About the Author
Patti cultivates homegrown changemakers prepared to step into their power and work with others to create the world they want to live in. Get in touch to find out how you can grow the social changemaker in yourself and those you serve with Blue Roads Changemaker YOU.
What makes an empowering mentor? This is the question that changemaker Beth Hendricks asked herself after having several mentors assigned to her tell her that she didn't measure up.
Then, one day, she had a new experience.
A mentor sat with her and asked the question:
How can I help you be successful?
Beth realized that in a world where many people are so focused on outshining each other, we often forget that we can actually grow together in support of one another's success. This realization set her on a journey to become an empowering mentor for others.
As you watch the video below, listen to the podcast, and read the summary of this Changemaker's Homegrown Solutions for the Patchwork World we share, think about the mentors you've had who helped you reach your goals. What made these mentors special to you and aided in your development?
Homegrown Beth
Born in Rexburg, Idaho, Beth’s philosophy in life was largely influenced by her father. He was a rancher and a farmer who enlisted in World War II and returned to attend law school, an extraordinary move for someone from rural Idaho.
His philosophy? Hard work is critical to success. Beth has applied this philosophy throughout her own life, too.
She remembers her dad saying,
I may not be as smart and don't have that pedigree, but I can outwork them all!
When Beth had 3 children of her own, she decided to go against the norm at the time and pursue an MBA (Master's in Business Administration).
Very few women were getting MBA's in the 80's and everyone told me to get a degree in something like education because it would be easier.
I knew that I had to get a degree that would set me apart.
After helping her kids with their homework, she would put them to bed so she could complete her own homework for graduate school, sometimes staying up until 2:00 in the morning.
Despite this kind of commitment and determination, Beth had a female mentor who told her that she would never be able to compete with men.
I was usually the only woman in my classes and subsequently in the organizations, departments, and universities where I worked...I had the highest GPA, a straight 4.0,
She was also nominated to several national and regional honor societies because of that high grade point average.
Solution-Focused Beth
I put together a course that teaches people about mentoring and marketing.
Beth wants to teach people, especially women, that it is possible to create a meaningful career and be an influential mentor for other women and men following behind them.
She's pleased to hear that her mentorship has had a positive impact on many of her former students and colleagues. One former student who now works in Silicon Valley specifically cited her mentorship from nearly 20 years ago during his time at BYU-Idaho in a recent article. It's gratifying for Beth to know he is doing so well and still remembers their work together after all these years.
Sometimes other faculty did not understand the tremendous time and commitment Beth gave to her students.
They said they would never drive students to competitions or spend time mentoring them like I did. They made fun of me because students would come to my office and they could hear my laugh from down the hall as I would talk to students.
While many just wanted to teach their classes and go home, Beth knew that these were the moments that helped create change. By getting to know each person's strengths and challenges, she could help them develop the tools they needed to succeed.
Beth conducted a survey to help her understand the characteristics of effective mentors. Her questions focus on the experiences people have had with positive mentors. Most participants said their mentors wanted to create a positive impact on them and help them succeed. She also learned though that some mentees lack the motivation needed to create their own success.
The main takeaway from her research is that both parties – the mentor and the mentee – must be committed to success.
Michael Nichols said, ‘True success is when your successor is more successful than you.’
Beth says this has become her mantra.
While she's discovered that quite a few mentor/mentee relationships fail due to jealousy, she knows that combination is a recipe for failure for all involved. Beth recommends a relationship that comes together with the express purpose of lifting one another up. By recommending what she calls “reverse mentoring,” Beth demonstrates the healthy reciprocal relationship that develops when mentees in turn teach mentors a thing or two.
Beth's Patchwork
Beth values diversity and believes it helps people grow and understand the world. During her undergraduate studies, Beth took the opportunity to travel to Israel to learn more about other cultures and perspectives. She recognized that her hometown was not a diverse place, and therefore, she needed to get out of her comfort zone and see the world.
Diversity makes you better; it makes you understand people. That's what I found in my mentoring research, was that diversity helps you grow.
Beth is pictured here at the Taj Mahal with Patti Talbot and Lynn Whitbeck on a recent trip to India where we met.
With these experiences, Beth continues to ask herself the question,
How would I like to see the world be made better?
Her answer usually comes back to mentorship. By creating healthy and mutually supportive relationships, success becomes possible for everyone. She finds great delight in hearing from people she has been fortunate to mentor over the years.
I hope that I have more people write and say, thank you. You mentored me. You took the time to listen to me, and now my life is better. That's really what we all should be doing, making other people's lives better.
Changemaker Beth
In fact, he came in the second day after he hired me and sat down in my office and said, "Beth, how can I make you successful at this job? How can I help you to become successful?"
Beth believes that women can be empowering mentors if they can shift their focus from outshining others to supporting one another. There is no room for growth when people are rude, snide, and hurtful to each other. It takes more energy to put someone down than to lift them up.
Beth wants to help others grow to a point where they can go onward to empower more people through their own mentorship circles. She is currently teaching an online class called Beth Hendricks Beyond Marketing.
Beth would love for you to participate in her mentorship survey, too! Below you will find a QR code linked to her survey where you will be able to enter your own feedback about mentors in your life. If you cannot scan the QR code, feel free to click the link here.
To learn more about Beth Hendricks and her changemaking work cultivating effective mentors, I encourage you to follow her and reach out to her on LinkedIn here.
Beth's passion for mentoring helps push all of us forward in many of the UN Sustainable Development Goals. Remember we are pushing to achieve these goals by 2030!
Beth's efforts advance Goal #4 – Quality Education, Goal #5 – Gender Equality, and Goal #10 – Reduced Inequalities.
Indirectly, she is also advancing Goal #8 – Decent Work and Economic Growth, Goal #9 – Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure, and Goal #11 – Sustainable Cities and Communities.
To top it off, all of her work is built on partnership instead of competing against each other which is Goal #17 – Partnerships for the Goals.
Please do get in touch to let us know what YOU and people you know are doing to realize these Global Goals by the year 2030. We can get there if we all work together and take our place as Changemakers!
CHECK OUT our CHANGEMAKER YOU course to help you get started today!
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Patti cultivates homegrown changemakers prepared to step into their power and work with others to create the world they want to live in. Get in touch to find out how you can grow the social changemaker in yourself and those you serve with Blue Roads Changemaker YOU.
