The Inclusive Leadership Program continues to foster enduring professional relationships for participants when the relationship kicks off strongly.
Scott Bowie, Marketing & Consumer Engagement Director at LMVH, took his mentee for lunch on their first meeting.
“He had a great time,” said Mr Bowie.
He said that their first light-hearted and casual introduction over lunch was the perfect way to understand each other, their individual working styles, their strengths and their goals as well as to develop a “circle of trust and a cone of silence”.
One lockdown and one year on, the two are still in touch. Mr Bowie’s mentee checks in with him from time to time, runs challenging scenarios by him and the two of them talk through ways to navigate the trickier moments of working life.
At the launch of the sixth year of the Inclusive Leadership Program in mid-May, what did become apparent is that the program fulfilled a real need for connection. All four mentee and mentors sitting on the panel have remained in touch with their program partners beyond the program.
Once Mr Bowie had met his mentee and the two got to know each other a little better, Mr Bowie said he was able to hone in on the key components of the program that he believed would support his mentee’s ambitions.
CCEP’s Head of Venue Insights & Perfect Store, Rachel De Leon, had started in her a new role with a new team at the same time as she became a mentor on the Inclusive Leadership Program.
“I thought I was there to support the person and drive success through them,” she said. “Little did I know how much I would get out of it myself.”
Being a mentor helped Ms De Leon to successfully build her own new team at CCEP and bring their talents to the fore. She said that her experience as a mentor exceeded her expectations “far more than she could have imagined”.
Like Mr Bowie, she and her mentee worked together to pick out the nuggets of gold within the program that would best support her mentee’s professional development and ambitions.
Ms De Leon also prepared for her sessions by speaking with CCEP colleagues who worked in the same space as her mentee to better understand her mentee’s day to day experiences and challenges.
She also found it helpful to connect and converse with other mentors participating in the program, using them as her sounding board when she needed to.
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Andrew Chapman from Lion had been a sole operator in procurement when he started on the Inclusive Leadership Program last year as a mentee. When Lion acquired Stone & Wood, he was promoted to a position in Supply Chain integration which involved a significant shift: it came with a team of 25. He said that at the time, his mentor helped him overcome his hesitance about such a dramatic change in role.
“He encouraged me to think about how good or interesting the new role could be,” said Mr Chapman.
Mr Chapman found that the program helped him ease into the new role and he valued the support from mentor, especially given the supply chain challenges being experienced throughout the industry. He said that the program became an opportunity to further develop his leadership skills and his mentor was able to challenge his thinking.
Mr Chapman said, “At times, he encouraged me to lift and face the challenges of the role.” Like Mr Bowie’s mentee, Mr Chapman is still in touch with his mentor and contacts him from time to time as a sounding board.
Nicole Gardner, Global Marketing Manager - Premium Wine at Casella Family Brands, had just started with the company when the opportunity came her way. It became an opportunity to focus in on herself, particularly within her new role.
With her mentor, Ms Gardner said, “We threw all our trust on the table, I was super open and transparent.”
This meant that the two of them quickly established a rapport and could consider what they hoped to achieve from the program.
“That helped us to quickly establish a rhythm,” said Ms Gardner.
Even while the two are yet to meet face to face due to the challenges Covid posed, they continue their conversations, navigating this uncertain environment. .
Ms Gardner said, “The exchange is hugely beneficial as it provides new perspectives and the opportunity to see a corporate approach that is different to one’s own.”
With 22 mentor and mentee partnerships, the 2022 Inclusive Leadership Program is facilitated by Serendis Leadership between May and October.
