Several years ago, Kathy Butler was asked whether she had had any mentors during her career – and her mind went blank.
But after thinking about it for some time, she realized she'd had several. While they had never formally called themselves mentors, experienced colleagues had helped Butler develop the skills and confidence to advance to more senior roles with more responsibility.
One mentor helped Butler make a move from Toronto, where she had started her career at the Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce (CIBC), to her hometown of Vancouver. To do that, however, she would have to be able to manage client relationships on her own. Her manager began to prepare her so that the move would be a success.
"He provided the opportunity to start covering these clients, then … he was [also] in the background providing advice and mentorship along the way to make sure the transition was done in an effective manner."
When she moved to Vancouver, another mentor filled a different role.
"[He provided] advice along the way … it was more critical points in time in a client relationship where I just needed some advice about what to do."
Butler now takes the idea of mentorship very seriously. In addition to mentoring junior colleagues at CIBC, she works with the University of British Columbia's Sauder School of Business and sits on an advisory committee at the National Investment Banking Conference.
Based on her experience, Butler said it's helpful to have more than one mentor for different stages of a career.
"I think it's really important to have different mentors, and I think they change as you go through life," Butler said.
"Back then, I needed more mentorship on my career and making the right decisions … Now I think it's more life choices: are you doing what's right for yourself, what's right for your family."
"When people make that leap to reach out to you … it's a big step for that person, so I always make sure to lend them an ear. If I'm too busy, I always make sure I hand them off appropriately and make sure somebody else is there to listen to them and provide them with advice."
