Leaders inspire high performance by motivating others to achieve objectives and demonstrate accountability. Mentors, on the other hand, boost people’s confidence in their own competencies through critical feedback and praise. The most fulfilled and successful agency professionals are often the beneficiaries of both.
In 2022, what is more important for agency executives who are leading the future workforce to embrace: mentorship or leadership? Below, members of Forbes Agency Council weigh in on whether one is more critical than the other in building a healthy, sustainable agency and why considering the question of how to best develop employees is so key right now.
Forbes Agency Council members discuss whether leadership or mentorship is more critical to the health and sustainability of an agency.
Photos courtesy of the individual members.
1. Leadership Is Crucial For Accountability
Leadership is more important. I never had a mentor in my career, and while I believe we should provide mentorship resources to employees, being a leader who is willing to roll up her sleeves and who actually knows how to “do the work” is more important. Accountability is a crucial “skill” for the future workforce to embrace, and leadership is how it gets done. – Vix Reitano, Agency 6B
2. Mentorship Inspires Individuals To Advance
Mentorship, hands down, is something that agency executives need to lean in on in 2022. As the world becomes more focused on the individual, the motivations and rewards that your employees need are not going to be one-size-fits-all; they won’t even be one-size-fits-most. You need to focus on the individual goals of your team members and inspire them to move to the next level on their own terms. – Christopher Tompkins, The Go! Agency
3. Mentorship Is More Holistically Beneficial
Quite often, by definition, leadership is directional. While this is necessary to achieve specific goals and pull teams in the same direction, it’s not as holistically beneficial as strong mentorship. Inspiring confidence, autonomy and the capacity to develop professionally is vitally important to a workforce with major societal challenges ahead. – Chris Martin, FlexMR
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4. Mentorship Is Part Of Effective Leadership
To be an effective leader, mentorship is part of the package. I believe that effective motivation comes in the form of opportunity beyond paychecks and checklists. Can team members be challenged with new projects or levels of responsibility? It is through this approach that I am able to mentor the next generation of marketing powerhouses through effective leadership. – Bernard May, National Positions
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5. Leaders Steer While Mentors Cultivate Culture
It is important to have both leaders and mentors within a business. At the very top level, there needs to be a leader who steers the direction of the company, sets goals and delegates accordingly from the top down. At the managerial level, it is essential to have mentors more junior team members can ask questions of and learn from to cultivate a culture of learning. – Tellef Lundevall, Accelerated Digital Media
6. Mentors Help Businesses Grow Future Leaders
Both mentorship and leadership have their own roles, but personally, I feel mentorship is going to be the key to business success in 2022. Mentors not only help team members evolve into making tough decisions for the business but also help them become future leaders. With so many work opportunities opening up this year, it’s important for every business to have mentors helping their teams grow. – Ajay Prasad, GMR Web Team
7. Leaders And Mentors Are Dependent On One Another
I don’t draw a distinction between mentorship and leadership. They are two sides of the same coin that are dependent on one another. From a behavioral science perspective, no one can motivate another person. What a leader can do is make it easier for people to accomplish what they want and need to do. The mentorship during that process comes in the form of the guidance provided. – Roger Hurni, Off Madison Ave
8. A Coaching Leadership Style Is Akin To Mentorship
Leadership is essentially influence. There are two primary types of leaders: dictators and coaches. The best leader is more like a coach, which is similar to a mentor. Both leaders and mentors are performing at their best when they are influencing and helping those they lead improve through encouragement and challenge. – Jason Wilson, Strategy, LLC
9. Younger Workers Want Leadership And Mentorship
The new generation in the workforce wants both leadership and mentorship. Leadership demonstrates positive movement forward and a confidence that inspires those just coming into the workplace. As a guiding force, mentorship provides a roadmap that allows someone to build their own skill set, knowing that they are, indeed, moving in the right direction. – Leeza Hoyt, The Hoyt Organization, Inc.
10. Mentors Can Be Found In A Wide Range Of Relationships
Having mentors to support and guide you is a key aspect of professional growth. The mentorship role can encompass a wide range of relationships, from someone whom you occasionally meet for coffee or email for advice to someone who actively promotes your interests. As both a mentor and leader, it’s important to be approachable, provide well-rounded advice and make people feel safe reaching out to you. – Kimberly Jones, Butler/Till
11. Leaders Must Listen And Dialogue As Mentors
Leaders must toggle between inspiring high performers and recognizing that their motivations, measures of fulfillment and relationship with “work” have shifted. As mentors, we must listen. Recently, there has been a huge cultural change; people have been in pain. It is not just about teaching but about opening a dialogue. Some of our best decisions come from hearing feedback, involving the team and not being afraid to evolve. – Paul McDowall, Clarkmcdowall
12. Mentorship Shapes Employees To Lead In Their Own Areas
At a time when companies are making efforts to implement work-from-home initiatives in the Covid era, high discipline and commitment are required from every employee. In my opinion, mentorship shapes employees to become leaders in their own areas. That means they, too, get to bear the company’s goals and objectives so that they can carry out their tasks with minimal supervision. – Candice Georgiadis, Digital Agency, Inc
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Author: Expert Panel®, Forbes Councils Member
