Leading the way?

It may come as a surprise to some to hear many Canadian CFOs haven’t been mentors at any point in their careers.

In surveying more than 270 CFOs, Robert Half Management Resources found 61 per cent had never taken on the mentorship role.

These executives may not be acting as mentors because “they might not recognize the positive impact it can have on their career, and their business,” said David King, Canadian president of Robert Half Management Resources.

“They may think mentorship is too time-consuming, and they’re already busy enough.”

“However, something as simple as a monthly call or coffee coupled with email exchanges for as-needed advice on current trends, professional concerns or obstacles, can be incredibly beneficial for both the mentor and the mentee.”

It’s also possible a lot of CFOs have been mentors over the years and they just don’t know it, according to Alysia Carter, an independent consultant in Toronto and former senior vice-president and CFO at Kenaidan Contracting.

“They don’t understand the impacts they’ve had on those people.”

Dominique Grégoire, vice-president and CFO at Alberta Blue Cross in Calgary, also questioned the survey results.

“Anybody who’s been in a supervisory role would have been informally involved in mentorship because you’re training people all the time and the mentoring is part of that,” she said.

“They look up to you because you have the experience and the knowledge.”

It’s important for CFOs to have mentorship experience because of the breadth of their responsibilities, said Carter.

“The mentee learns from you (and) you learn from them,” she said. “The responsibility of the CFO is to understand all aspects of the organization, and when you can understand the organization from other people’s point of view, it only makes you that much stronger when you’re guiding the company.”

CFOs really should be informally mentoring all their employees because it is important people enjoy what they do, said Nancy Lala, CFO of About Communications in Toronto, who has mentored senior executive women with the Women’s Executive Network.

“People are so much more productive and adding so much more value when they enjoy what they do.”

Christina Cheung, CFO of Procon Mining and Tunnelling in Vancouver, said her experience as a mentee is what made her want to become a mentor later in her career.

But while she did go through formal mentorship programs, that’s not where she found the most value.

“The (relationships) that helped me the most were all the informal relationships,” she said. “(It) was encouraging to think someone actually believes in you, despite the short time that you have together.”

Those experiences early on in her career helped Cheung understand what junior employees need from a mentor, she said, in helping her and encouraging her to see her capabilities.

“I learned in my career that there’s no one right way to tackle an issue,” she says. “I tried to do the same things: Encourage (and) help them find strengths in themselves, trying to get them to have confidence in themselves, and then they can flourish from having that encouragement.”

Being a good listener is key, said Cheung.

“You need to listen and then don’t just dictate what you think is right — you need to see what the circumstances are and what the person is like before you jump in with your own set of rules or suggestions,” she said.

“I’m still learning a lot about how to be a good listener; it’s hard at times, but it’s critical if you want to be a good mentor.”

While formal mentorship may not be for everyone, it’s important for CFOs to keep up informal relationships with employees to ensure the development of future leaders at a company, said Grégoire.

“What I have come to realize is that people do look up to me,” she said. “And sharing experiences and mistakes we’ve made in the past, and decisions we’ve made and why we made those decisions, is the best form of mentoring, because people learn when they listen to you. If your title is CFO and you’re willing to share your experience, people will listen.”

The greatest benefits of being a mentor

The internal satisfaction of helping someone else: 32%

Improving your leadership skills: 27%

Building your professional network: 23%

Staying current on industry trends: 17%

Source: Robert Half Management Resources