We spoke to Sharon Walsh and Padraig Mahony from Fidelity Investments about their mentoring
relationship and how it has benefitted their careers.
So tell me a bit about your mentorship relationship with Padraig and how it got started.
So Padraig and I started our mentor-mentee relationship as he transitioned and successfully interviewed for his current role
and that was approximately three years ago and it was post-conversations with his manager
that we really felt for his continued success in stepping up into the role that he
get a mentor and so it was really at that juncture that I volunteered and to be Padraig's mentor and
we've maintained that relationship pretty healthily over the last three years.
>>And how has being a mentor affected your own career? >>Well I guess from a couple of different aspects.
I guess around personal growth for myself. Really it is about building those authentic
relationships and, you know, through the stories and sharing of experiences
with myself and Padraig, we've really built that very strong relationship so
I think that's an invaluable thing that you gain in one's career by engaging in these processes.
The second one is definitely new perspectives, just working through different scenarios and processes
and asking the questions and listening, you definitely gain a much broader perspective
so it's definitely a two-way learning opportunity.
What advice would you give to someone who's considering becoming a mentor themselves?
I guess first and foremost, make the time.
I think Padraig and I have had extremely positive success in our relationship because we've absolutely made
the time and committed to the cadence and then secondly don't be afraid. All of us have something
to offer, whether it is your personal journey your work journey, you have a rich tapestry
to draw upon and to share with that other person and like I've said throughout this,
it's a two-way mutually beneficial relationship so I would encourage anyone to take that first step.
So how has this mentorship helped you throughout your career?
I've had a number of different mentors all throughout my career. This specific one,
there's a number of different dimensions in how this has helped me. I find that Sharon is very
generous in sharing her experiences, both good and bad, at different junctures of her career.
I feel that there is, for myself, there's some growth areas that I feel that I have and need
and I tend to centre our conversations or one-to-one conversations around those.
For example, Sharon is expert at navigating large and layered organisations and that's something
that I really benefit from the conversations that we have around those. Another way it has helped
me in my career, this mentorship, Sharon's from a completely different part of the organisation and
my mentorship with her has opened up a whole other network that I haven't had access or
been able to tap into before and I find that really valuable for my career.
And is there any advice that you would give someone who wants to find a mentor in their own career?
Yeah there's probably a couple of things. I think first and foremost, I'd say
frame what you would like from your career have a medium-term view, have
a good understanding of the growth areas that you have and that will guide you towards the
kind of mentor that you need. Once you have a mentor in place, I think it's really important to
build a rapport with that person, really connect with them. It's very important to listen
and to listen well. It is two-way conversations. Really importantly, I would say be open to feedback.
Sometimes we might struggle a little bit with that if we hear feedback that
we mightn't necessarily agree with but you really need to lean into it.
And finally what would you say to someone who is maybe a little bit reluctant in seeking mentorship?
I've had quite a few mentors throughout my career down through the years. Now, they've all
been different in our mentorships, they've all been unique because the mentors are
different, they're unique in their own ways. What they've all had in common is they've
all wanted to mentor, right? And I've wanted to be mentored and that's a great starting point
and so I've benefitted from each of those in different ways.
Some of the mentorships have been more tactical and had shorter time frames and some
then are more strategic, like the one I have with Sharon. Sharon's kind of more of a
big-picture thinker and more strategic and I get a different perspective there
and different value from that. In summary, I would say from my own experience, I've
benefitted every single time and I'm sure anybody who's reluctant, just go for it.