How to Be a Mentor by Anne Hamilton | Jul 16, 2014 Be committed. Be transparent. Be yourself. The worst job I ever had was conducting night audits for the five small hotels that my dad owned on Miami Beach back in the ‘70s. When each of my six brothers and sisters and I turned 10, we were expected to help out—starting with towel service at the pool and stuffing promotional mailings, then on to reservations, housekeeping and those dreaded night audits. We did it all. After I earned my degree in hospitality from Florida State University and got my first professional hotel job I realized dad wasn’t just looking for cheap labor—although I’m sure that was a plus—he was teaching us about the real world. He laid the foundation for my career. Parents are usually our first mentors, but it’s a completely different mentoring experience when you’re working in the family business. While dad was the first and most influential mentor in my life, I was fortunate that others showed up at pivotal points in my career journey—incredible people who’ve guided me through every chapter of my career. About 10 years ago I realized that it was time to start giving back, to try and give others the opportunities, insights and encouragement that my mentors gave me. The surprise for me has been that I’ve gotten so much more out of mentoring than I’ve invested in it. At Disney, my responsibilities include the sales-and-services organization for the Disneyland Resort in California, the Walt Disney World Resort in Florida and Aulani, a Disney Resort & Spa in Hawaii. One of my favorite responsibilities is bringing on new talent in the form of professional interns. I’ve lost count of how many interns we’ve brought on over the years, but I continue to be impressed with the caliber of talent and commitment these students have. I’ve seen the same with my work on the boards of the University of Central Florida’s Rosen Hospitality School and my alma mater, Florida State University. As someone who has benefited tremendously as a mentee and who loves mentoring others, here are some thoughts on the process and benefits. The fact is that if you’re reading The Meeting Professional, you have the skills and background to be a mentor for someone. Seek Out Mentoring Opportunities Mentoring wasn’t on most people’s radars when I started out in my career. I admired a lot of my senior leaders, but wouldn’t have dreamed of going up and asking them to be my mentor. Fortunately, Peter Kretschmann was one of my senior leaders at Hilton. He believed in me, this struggling single mom. He also challenged me, because he knew I wanted to be a successful leader. That challenge was my first experience leading a team. No easy feat in an era that was still a little reminiscent of the TV show Mad Men. While mentoring is much more common today, I still think that there are very few young leaders who have the confidence to ask for guidance. So we need to look out for them—literally and figuratively. Today I continue to seek out mentors myself. Taking on responsibility for multiple Disney destinations in 2010, I turned to Erin Wallace, executive vice president of Segment Operations Integration for Disney Destinations. I initially did it for practical reasons; Erin was fantastic at helping me learn how to lead a diverse group of teams across multiple time zones. She’s helped me in so many other ways, and she remains a great coach, confidant and friend. My point is that no matter your age or career experience, you can always benefit from having a mentor. Don’t Put Yourself in a Box Its important to look outside your own industry and professional networks for mentoring opportunities. I grew up in sales, but Erin comes from an operations background. Our business goals and challenges couldn’t be more different, but that diversity of thought and experience is powerful education. Too often people look directly up and down the leadership ladder. Sometimes you can find more knowledge by stepping into a different world. That world might involve reverse mentoring—tapping the skills and knowledge of younger colleagues to stay current on trends and to better understand a workforce that for the first time has four different generations in it. If you’re not engaging with and learning from the Gen Xers and Millennials in your organization, you’re making a big mistake. Not only can you learn from them, these young people will inspire you and give you faith in the future. Know How to “Be” a Mentor If a colleague or friend is giving thought to mentoring, I often tell them, “Be Four”… Be on the lookout. Be committed. Be transparent. Be yourself. It’s really about finding the right mentoring relationship. Sometimes it will fall into your lap, but more often you have to be open and perceptive. The other “Be’s” are all rooted in the fact that you are dealing with someone’s career. One of the greatest gifts you can give someone is knowledge that helps them grow their career and become a better person. And one of the greatest compliments you can receive is for someone to seek out your experience and trust you to help them further their career. Anne is vice president, resort sales and services for Disney Destinations and a member of the MPI International Board of Directors. Contact her at Anne.Hamilton@disney or via Twitter (@AnneatDisney).
Posted on: Fri, 25 Jul 2014 20:42:29 +0000
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