We may find mentors in the most unexpected of places.
To be sure, when you have achieved a certain level of success, as most of our readership has in their careers, you know that, along the way, they received a helping hand, advice, constructive feedback, and maybe even a little bit of tough love.
We’ve certainly featured several CFOs who have cited some of their most important mentors along the way.
Here are a few.
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Former Coupa CFO Tony Tiscornia noted his former boss Rob Bernshteyn, who would say, “None of us is as smart as all of us.”
Peter Zaffino, CEO of AIG, remembered Shane Fitzsimons, who passed away late last year following a battle with brain cancer, citing his exceptional mentoring and guidance throughout his career.
At the Strategic CFO Forum late last year, Susan Lynch, former CFO of V2X, described how early in her career, her mentor invited her and her husband out to dinner with he and his wife. When Lynch asked him why he did that, he said, “‘Susan, it’s because now I know another side of you. And now you know another side of me. We’re like family.”
And Chris Ortega of Fresh FP&A was quick to note that his mother, Delores, and his third-grade teacher, Mrs. White, played a big role in shaping him into who he is today.
We have many more examples of this kind of impact (check out our full 6 a.m. CFO series), but a consistency in all of them is, that whether the moment was big or small, these leaders’ lives were impacted through mentorship, and they seek to pay it forward.
The amazing thing about mentorship is, there are times when it is ‘invisible.’ As in, the person who provides the mentorship may not even know it. I was reminded of this in reading this column written by a friend named Rich Weissman, a supply chain expert, who I have had the privilege of knowing and working with during my time with my company. This is what Rich had to say about the unexpected invisible mentoring experience trying to make his first purchase requisition.
“I was nervous as I dialed the number of the local lumber yard supplier. On the second ring, a man named Artie abruptly and gruffly answered the telephone. I identified myself and my company before he hurriedly asked me what I needed. Although I knew that I needed to order simple two-by-four studs, I read the requisition as written: Eight 2 x 4 x 8, with the emphasis on the “x” and not on the “by,” just to be sure.”
After several seconds, Artie responded, ‘Okay, Rich, you need eight two-by-fours,’ before confirming a price and that he’d have them delivered the next morning.
So what’s the moral of the story? “Artie didn’t make me feel stupid, and he could have. Instead, Artie taught me something, gave me some confidence, and thanked me for the order. It was my first test and I passed. But if Artie took another track and laughed or mocked me, I might have found another profession instead of staying in one for nearly five decades.”
We may never know where the invisible might show up, but what Weissman’s anecdote relates, and what the most thoughtful CFOs we encounter practice, is that you will never find them if you never look. By exhibiting patience, grace, and knowledge sharing, you may find the opportunity to change someone else’s trajectory or help them level up. It might even come from a teammate or a peer, like CFO’s Vince Ryan.
You never know who might be watching.