Mentorship Rethink

The New Way to Get the Get-ahead Advice You Needby Samantha Leach.

- Samantha Leach

ANY YOUNG PROFESSIONAL woman has heard that to succeed (and especially to succeed fast) you need a mentor—someone who will show you the ropes and pave the way for your advancement. But the idea that a woman in the C-suite can teach you everything you need to know about your career and your future is right up there with believing Beyoncé is in the Illuminati. There’s no doubt that female leaders can be helpful (and we need more of them; only 5 percent of Fortune 500 companies have a female CEO). But virtually every career path today is much more complicated than the old up-the-ladder route; you need a village to navigate it all. “Modern mentorship isn’t about looking to just one person; it’s about cultivating a group of people,” says Sallie Krawcheck, CEO and cofounder of Ellevest, a digital investment platform for women. “They might be senior to you, your peer, or even your junior. They could be in your company, outside of it, male or female. Having a series of diverse perspectives is what helps you to succeed.”

New groups and technology are trying to help. OKReal brings together ambitious young women (both digitally and IRL) to problem-solve issues in the workplace from the pay gap to sexual harassment. Bumble’s Bizz mode lets you swipe to connect with powerful businesswomen (like Kris Jenner and Karlie Kloss). Women focused workplaces like The Wing have networking baked into membership. And at Lean In circles, women gather wherever they live to swap advice and contacts. But if you don’t have access to these, or they aren’t right for your particular career, what to do? Start with these new approaches.

Stop looking for a full-service mentor