Talk Talent To Me ForgeRock Chief People Officer Tschudy Smith
While the impact of successful mentorship has been proven in a multitude of ways, there is still the fear that participants could be mismatched or that a mentor’s time might be wasted. Concerns that the relationship will be short-lived or even fail can also get in the way of tremendous results. Today’s guest asks us to consider using intention and purpose to guide these relationships. Please join us in welcoming Tschudy Smith, Chief People Officer at ForgeRock, to share her perspective on purpose-driven mentorship. Tuning in, you’ll learn some of the characteristics of great leaders, why Tschudy believes we have to be more intentional than ever about who we bring into our network, and how to set outcomes and objectives before entering into a mentorship relationship. We also touch on the importance of empathy, the fundamental differences between a sponsor and a mentor, and the role that places and culture play for CPOs in a post-pandemic world, plus so much more.
Key Points From This Episode:
- Insight into Tschudy’s background and how she ended up in her current role at ForgeRock.
- How she came to understand the role that empathy plays in a leadership role.
- The value of mentorship and why Tschudy believes we have to be more intentional than ever about who we have in our network.
- A purposeful, outcomes-driven approach to inviting a mentor or a sponsor to work with you.
- Measuring the success of a mentor/mentee relationship against those initial objectives.
- An understanding of the differences between a mentor and a sponsor.
- Characteristics of a great leader, from transparent dialogue to advocating on behalf of others.
- Why the role of a sponsor is such a complicated one in today’s highly matrixed organizations.
- How Tschudy conceived of the role of Chief People Officer (CPO) and her approach to it.
- Why today’s leadership is about more than to-do lists and agendas; it’s about people.
- The role that places and culture play for CPOs in a post-pandemic world.
- Tschudy elaborates on some of the ‘non-negotiables’ for CPOs today.
- How Tschudy decided that CPO was the right role for her and how it aligned with her goals.
Tweetables:
“Some of those formal or informal engagements we might have expected to have are fewer and [farther] between, [so] we have to be even more intentional about who we have in our network that is there to support us, to guide us, and to give us some coaching and insight.” — Tschudy Smith [0:06:22]
“I feel like it’s important to pay it forward and, I’ll tell you, when you can play the role of mentor, you also learn.” — Tschudy Smith [0:07:32]
“The idea of a sponsor is to have somebody who advocates on your behalf, who is in those rooms, who is in those conversations, and who actually [thinks] about you when you’re not there.” — Tschudy Smith [0:15:07]
“This is 22nd-century leadership. It isn’t just about managing a to-do list. It isn’t just about showing up to run an agenda for a team meeting. It’s getting proximate, caring for your people, seeing them at their best, and figuring out how you can help them do more of that.” — Tschudy Smith [0:22:22]
Links Mentioned in Today’s Episode: