MAPS & EWIB Connecticut: Advancing Leadership Through Mentoring

On March 25, the Mentorship, Advisors, Peers, and Sponsorship (MAPS) and Executive Women In Bio (EWIB) committees from WIB-Connecticut hosted a mentoring and networking event, Advancing Leadership Through Mentoring. Dr. Usha Pillai facilitated an interactive discussion on the power of mentorship to impact personal and professional growth. Dr. Pillai walked the 30 women through discussion prompts and questions that allowed participants to learn about mentoring, partnerships, allyship, and sponsorship while learning from each other’s experiences. She emphasized that mentors need to go beyond addressing soft skills and instead share more knowledge and encourage protegees to pursue professional development with leadership skills that are more aligned with strategic imperatives. Protégées also need to clearly define their mentoring goals.

Dr. Pillai closed the session with a few rounds of “speed mentoring.” For this exercise, participants took turns role-playing as a mentor or a protegee. Protégées were invited to think deeply about why they were seeking mentorship and why they were reaching out to that specific person as a potential mentor. Mentors were invited to think deeply about whether they were a good fit for the potential protégée and encouraged to ask probing questions before deciding if they were a good fit for the protégée's needs. The evening concluded with MAPS and EWIB co-chairs sharing opportunities for participants to get involved with four new activities: MAPS peer group, professional book club, mentoring circle, or consultative mentoring.

Submitted by Yashoda Sharma