manyhttp://ad.vu/6cg3 (via @Joannefunch @ChiefHotMomma)

    thefutureisred

    RT @chiefhotmomma New research: Why “5″ is the magic number for women http://ad.vu/6cg3 @ChiefHotMommablog

    Joannefunch

    RT @ChiefHotMomma: Proof that women need mentors, and how many http://ad.vu/6cg3about 24 hours ago via TweetDeck

    JuliaRosien

    RT @ChiefHotMomma: New research: Why “5″ is the magic number for women http://bit.ly/gQhL74 @chiefhotmommablog ~ Wow, interesting stats!

  • http://www.hotmommasproject.org hotmommas

    Twitter friends really getting word out about this important topic. THANK YOU!

    @khaledhishma

    RT @ChiefHotMomma: New research: Why “5″ is the magic number for women http://ad.vu/6cg3 @chiefhotmommablog #honoringwomen

    @ShapingYouth

    Dang. I’m short. Volunteers? RT @ChiefHotMomma New rsch: Why “5″ =magic number 4 #womenhttp://ad.vu/6cg3 #entrepreneurs @GlobalWomLead

    @Ali_Davies

    Interesting read RT @ChiefHotMomma Proof that women need mentors, and how many http://ad.vu/6cg3

    @Manolimii

    Ook uit TNO ‘ vrouwen nr de top’ onderz nr voren gekomen RT @ChiefHotMomma: Proof that women need mentors, and how many http://ad.vu/6cg3

    @lovisatalk

    RT @ChiefHotMomma: Proof that women need mentors, and how many http://ad.vu/6cg3

    @backrdsbiz

    RT @ChiefHotMomma: Proof that women need mentors, and how many http://ad.vu/6cg3

  • http://thefutureisred.com Leigh

    Hey Kathy,

    Thank you for the shout out.

    I, too, have been lucky to have many wonderful mentors and would like to give five of them a solid shout out as well. Ali Morad Fadaienia, perhaps the smartest person I know. Then there’s Nancy Kline Piore, who founded the Peer Writing Workshop and Center at Barnard College. Lindsey Abrams, head of writing at City College of NY and founder of Global City Review. Ed Rivera, author of Growing Up Hispanic in America. He was my mentor during a New York Times fellowship I won in 2001, and sadly, he passed away just days before we were to begin working together on my master’s thesis. And finally, Madeline Gins, writer and one-half of the Containers of Mind Foundation.

    All of them have been an amazing support and example in my life.

    I’ve been realizing, though, that I do not have the type of mentorship for my current projects as I have for writing and academia, but there are quite a few people with whom I’ve been in contact who have shown me the type of support and positivity I find crucial in a mentor. It is a current goal of mine to seek them out, ask questions and listen to what they say.

    Thank you also, Kathy, for the work you do. I cannot say enough how much the Hot Momma’s Project has affected my focus and direction. Two years ago, I decided to change course. I’d been a stay-at-home-mom for almost five years (two of those years while traveling full time with my husband and daughter). My first case study for Hot Momma was the very first “assignment” I gave myself when starting back on the career path.

    Now, I am the editor of Matador Life as well as writing regularly on my own blog, The Future Is Red. But the really big news is I am about to sign papers to buy a property in Salta, Argentina that will not only be our home, but an art-based community center, designed to foster artistic relationships through social media, plus incorporate local students to teach them English and develop their economic prospects through art, photography and language.

    It’s huge. It’s scary. And it is beyond exciting. I’m really looking forward to the next step.

    • http://www.hotmommasproject.org hotmommas

      thank you so much for sharing these great mentoring experiences as well as the impact the Hot Mommas Project had on you. Fantastic. I learned, and am still learning through leaders like you, that the stories help others and ourselves. Love that! I know a lot of folks in Salta. I’m going to DM you!

  • http://www.hotmommasproject.org hotmommas

    Wow! More twitter friends shouting out about mentor post. THANK YOU!!!

    @minutrition

    RT @ChiefHotMomma: New research: Why “5″ is the magic number for women http://ad.vu/6cg3 @chiefhotmomma blog

    @TMstrategy

    How many mentors do you have? New research: Why “5″ is the magic number for women http://ad.vu/6cg3 RT @chiefhotmomma

    @LydiaFernandes

    New research: Why “5″ is the magic number for women http://ad.vu/6cg3 @chiefhotmomma blog

    @cecibooks

    RT @chiefhotmomma: Proof that women need mentors, and how many http://ad.vu/6cg3

    @advancewomen

    @ChiefHotMomma Women need champions AND mentors RT Proof that women need mentors, and how manyhttp://ad.vu/6cg3

    @DebDookeran

    Power Plays for Women: 5 Mentorshttp://ad.vu/6cg3 RT @ChiefHotMomma Share your experience…

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