The extended deadline for the 2017-2018 AMA Houston Mentorship Program is October 9, so there’s no time to doubt whether you have what it takes to mentor some of Houston’s brightest young marketers. If you aren’t sure you have what it takes to lead, read one mentor’s thought process and how his concerns contributed to his achievements. You don’t need to be a traditional marketer to give someone the boost they need. Your journey as a mentor could change a life, and end up changing you as well.
Scott Wagner is an AMA Houston Board Member. He serves as Director of Database and CRM Management. Here is his story on success and achievement through the AMA Houston Mentorship Program:
Why I volunteered to be a Mentor
In a Board Meeting last year, the Chair of the AMA Houston Mentorship Program asked for additional volunteers to be Mentors. The Board’s goal was to have at least 30 Mentors paired up with Mentee’s from AMA. I raised my hand and completed the application to become a Mentor. I did not know what to expect, one of my concerns was my background did not come from Marketing but from Business Development/Sales/Consulting. How would my experience assist a Mentee who is in Marketing? I put those concerns aside and decided I would move forward.
About my Mentee
I was paired with Allegra Boutch, she graduated from the University of Texas in 2014 and was working as the Marketing Manager for the Girl Scouts of San Jacinto Council. Allegra is also an Army Public Affairs Officer with the Texas Army National Guard. When we had our first meeting, my first thought was she was already on a good path with her career. One of the things that assisted us both is we had a worksheet with guidelines and questions to enable us to get to know each other better. It assisted me to know her goals and how I could assist her in achieving them.
Breaking the Ice
The worksheet and program guidelines we were provided, assisted us in understanding the goals we wanted to accomplish during the Mentorship Program. A few of the questions we asked were:
• What is one goal you would like to accomplish in your Lifetime?
• What is your Dream Job?
• When you were a kid, what did you want to be when you grew up?
The worksheet also had suggestions for possible questions for your Mentor and possible questions for your Mentee. We were not able to complete everything during our first meeting but it gave us the chance to get to know each other and our goals. One of my big take-aways was that Allegra wanted to build her professional network. She hoped this would give her a strong professional base to grow her career as well as one day serve on the Board of an organization.
Taking the Next Steps
The guidelines for the program are flexible based on the goals of the Mentor/Mentee. A few of the guideline are:
• Decide on communication preference
• Meet monthly to work toward achieving goals established
• Schedule a Job Shadow Day
Since my background is not Marketing, we decided the best approach would be to attend business meetings and leverage my network to make introductions and assist in scheduling meetings with companies she was interested in learning more about. Along with the American Marketing Association, I am also involved with the Greater Houston Partnership and serve as one of the Ambassadors.
I invited Allegra to attend business meetings and network with other business professionals. In both of my professional organizations, Allegra met people who were very impressed with how she presented herself, it was great to hear all the positive feedback from business professionals I network with. After initial introductions to people in my network, she scheduled meetings to learn from those she met. As a result of these introductions, at the Greater Houston Partnership, Allegra was asked if she wanted to serve on the Ambassadors Committee. At AMA Houston, she was asked to serve on the Board of Directors and manage the AMA Houston Blog.
We continued to meet for breakfast, lunch or at business meetings to discuss successes, obstacles and next steps.
The Story Continues
Allegra and I have become friends over the course of the program and even though it has officially ended, we continue to stay in touch. Today we both serve on the Board of Directors for the American Marketing Association.
My initial concerns of not being from Marketing did not have an impact on our ability to work together and learn from each other during the Program. I personally received considerable value from participating in the program and watching Allegra work toward achieving her goals. I felt I was able to leverage my years of business experience along with my professional network to work with her in achieving those goals. I am glad I raised my hand and moved forward in participating in the AMA Mentorship Program. Everyone has something to offer someone else, we just need to stand up and take the next step.
If you have ever considered participating in the AMA Houston Mentorship Program, I would highly suggest you do – you will not regret it.