In the Corner Office in the Business section of the New York Times, Ilene Gordon, CEO of Ingredion, took the opportunity to pay tribute to mentoring then and now.
The Impact of a Mentor
Following business school, Ilene was responsible for acquisitions at Tenneco when a self-appointed mentor saw potential in her. He recognized her intellect, ambition, and focus, and challenged her to run those businesses she was acquiring. He put her in a job bigger than her and committed to helping her hone her business skills. Today she is on Fortune magazine’s list of 50 Most Powerful Women in Business as the President/CEO of a Fortune 500 company with $6.2 billion in net sales.
Ilene’s Commitment to Being a Mentoring CEO
Ilene excites people with opportunity as her Mentor did for her. She is committed to:
- Seeing potential in others where they don’t see it themselves
- Stretching people who demonstrate talent, people skills, and drive
- Putting people into roles they’re not quite ready for
- Allowing people to grow into those big roles
- Offering young managers an opportunity to share with the board how they’re creating value for the company
Her Belief in the Lasting Impact of Mentoring
Ilene believes that people carry their mentoring experiences with them. “I’m not just hiring the person sitting there. I’m hiring the four people who mentored him. I don’t think there’s anybody who’s successful in their role today who hasn’t been mentored by somebody.”
In each interview, she asks:
- Who mentored you?
- Who did you learn from?
- What was their expertise?
- What companies did they work for?
What can we do to become a Mentoring Leader like Ilene?
- Make a list of your own Mentors and acknowledge their influence on your success
- Discover people’s list of influencers
- Work to earn a spot on their list
- See what they don’t see in themselves
- Take a risk on their potential
- Push people into their uncomfortable
- Allow people to surprise you
It takes courage to leverage the spotlight of the NY Times spotlight to mentor aspiring, inspiring, and expiring leaders everywhere. Thank you, Ilene, for influencing each of us to make a difference by leading with a mentoring mindset.
Who do you know who leads like Ilene Gordon?