Maybe you’ve thought about it and just haven’t taken action. Or maybe it sounds nice but you can barely squeeze in a workout and wonder where you’ll get the time to impact someone’s life. Here’s an example of how simple it can be to take meaningful action.
Everyone and their mom has heard about mentorship at this point. It’s been amazing to see programs pop up at Fortune 500s, community centers, colleges, and leadership institutes. After all, one of the best things about mentorship is that it never expires and both people--mentor and mentee--benefit at any age and in almost any environment, so it’s a superb use of time even for high performing executives.
It’s also a proven way to stimulate inclusion. What if you spent less time worrying about inclusion in your community or at your org and started a mentorship program instead?
Take Lead Filipino as an example. They run a bunch of amazing programs, including policy workshops and voter registration events. Throughout it all, supporting people has been at the core and mentorship for Filipina-Americans is at the core: https://youtu.be/lzyNaTFehvc . They’re program is an ideal example of stepping up to support their base without a huge budget or reinventing the wheel--they prove that you can do it too.
Don’t get me wrong, Lead Filino’s founder, Dr. Angelica Cortez is an award-winning leader with a doctorate from a prestigious university. But she’d be the first to say that anyone with grit can have a major impact with mentorship. The best part about leadership development is that the benefit comes from internal changes as much as from external opportunity.
Where mentorship can really shine is in building stronger social connections for more inclusive economies. COVID recovery will be faster--and more enduring--if more early career folks get to interface with established professionals in their communities and companies. Want to get serious about COVID recovery? Sure, get take-out from that local spot you hope doesn’t go out of business and also support actual humans who need support with career development, confidence, and pathway.
There are many great orgs to get involved with, but here’s a preview of coming attractions for Lead Filipino that you can get involved with right away! Yes, this org is by and for Fil-Am folks, but when it comes to policy, allies can surely step up. And for those in the Fil-Am community who have that mentorship itch… or if you’ve been wondering how to support as an ally… March 20th is your chance!