Champions, not just mentors

Learn with someone who fights for and with you

Mentor
noun.
An experienced and trusted advisor

Champion
noun.
A person who fights or argues for a cause or on behalf of someone else.

We all need mentors — people with the experience and knowledge to help us grow in school, work and life. But to move a mile, not just an inch, we need champions.

People who believe in your cause, who sing your praises, who go out of their way to make things happen. They are the ones who recommend you to speak at conferences, who defend you when faced with criticism, who make introductions to new business leads, who look out for your personal well being not just your business.

I’ve been lucky to have had some pretty incredible mentors throughout my life, but there are three people in particular who stand out for me as champions. Three people who represent three things you might look for.

Robert Jones — Find someone who shares your passion
Robert is my co-founder — and my ultimate champion at Wolff Olins. We both share a passion for education. This is where we feel most in our element — what Sir Ken Robinson defines as the intersection between what you love and what you’re good at.

Our shared passion means we have the same investment in seeing our business Kitchen flourish. We’re both putting ourselves out there — daring greatly in and outside of our company to make our vision for learning a reality.

Philip Thurtle—Find someone who makes you brave
Philip was my undergraduate thesis advisor. He’s one of those amazing professors who brings out the best in almost every student he encounters.

He gave me the academic confidence to construct a new way of remembering a heavy and heavily researched subject— the memorialisation of the Holocaust. I was always the stereotypical quiet Asian student, but his belief gave me the courage to speak out in class, express my point of view in person, not just on paper.

It’s been seven years since graduation, but his belief continues to inspire me in the practice of business, not just the theory of culture.

Mely Andrada— Find someone who challenges the status quo with you
This is my mom. She’s always been one of my biggest champions.

When I was six years old, I took a test to see if I could qualify for the Highly Capable Program — a special programme for gifted children in Seattle. I took the test and I failed. I took it again when I was seven years old and I failed again. But I still got in. Thanks to the perseverance of my Filipino immigrant mother who wrote letter campaigns to convince the Seattle School District to let me in.

My mom made me feel like anything was possible. I was never the best test taker, but got straight A’s throughout middle school and high school — and even graduated as a valedictorian. Today, by most measures, I’m considered a ‘highly capable’ and ‘successful’ young professional.

My mom is largely the reason why I’ve been inspired to change the way we learn, and to inspire others to find the possible where things seem impossible.

Melissa Andrada (@melissaandrada) heads up Kitchen from Wolff Olins, a school for ambitious leaders who want to build businesses that change the world