Being the first woman on the sales-force was a daunting yet pleasantly challenging task. It would have been easy to worry and focus on the obvious differences I had from my colleagues, yet I chose to just get down to hard graft and prove that I could be as good as any of them, and still be a woman.

My strategy worked. I was embraced by the team, who recognised that the: 8:30 am – 3:00 am work-day was hard even for the hardiest of sales-men; yet I performed it without a squeak. I was diligent and focused, soaking in every second of mentoring I could from my colleagues. Each one had a specialty, and I would observe and try to assimilate the best of each.

The reason I recall this really professionally tough but wonderful, learning-wise, period is because I was able to appreciate the hard work involved in brand-building from the grass-roots. Whilst I had earned a distinction in my MSc in International Marketing, ivory-tower strategy setting, I learnt, was folly. A great example which I will never forget was a 50-page questionnaire that we were expected to take our customers through to find out their views on various areas relating to the products and to the brands. As anyone has ever entered a restaurant when preparing for service may appreciate, the hospitality trade is highly stressful with little time to spare for managing their own business, let alone their suppliers’. When I was not-so-kindly told to F… Off (some in the trade are not mindful of manners either), I was shocked. However, the irony is, I could not blame the customer. I would have said / done the same thing.

Interestingly, when I prepared a full report for senior management on my experiences on the on-trade and strategies for optimising the sales-force and streamline brand-building with really innovative ideas generated from the grass-roots, the report was deemed by some as a series of anecdotes and nothing more.

I was once again shocked and horrified – this time very negatively, by the culture of the organisation. Instead of trying to understand why these strategies were considered important, they were waved off as “fluff”. It is no wonder that this organisation does not exist any more, falling prey to acquisition by a bigger player and divesting brands and non-profitable business units.

Throughout my career, I have always remembered this experience and when someone came to me with an idea or a new way of doing this, I would always listen. Why?

• Innovation in business stems from individuals being given the freedom to take the liberty of suggestion. Google knows this all too well.

• Listening is the greatest part of communication; if the other feels they are genuinely heard, then they feel that their contribution to the business or cause is positive – they feel that they are bringing something to the table

• Leadership is about enabling others bloom – if that senior management had allowed me to implement with passion something that I knew would make the difference to building brands, they would have been able to bask in the glory of success. Unfortunately, most often the “not from here” syndrome takes over (as in my case), belittling others’ hard work and ignoring it all together is common. Who has the last say, however? Your employee – you have invested significant sums to train them, and they can just walk (as I did, I consequently took my learning and left the organisation altogether).

• One small change, can lead to great market shifts. Entrepreneurs know that being nimble and tweaking their product or service allows them to tap into markets that they may not have considered before.

• Bottoms-up market innovation: As with my experience, traditional companies have a top-to-bottom approach to innovation and management. In theory, senior management have the most experience and so have more authority to set the vision. However, I would argue that a bottom-up approach is more effective: the grass-roots employees have a direct line to customers, hear the complaints, see the response to marketing and sales activities. This needs to be mixed in with the in-depth experience from senior management to make innovation cocktail a reality.

Finally, you may have noticed a lot about this article relates to “feelings” – feeling heard, appreciated, making a difference; engaging employees to be passionate and real advocates for what they do and where they work… Ironically, this is all about a feelings-based-business. So while we may talk about productivity in metrics, what makes the quotient rise are not numbers; it is the behaviours, the stories of the business, the subtle signals of encouragement that make the difference.

So, how will you create your innovation cocktail in your business?

I have always advocated, and my unorthodox career “course” is an example of this, that diversity in experience and the people who support us along the way is critical. A single mentor can be good – for perhaps particular issues, in a particular context. However, what we need is a circle of mentors, a network of supporters, each with a different capability to support us along the way.

It was refreshing to see the article written by Dr. Kathy E. Kram, a professor of organizational behavior and a distinguished faculty scholar at Boston University’s School of Management, and Dr. Monica C. Higgins, an associate professor focused on leadership and organizational behavior at Harvard University’s Graduate School of Education, called “A new approach to mentoring“. They summarise their thoughts as follows: 

“It takes a Network .

The Situation: The traditional mentoring arrangement just doesn’t work anymore. A single senior colleague can’t possibly keep up with all the changes in the fast-moving world of work.

The Solution: People should create and cultivate developmental networks instead-small groups of people who provide regular advice and support.

The Strategy: There are a number of steps to take when setting up a network, such as carefully assessing your strengths, weaknesses and goals and figuring out what you need to know to advance your goals. And when your network is in place, you should regularly reassess it as your situation changes-while making sure that you help out your allies as much as they help you.”

The authors proceed to advise:

 ”1. Know Thyself
Although this tip may sound clichéd, it’s crucial. When people seek out help, they generally aren’t as well-prepared as they could be. Only if people know their own goals, strengths and weaknesses will they be able to figure out whom to turn to for support-and know how to ask for and apply advice effectively.

You should start by reviewing appraisals and developmental feedback that you have received. And ask yourself tough questions. What do you really enjoy doing at work? How can you best contribute, given your talents and interests? Where would you like to be in two years? In five years? Are there skill and knowledge gaps that you want to fill? Do you have a healthy balance between your work and outside commitments? Who knows you well enough to give useful feedback?

You should also assess your interpersonal skills. Are you comfortable reaching out for help, sharing your experiences and soliciting feedback? Or even just starting conversations with strangers? If you have shortcomings here, it’s vital that you address them, or you may have trouble creating an effective developmental network.

Fortunately, many organizations offer a range of activities to help people answer these kinds of questions, such as leadership-development programs and career-assessment tools.

2. Know Your Context
Knowing yourself is only half the equation. You must also know as much as possible about how to achieve your goal-whether that means a promotion, a new career or simply better balance in life.

If you’re looking to advance at your job, for instance, you must understand how the promotion process works at your company and figure out which potential sponsors might be keen on coaching you. If you want to change careers, you would want to be sure you understood the ins and outs of your desired field, everything from its hiring practices to what’s expected in the job. A good way to proceed is to build up contacts in the industry, perhaps by attending professional conferences.

These new contacts may then introduce you to people already working in the area that you aspire to join. And if you nurture these relationships, over time these people may become part of your developmental network. But it’s key to focus on a handful of relationships with individuals who seem to genuinely care about you and have wisdom or resources to offer. And be mindful of what you can offer to each of these individuals to create mutual learning.

3. Enlist Developers
Next, it’s time to actually build your developmental network, enlisting people who can help you advance your goals. So, whom should you choose?

Let’s say you’re a product manager in a technology company aspiring to reach a higher position. You’ll want to develop alliances with people at more senior levels who can sponsor and promote you, coach you and serve as a role model.

This, however, isn’t sufficient. What about peers who can help you learn to navigate the company’s politics and can share information about those at more senior levels? And are there individuals outside your organization who can help you keep learning? Professors or fellow students from graduate school could remind you about theories or practices that might be useful in your current job. Contacts at professional organizations could give you insights into new technology, while people in your family could act as a sounding board.

For some, forming outside developmental relationships may be just the kind of help they need to make a career change. Indeed, the greater the diversity of one’s network, the more open-minded one is likely to be regarding next steps.

It is critical to remember that high-quality mentoring is a process of give and take, where both parties learn from each other. So, you should approach potential developers with a sense of how they might benefit from an association with you.

What can they learn from you-new skills? Maybe they’ll be able to develop insight into how people in your job see the world and prioritize what’s important. Could helping you be an opportunity for a senior manager to hone coaching skills or to develop confidence in mentoring others?

Having a clear sense of these possibilities will make it easier for you to empathize with your allies, ask relevant questions and disclose relevant information about yourself as you ask for guidance.

4. Regularly Reassess
As your career and life unfold, you’ll need to keep reassessing your developmental network; the setup that served you well a few years ago may not work as your situation changes. You must ask yourself which developers can still help you meet your goals, and which need to be eased aside for new ones.

This may sound calculating and borderline manipulative, but remember that you’re not actually discarding old allies. As you bring new people into your network, don’t discard the old ones, just look on them in a different way-perhaps as valued friends whom you consult occasionally instead of colleagues that you frequently rely on for advice.

In short, it’s a matter of being more intentional when it comes to seeking out advice, and this is relevant for everyone, at every career stage, not just for those starting out.

For a look at a successful reassessment, consider a young software executive we’ve interviewed. When he started out, he wanted to become an expert in dealing with client problems, so he sought out a senior colleague who served as a role model and eventually provided him with exposure to clients. He was promoted several times and built a strong developmental network, including his boss, the vice president of marketing, several of his immediate subordinates and one of his peers.

After 12 years, he was interested in moving into a leadership position where he could run one of the company’s business units. But the current leaders appeared to be quite comfortable in their roles. And he began to feel that there were few people he could turn to for advice, given an increasing sense of competition among his peers (and his own fast-paced trajectory).

So, he began to build a developmental network that could help him manage his new challenges. The first person he turned to was his wife, who provided continuing support and confirmation during this difficult time. As she worked through the issues with him, she hit upon a crucial piece of advice, encouraging him to look outside the company for a new job where he could meet his goals. At the same time, he consulted an executive-search firm, which counseled him about where he might turn for opportunities.

Putting all of it together, he left his company for another firm, where he led several teams. Now he’s considering launching a start-up of his own.

5. Develop Others
As you enlist people in your network, consider how you can benefit them, as well. Remember, high-quality mentoring is about mutual learning; consider how your high-quality relationships serve to develop others and your organization.

As you enlist more senior colleagues, for instance, you’ll be providing them with opportunities to gain new knowledge from you, to hone their coaching skills and possibly boost their enthusiasm at work. Similarly, as you enlist junior colleagues in your developmental network to hone your coaching skills, you are creating an opportunity for them to bring you into their developmental networks. Exploring these complementary personal goals can solidify the relationship and ultimately help both of you and your organization.

If you’re a senior leader, meanwhile, you should also work to foster developmental networks in your organization. Just by forming your own network, and joining other people’s networks, you will serve as a role model. But you can also actively encourage coaching and mentoring among those that you manage, by designing jobs to encourage peer coaching, for example. And you can launch leadership-development programs that help individuals to develop the skills and self-awareness they’ll need to build strong developmental networks.

Ultimately, these developmental networks can enhance organizational performance and development. It is, in essence, a win-win proposition for you and your organization.”

It is great to see academia and business experience can concurr: opening your personal horizons with what I call the Mentoring Mesh, your own mesh of mentors to help you through your career course is a strategic imperative for your personal, and thus, organisation’s development.