Tag Archives: Workforce

Mentoring 101: How to Choose the Right Protégés

Effective mentorship strategies can give enterprises a huge boost. The great minds and professionals of today were not born with greatness. They were all sculpted by their experiences, and with most success stories there is usually a fruitful mentor-protégé partnership that helped develop them and guide them to success.

Industries were built on great mentorship. Take, for instance, the iconic Oprah Winfrey who had well-renowned author Maya Angelou as her mentor. Steve Jobs mentored not just one but many of the current business moguls making an impact right now, including Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg and Marc Benioff of Salesforce. Fashion visionaries like Christian Dior were under the tutelage of haute couture designer Yves St. Laurent. Sir Felix Aylmer mentored Audrey Hepburn, who in turn mentored Elizabeth Taylor. And well, the list goes on.

But how do you find good candidates to mentor? Here are a few things you need to know when choosing the right protégé:

Their talents are aligned with your strategies

The key to good mentorship strategies are planning ahead and naturally embedding mentorship in the workplace.Continue reading→

7 Deadly Sins of Global Biz Leadership Development

black devil with curly hair and angel on background

Originally published in collaboration with Yuko Shibata, executive at ALC’s Global Leadership and Talent Development Group, in a series of articles in KIGYOU TO JINZAI 企業と人材  Magazine.

Thomas Friedman said The World is Flat, and I certainly feel that the business world is getting smaller.  Many companies today are looking overseas for new markets and new customers in order to sustain the profitable growth of their businesses.  New behaviors, skills and thinking are required to succeed globally, and companies must act strategically in order to secure the talented people required to fulfill their increasingly global vision.  This has led many HR departments to pursue what they often call global leadership “training” programs, but you don’t “train” humans to be global leaders.  You train dolphins to do tricks in a swimming pool to earn fish treats.  Continue reading→