WISE Mentor Circles
Joelle Dove has always had a passion for helping people with their career development. She’s a go-to for friends and family who need help with resumes and career counseling. In her role as Sr. Director of Operations at Daymon, she believes mentoring and coaching others is a natural extension of her role. When she saw an invitation to join the WISE Mentor Circle program, Joelle grabbed the opportunity to network with and learn from professionals outside of her company. Now, she is sharing her talents and passion as a WISE Mentor Circle Leader.
“Our group was very special and rare,” shares Joelle. “It feels like all the stars aligned with this group. Everyone really invested in each other.” Joelle credits the Mentor Circle format in creating a more collaborative environment for discussion. WISE Mentor Circles are designed so that the members have input into what professional development topics they choose to focus on during the year. Also, for each group session, a circle participant is encouraged to step up and lead the session. In this shared format, participants were really invested in delving into the chosen topics and bringing multiple formats into their learning. Some participants brought in videos or movie clips to share. One participant conducted a survey to generate discussion. “There were no guardrails on what you could bring into the discussion,” Joelle noted. “It felt very natural and positive. Nothing felt forced.”
From the first topic discussion, the circle members found a theme that became symbolic of their journey. The group chose to discuss growth around a fixed mind set. They wanted to learn how to be able to pivot with changes and avoid limited thinking. During group discussion, one woman revealed that her hobby was running a butterfly farm. “The butterfly became our mascot,” explains Joelle. “We talked a lot about how butterflies have to undergo change and have to evolve. Companies are ever changing; people are everchanging.” The caterpillar to butterfly analogy kept coming up in their chats. At the end of the year, Joelle gifted each circle member a butterfly key chain to commemorate their year together. “It wasn’t just a mentor circle where we logged in and logged off,” Joelle reflects. “We celebrated life together. One member shared when her husband got citizenship. We had a text chain going with each other. This connection will keep going.”
Though Joelle has experienced mentorship relationships in college, through her church and at work, the WISE Mentor Circle experience enriched her career in new ways. The group members were very diverse circle in terms of variety of roles, age range and career stage. One participant had just started at her company; another was counting down days to retirement. Some were team leaders; some weren’t currently leading a team, but wanted to someday. Their discussions brought out similarities with work and personal challenges, but highlighted different ways to tackle the problem. “We were all participants in teaching each other,” says Joelle. “Everyone got to open up to each other in sharing stories to support each other. You didn’t have just one teacher; you had five teachers supporting your growth.” Joelle also acknowledges that the dialog flowed more easily because everyone worked at a different company. Participants could be more open in their assessment of situations, and they could learn from colleagues outside of their employer without organization bias.
For anyone considering joining a WISE Mentor Circle, Joelle has some words of encouragement. “If you come wanting to be transparent and with a growth mindset, you’ll find yourself in a different place within the year. You won’t be a caterpillar any more; you’ll be something different. Anyone who is eager for change – whether at the beginning of your career, the end of your career, or wanting a new role – will benefit from having this circle of people around you who influence and support you. It’s a safe place to ask questions and grow.” WISE Mentor Circles are open to any employee of a WISE partner company. If you are interested in being a part of a future mentor circle, contact Judy Clark at judy.clark@freshtx.com.