Ilisha Cooper
I joined the WFF in 2006 and, for the first time in my career, I felt like giving up. There were numerous issues that I faced both personally and professionally. Some of these issues involved difficulties with inclusion and others were surrounding my attitude about the company that I worked for. In spite of all these things that were clouding my head, the one thing I needed was a new perspective. After being nominated to participate in the WFF, I signed up for the mentor and protégée program. I was in hope that I could have a mentor that could help me learn more about Corporate America and, at the same time, be willing to listen and share their professional experience as a minority with me.
Like most events in life, there are always twists and turns that are taken. I received a phone call from the WFF informing me that all the mentors were taken and that they would be refunding my program fee. To say the least, I was very disappointed. During the conference in Dallas in 2006, I had the opportunity to listen to Consuelo Kickbusch at the Multicultural Brunch, who had some great information on successful leadership behaviors and overcoming adversity. After this emotional event, Alice Wheelwright spoke briefly as she was the chair of WFF that year. For the first time, I opened up to her and explained that I had signed up for the mentor and protégée program, but all the mentors had been taken. I added that it would be the following year before I could participate. She quickly responded, “I will be your mentor,” without hesitation. I continued to explain to her the challenges that I had been facing at work and how it was impacting me emotionally. I was at a point in my career with Ecolab that if I did not get some support, I would most likely leave the company. This would have been a shame considering that I had almost ten years with the company in multiple business units. This action would have cost the company thousands of dollars in lost hours for all the training and product knowledge that I had held. It would have also meant that I would have to start over and this really was not what I wanted to do.
What I got from Alice, my mentor, was first a listening ear and then her professional insight. One of the first questions that she asked was, “What do you want to do, and where do you want to go?” She helped me identify underlying issues around my attitude and helped me to understand that this was the one thing that I had power over. She made the time to come to Houston where I had been transferred, and together, we outlined the things that I wanted her direction with. She also followed up with me monthly through phone calls. The WFF has a great self assessment tool online that I used to assess my strengths and weakness, and I used this as part of my mentor objectives. We talked about real things that were happening, and she always made sure we outlined the steps that I needed to take to have ownership of my career.
There are many things I could say about my mentor and protégée relationship, but there is only one outcome from a relationship like this. If the two people are in it to truly help each other grow, both mentor and protégée, there can only be Success.
The rewards for companies that allow their associates to participate in mentor and protégée programs are numerous. I am a better communicator, both written and verbal, and I have a new outlook about myself and my company. In return, I am more focused on delivering my company's objectives. Since 2006, I have had two promotions, and I attribute this success to my mentor and protégée relationship. I would highly recommend participating as a mentor or protégée and helping someone improve their outlook and career.