Last week I attended a speed mentoring event. You might be asking yourself the same questions that I asked myself upon receiving the invitation…how does speed mentoring work and is it effective?  The event paired junior and senior executives for three 25 minute rotations where junior execs received advice on a topic/situation from the senior execs. I believe that the maximum benefits of mentoring are realized when deeper relationships exist with trust and understanding but I kept an open mind and a positive attitude. I figured at best I could semi-anonymously bounce ideas off of someone with a different perspective and potentially get some good advice and at worst I could meet new people and expand my network so it was a win-win scenario.

The benefit was more the latter as I met some interesting people from various different areas, one of whom is an executive coach who introduced herself with the quote:

What got you here won’t get you there.

Those words resonated with me as I am constantly redefining my path and assessing what tools are needed to get me where I want to go. Speed mentoring didn’t get me here, in fact Monday marked my 17 year anniversary with the firm so my journey has been anything but speedy.  The event did remind me that it was relationships formed over time with mentors, sponsors, managers and peers along with hard work that brought me here and will take me where I am going.