The case for reimagining workplace mentorship and talent development

I recently had a conversation with a friend who has been working in the pharmaceutical industry for the last 10 years. She is now considering a transition, wondering whether to leave her company, change industries, or leave corporate and start her own small business.

She is frustrated with the limited opportunities for advancement in her current company — in fact, she is unsure what the future holds for her there and remarked that the fat paycheck she receives every two weeks is no longer enough to keep her happy. She realizes that she has given so much of her life to this company, and that after 10 years, she is not sure what exactly she’s received in return. She has lost her sense of purpose.

Unfortunately, she is not alone. Her story echoes that of millions of professionals who are now reevaluating their lives and career paths, and who are no longer willing to stay merely for the monetary benefits. In fact, the lack of opportunities for growth and development is one of the main reasons why people are leaving their jobs today.

And it’s no longer just about corporate L&D programs — people want visibility, they want to build meaningful connections, gain access to leaders whom they can emulate and learn from, and build their own tribe of people who will care and support them on their career journey.

Personally, my lack of visibility, mentors, and access to role models is why I left corporate America. I graduated from college and landed a great job in New York City, but was totally unprepared to navigate corporate culture as a Black woman and first-generation immigrant. It required a different set of skills, one that my education could not have prepared me for.

When I started my job, I worked really hard and was hungry to learn, grow, and advance quickly. But, hard work alone was not enough to get me noticed. I felt completely invisible. I was alone and had no way to find mentors to help me navigate my unique challenges. So, after 12 dreadful months, I left my job and turned my back on corporate America. I just couldn’t see a pathway there for my growth and success.

It’s unfortunate that a decade later, not much has changed. In fact, it’s gotten much worse. Remote work has meant less hands-on support and fewer opportunities to network, gain visibility, and learn from others. For most workers, gone are the days when they could run into a senior leader in the work cafeteria or the CEO in the elevator, strike up a conversation, and get a lunch or dinner invitation that could set their career on a completely different path.

The war for talent is not new. Companies have recognized for the last two decades that they need to do more to prioritize their people. However, most of the “People First” efforts have gone into the relentless expansion of benefits like childcare, family leave, fitness centers, and healthcare facilities, which are all great, but simply not enough.

Organizations have put very little effort into a key area — leveraging their greatest strength — their people. What I learned from several years of engaging both young professionals and corporate leaders, is that the aspiration to learn and advance is strong, and the aspiration to teach and mentor is also strong, but there is a lack of tools to bridge the gap between these aspirations.

One way that organizations are tackling this problem is through mentorship programs, but most of these programs are ineffective and do not meet the intended outcomes. They are incredibly manual, lack insights, and rely on antiquated tactics, which prevents leaders from teaching and mentoring at scale.

This is what led me and my co-founder, Isaac, to build LegacyShift, where we’ve developed a technology that matches people with experts within their organizations for skills training, mentorship, and career support .

The COVID driven “great resignation”, followed by what is now called the “great migration”, has only intensified the battle for talent. The stakes are high for companies to unlock the power of their people to hone new skills and inspire and elevate the next generation’s workforce.

This isn’t just about mentorship, its about giving people visibility, exposure to different career paths and opportunities, and access to the leaders who will lift them up as they climb.

For my friend, what she needed at this time in her career was a new challenge. But, because she hadn’t been exposed to different career paths and growth opportunities along the way, she felt discouraged. The worst part about this is that she didn’t feel like she had anyone at her company that she could talk to. No mentors, no advisors — no one.

I advised her that her 10 years of experience are tremendous and that she will be invaluable to the right company. I implored her to explore other career paths in the pharmaceutical industry and she is now eagerly considering opportunities in DEI and recruitment.