Change Agents and Mentors: A Private Sector Viewpoint
March 15, 2006
I was surprised how many of the change agents we interviewed for the paper knew each other through many years of public service. Not surprisingly, one of our findings in the paper was that change agents tend to cluster together. In other words, when you find one type of change agent, particularly a Transformational Leader, you will find many other types of change agents as well.
A task that is paramount for change agents is not only clustering with others who are aligned with their vision, but determining how to grow the next generation of leaders and change agents.
Wharton publishes a fine online series on leadership and change that is filled with insightful thinking by mostly private sector executives. A topic that struck me in an interview with AmEx's Ken Chenault, Talks about Leadership, Integrity and the Credit Card Business, cited the need to find mentors within organizations. Here is an excerpt worth considering:
Mentoring is a topic about which Chenault is passionate. "Most people seek mentors at a very senior level", he noted. "My experience is that the best mentors are not always high up. One of the things I have been able to do is form some mentor relationships with people who were relatively low in the company structure but whom I admired for how they operated and what they stood for. They gave me incredible advice and said to me, ‘Here are the senior people who are phony; stay away from them’".
The interview goes on to discuss what he considers the six character traits that serve as the foundation for skilled leaders. His six are: integrity, courage, being team players, growing people, execution skills and, being proactive. The interview is well worth a read. As change agents seek to grow the next generation of leaders in the federal government, Chenault’s advice is worthy of much consideration
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