Mentorship

At Level 5, mentorship becomes cultural infrastructure. You shape how the organization thinks about, invests in, and grows its people. You influence systems of learning, values of support, and norms of leadership that will outlast your direct involvement. You model inclusive growth, elevate mentorship as a strategic lever, and ensure it scales with the company.

Key Behaviors

  • Shapes mentorship philosophies and practices at the org level
  • Champions equitable access to mentoring, coaching, and sponsorship
  • Builds long-lasting structures that nurture leadership at all levels
  • Mentors senior leaders and builds mentorship capacity among execs
  • Models vulnerability, feedback, and lifelong learning at the highest levels

Common Struggles

  • May over-formalize mentorship in ways that reduce authenticity
  • Can lose touch with ground-level mentoring needs and realities
  • Might underinvest in maintaining personal mentorship relationships

Success Indicators

You know you're successful when you:

  • Embed mentorship into the company's identity, not just its operations
  • Create spaces and systems where growth feels supported and expected
  • Enable mentorship to scale through shared values, not just programs
  • Influence how leaders develop, support, and retain talent across the org

Mindset Shift

From:

"I lead mentorship at scale."

To:

"I shape how this org grows people for years to come."

Questions to Ask Yourself

  • What kind of leaders will this culture produce?
  • Where do our systems support development—and where do they stall it?
  • What values are reinforced in how we grow, promote, and support others?

Build These Habits

  • 1
    Evolve mentorship programs to reflect changing team and business needs
  • 2
    Cultivate cross-org mentorship communities or partnerships
  • 3
    Invest in storytelling and ritual to reinforce growth as a shared value

Seek Feedback

  • "Where is mentorship showing up most meaningfully in our org?"
  • "What stories or practices are shaping how we grow people?"
  • "Where do our systems make it harder than it should be to grow?"

Signals You're Ready to Level Up

  • Mentorship is widely embraced and frequently practiced without prompting
  • New leaders cite your influence in how they support their teams
  • The org retains and grows people because they feel seen, supported, and stretched

Focus Summary

  • Shape culture
  • Grow leadership
  • Leave a legacy of learning

At Level 5, mentorship is the soil you leave behind—rich, strong, and full of seeds. You grow the growers.