While working on the backyard, I listened to this episode of HBR Ideacast podcast, “The Surprising Benefits of Sponsoring Others at Work,” and it had me thinking of the different individuals who I have mentored and most importantly sponsor at work. I previously read an article about the benefits of mentoring someone that to summarize stated that mentoring someone can help the mentor see different perspectives and offers opportunities to learn too (there are many out there and I cannot find the original one I read).

I make it a practice to mentor and coach others wherever I have worked, and sponsor some of them. One person stands out is Jennifer. I met Jennifer at the start of a new leadership role with a new organization. I make a point of meeting members on my team, and when I get the chance I ask them what they would change if they could.

At this point, I am going to digress a bit. I was recruited for the role because the operation was made up of employees from an acquisition that took place 9 years before. The operation was resistant to chance and was not aligned to the company’s mission and vision. The operation and its leaders still referred to themselves by the acquired company’s name and kept notepads, pens, and equipment labeled with the old name.

They wanted things to remain the same and wanted someone to protect them from corporate intrusion and their attempts to move them in the direction of company.

Jennifer had been in the operation for two years, and transferred there from the corporate office. She was genuinely looking for an opportunity to gain some operational experience in hopes of developing her professional career. She was seen as an outsider by the rest of the team, and relegated to someone that did not have enough experience nor knowledge to advance.

Jennifer was honest and expressed how she wanted the operation to resemble how the company looked in marketing material, social media, and the company’s website. I told her that I would do my best. In talking to her, I discovered that she transferred from the procurement department, and that she also was an accountant and a school teacher in the past. Oh, and she was a TCU graduate.

She’s Not the One!

Some time had passed and an opportunity for an account manager role managing a large regional account became open. I asked Jennifer’s immediate supervisor (the Director of Operations) what she thought about Jennifer for the role–it would have been a promotion. The response surprised me! The Director of Operations mentioned that she was not the right person for the role–that she lacked experience and know how and that up until this point she had only managed a portfolio made up of small local accounts. She offered the name of one of Jennifer’s peers as someone she thought was perfect for the role.

I thought about the person for a second, then replied that I disagreed. I mentioned that although her recommendation was a hard worker, dedicated, and the customers loved him, he did not have the P&L knowledge and did not seem to show interest in learning the skill during our training sessions. Additionally, he did not know MS Excel, and usually needed someone to resolve conflict. I told her that I disagreed with her and that I was going to approach Jennifer about the role.

I was surprised to find out that Jennifer did not believe herself qualified to take on the role. I actually had to convince her that she was a perfect candidate. I told her that she had ops experience to manage the day-to-day; her accounting experience translated to P&L knowledge; her procurement experience would allow her to read the contract and determine the deliverables, and negotiate with vendors and the client; her teaching background would help her coach and develop her team. I told her that the best part would build her team and make sure it matched what she saw on social media, marketing material, and company website. Jennifer was convinced and accepted the role.

She reiterated how she lacked experience...I made a mistake

I informed the Director of Operations and immediately she began telling me how I made the wrong choice. She reiterated how she lacked experience, and underscored how I made a mistake. News got around before I made the formal announcement, and the Office Manager met with me in order to echo the Director’s concerns. She too emphasized how I made a terrible mistake and that it was going to have a negative impact on the client relationship, service delivery, and morale as a whole.

Professional Development

Jennifer took helm of the account and immediately started to have an impact. I’d like to say that I guided her throughout the whole process, but the reality is that she was a natural. Jennifer came to me with situations for which she used me as a sounding board, but her ideas and direction were sound and I agreed with most. She was a natural, like I said–when I say natural I really mean that her combination of experience, knowledge, and education prepared her for this. She just needed some encouragement.

During this time frame, I offered and encouraged my leadership team to sign up for an Emerging Leaders Series course offered by the San Antonio Chapter of Prospanica (formerly the National Society for Hispanic MBAs). Jennifer was the only one to sign up.

I invited my team to attend a Texas LEAD event in Austin hosted by the Austin Chapter of Prospanica. This is a one day event of professional development with distinguished key note speakers and presenters. Jennifer was the only one to sign up.

Credit Where Credit is Due

I should have prefaced that the account Jennifer took over was running at a loss–taking a 12% loss at the close of the fiscal year. I in turn took over the whole operation also taking a loss so turning around this large account was an important part of my strategic plan for the operation.

The account started to generate a profit under Jennifer’s direction and finished the fiscal year with a 12% margin. That’s a 24 point swing! My other initiatives were having positive impact too and the operation closed the fiscal year with a positive margin for the first time in a couple of years.

Jennifer taking over the account, allowed me to focus on the bigger picture. I truly believe that had it not been for Jennifer stepping in to tackle the account I would have been too involved in the account to effectively navigate and transform the whole operation. I was congratulated for the turnaround for which I in turn mentioned that it was a team effort and that Jennifer along with others helped me achieve my goals.

Reputation

Jennifer has since developed into a confident leader who gains loyalty and trust from her team. She now sits on two nonprofit boards, and has received two professional credentials. Additionally, she volunteers for roles within company projects–in reality she agrees to those roles after I tell her that I threw her hat in the ring when speaking to other senior leaders.

I was speaking with someone from corporate yesterday, and when I mentioned Jennifer’s name they mentioned how well liked she is at corporate. I am very proud of Jennifer and I am genuinely excited for her professional future.