When women support other women, success is limitless. In this article, we’ll share the stories of four women who have improved their careers by working with female mentors. 

Kate Hardcastle and Anita Roddick

Kate Hardcastle is a British retail expert and founder of business transformation organisation Insight With Passion, who has featured extensively on TV, radio, and in written publications. She’s worked with top brands, such as Google and McDonalds, and her entrepreneurial success earned her an MBE in 2018. Kate has won countless awards, including Media Personality of the Year 2018, Innovator of the Year, Inspiration of the Year, and Entrepreneur of the Year. 

Sally Singer and Anna Wintour

Sally Singer is the creative director of digital at Vogue. She’s previously worked as the fashion news director at the magazine and as editor-in-chief at T: The New York Times Style Magazine. 

It’s unsurprising, therefore, that one of her most profound influences in Anna Wintour, the editor-in-chief of Vogue since 1988. 

On their mentoring relationship, Sally says of Anna, “She taught me everything about everything.” There’s no better endorsement than that!

More specifically, Anna instilled a sense of confidence in Sally and encouraged her to be true to herself, without compromise. 

When considering a move back to Vogue from T, Anna gave Sally more good advice. Anna is renowned for – amongst other things – the ability to predict what will be fashionable in the future. As it turns out, that vision extends to shifts in the workplace. She told Sally that a move to the digital director position at Vogue would be beneficial to her long-term career, as the industry is moving in that direction. As Sally explains, “That was an incredibly generous act; what she was saying was that she was thinking ahead for my interests.”

Arlene Kelly and Pamela Anderson

Arlene Kelly, Health and Safety specialist for life science company Sigma Aldrich, found a rewarding working relationship through Business Mentoring Scotland. She was paired with Pamela Anderson, a senior HR consultant with Square Circle HR, and owner of Sounding Board Associates. 

Pamela’s extensive experience in various industries made her a good match for Arlene, who wanted to gain confidence and practical advice after being promoted to a new role. Arlene found that the challenges of her new job, and the criticism she sometimes faced, were having a detrimental effect on her attitude, which she believed would negatively impact her career.

She shared these concerns with Pamela and drew up a list of learning objectives for the mentoring relationship. But the initial meetings weren’t formal. Instead, Pamela gave Arlene the opportunity to simply speak without judgment and to let go of some of the pressures that had built in her new role. 

This was very helpful for Arlene, and as the meetings progressed, they discussed behavioural changes that could improve the situation. Arlene appreciated Pamela’s ability to offer an alternative perspective, and to show her tactics to think more objectively and calmly at work, rather than going straight to emotional reactions. 

Mentoring has helped Arlene to manage the pressures of work more effectively, accept things she can’t change, and move on with a positive outlook if things don’t go exactly to plan. Arlene now looks forward to challenges at work, empowered by greater confidence and improved productivity.

Judith Jamison and Carmen De Lavallade

Judith Jamison is the Artistic Director Emerita of Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, and has had an illustrious career as a dancer, choreographer, and entrepreneur. As well as winning an Emmy, she’s been honoured by the Kennedy Centre and secured her rightful place in the Hall of Fame at the National Museum of Dance. 

Judith points to actress, dancer, and choreographer Carmen De Lavallade as one of her most important mentors. When Judith first arrived in New York City, Carmen and her husband welcomed Judith into their lives. Prior to meeting, Judith had already been inspired by Carmen. As a woman of colour, Judith was proud to see a fellow African-American female performing on TV in the 1950s – an extremely rare occurrence at the time. Carmen’s visibility encouraged Judith to pursue dance, and having the opportunity to meet and be mentored by her when she came to New York bolstered her confidence. 

Carmen taught Judith to remain grounded, even when her career was taking off. According to Judith, Carmen explained that, “Fame and beauty are fleeting, but what’s interior is important.” 

That advice extended to how Judith thought about herself in relation to other dancers. Instead of looking outward, she competed with herself and improved continuously through self-reflection. Carmen’s influence made a difference to Judith from a young age, right through to the present. 

As we can see, mentoring has been invaluable across a variety of industries and disciplines!

Are you ready to lead other women to reach their aspirations? We’re here to make it happen. Get in touch with The Mentoring Institute to discover exciting mentoring opportunities.