Redefiners Leadership Lounge: Leadership Under Fire: How Mentorship Can Help C-suites Turn Headwinds Into Opportunity
C-suite executives face an unprecedented cascade of simultaneous challenges—AI transformation, regulatory upheaval, geopolitical instability, and economic turbulence. Unlike previous generations who weathered single crises, today’s leaders must navigate sustained uncertainty that many have never experienced before.
So, how can the right mentor transform leadership under pressure? And what makes mentorship relationships truly effective for senior executives?
In this episode of Leadership Lounge, we talk to three of our trusted advisors—Kurt Harrison, Amanda Foster, and Jeffrey Cheng—who share their perspectives on:
- Why seeking the support of a mentor doesn’t equate to weakness
- Why finding mentors with experiential alignment is more important than industry experience
- Why vulnerability and authenticity are critical in building fruitful mentor-mentee relationships
- The common mistakes leaders make when entering mentorship engagements
"Mentorship is not remedial. It's developmental, and it's all part of an agile, constantly learning mindset, which keeps executives fresh in how they look at the future rather than looking backwards."
Amanda Foster, Leadership Advisor, Russell Reynolds Associates
Four things you'll learn from this episode:
- Seek mentors who've weathered multiple crises—their battle-tested wisdom is invaluable when facing today's sustained uncertainty.
- Mentorship isn't remedial—it's about gaining fresh perspectives that keep even experienced leaders sharp.
- Having an external mentor means a leader can be vulnerable without career consequences—they can discuss real struggles openly.
- Come prepared with clear goals and be genuinely open—mentorship is a relationship, not a transaction.
In this episode, we will cover:
(00:01:56) How sustained uncertainty differs from episodic crises and why this changes mentorship needs
(00:04:02) Why cross-industry mentor-mentee pairings are often the most successful
(00:10:07) The importance of building authentic mentorship relationships
(00:14:18) How external mentors provide objective perspectives often impossible internally
(00:15:48) Strategies for maximizing value from mentor relationships through preparation and goal-setting
A closer look at the research from this episode: