Mentorship Series
My name is Ian Barton, and I am a former student intern of Phoebe’s from her time at Arizona Athletics. I worked for Phoebe for more than three years in the Wildcat Club and learned so much in my time there. My experience as an intern helped propel my professional career in college sports. Having her as a mentor was incredibly important to me in my college years and she remains a vital mentor for me today.
Years later, I am excited to be returning to help her as she has made the formal transition into the consulting world by serving as a guest writer for Chalk Consulting working on the Chalk Talk with Phoebe blog. I look forward to sharing unique content with you all as the year develops!
This blog will kick off a series focused on mentorship. The high-level goal in delving deeper into this topic is to share the benefits of mentorship and discuss the different forms of mentorship people can give and receive. Most importantly, this series will expand on how nonprofits and institutions of higher learning, including college athletics departments, can benefit from promoting mentorship in their organizations, both formally and informally.
“Why is mentorship important to you?”
Phoebe: Mentorship is important to me because individuals mentored me throughout my entire career, and I would not be where I am today without those relationships. People provided me with insight, knowledge, and genuine care. I view mentoring others now as an opportunity to pay it forward and foster those same relationships with others.
Your relationships with individuals can help make an organization run more smothly. They are your social capital.
Phoebe with author of the blog - Ian Barton while in college at the University of Arizona.
Talk about a couple of mentors who had a profound impact on your early career.
Phoebe: Jim Manilla was an impactful figure in my early career at the University of Arizona Foundation. He really made an intentional effort to take people under his wing. He taught people about strategy and looking at situations from the big picture. He understood that for someone to be successful professionally they needed to grasp the entire puzzle. Any time I considered a new opportunity I would call Jim. He would even participate in mock interviews with me to help prepare me for the opportunity. Rocky LaRose was another significant mentor for me early on in my college athletics career. She helped me understand the culture of college athletics and what was expected. Rocky’s administrative lens was inspiring because of her experiences, and she was willing to share that with others.
Dr. S James Manilla with Dana Wier and Phoebe
Kathleen “Rocky” LaRose
So often, in a professional setting, mentors are assigned based on job responsibility. That can work to help individuals transition into a new role. In my opinion, it can sometimes minimize the role of an ongoing mentorship relationship. Meaningful, mentor/mentee relationships are based on genuine relationships and less on formality. To me, these sorts of relationships should evolve naturally, to the point that you don’t have to ask to be mentored.
What benefits (professionally and personally) have you seen from being a mentor to others throughout your career?
Phoebe: More than anything I find so much joy in seeing others succeed. It is extremely rewarding to know you were a part of a person’s journey no matter how big or small. Whether it was professional advice, skillset development, brainstorming on a topic or just listening on a tough day – knowing you made that difference is very impactful.
I also find myself benefiting from the mentees. As a matter of fact, I don’t believe age should define a mentor/mentee relationship. I don’t believe there is ever a reason to want to stop growing and learning from others.
Mentoring can happen even over Zoom
How can people work to make a mentor-mentee relationship mutually beneficial?
Phoebe: I think maintaining the relationship is important and not coming back to the relationship when you only need something. It is so important to check in with each other. I would encourage people to make sure they send a card, text occasionally, pick up the phone to just say hello, or post on a person’s LinkedIn or Facebook. Frankly, be a caring and connected human being. It is that human side that makes you more genuine and like I said earlier, it helps make the relationship evolve on its own and not feel so formalized.
It can be a challenge to do this, but at the end of the day we need to take the time for the things that are important to us. What we prioritize speaks volumes about who and what we care about most. Try your best to set aside some time weekly or monthly to maintain those relationships.
Ian and Phoebe participating in a catch-up call on Zoom. He recently started a new job with Learfield.
How can nonprofits, universities, and athletics departments benefit from promoting mentorship in their employee development plans?
Phoebe: I think it is important to share with a team that mentorship can be done formally or informally. Regardless of how it is done, the goal would be to foster relationships within the organization, which can also help with retention efforts.
Formally, an organization can have a mentorship program as individuals onboard into the organization. Another example would be a formal mentorship program that is in place as an employee works their way up within an organization. Informally, organizations can foster mentorship by creating the environment for employees to connect like happy hours, break rooms, or allowing for time away from the office for such personal development opportunities.
I often share with others is that the two best abilities you can have are accountability and responsibility. Any organization with organic mentorship opportunities and room for professional development is more likely to have employees with these characteristics.
To reach Chalk Consulting, please complete the form below if you need assistance in developing and fostering mentorship efforts within your organization.
Thank you and Keep Doing Good Things!
