Mentorship is a powerful tool in the tech industry, offering numerous benefits to both mentees and mentors alike. According to data from Guider, a mentorship software developer, individuals with mentors are significantly more likely to be promoted, and the positive impact extends to mentors who are also more likely to receive promotions. Additionally, 87% of mentors and mentees reported increased confidence as a result of their mentorship relationships. In the tech world, mentorship can take various forms, both formal and informal, and it plays a vital role in nurturing talent and fostering a culture of learning and growth.
We had the privilege of speaking with tech leaders from two innovative companies, ThousandEyes, and Self Financial, to gain insights into their mentorship programs and how these initiatives contribute to their success. Gabe Garcia, Software Engineering Manager at ThousandEyes, and Jim Mulkey, Senior Vice President of Software Engineering at Self Financial, shared their perspectives on mentorship and its impact on their respective teams.
Mentorship at ThousandEyes
ThousandEyes, a digital experience insights platform, places a strong emphasis on mentorship to encourage knowledge-sharing among team members. Gabe Garcia emphasizes that many of their projects involve interdisciplinary collaboration, with each team member bringing unique skills and expertise to the table. By ensuring that everyone has opportunities to contribute in areas of their interest, collaboration and knowledge-sharing become integral parts of the process.
The company conducts retrospectives and story time meetings where team members discuss what went well and what didn’t in their projects. These sessions enable team members to learn from each other’s domain expertise and experiences. In addition, ThousandEyes hosts weekly team social events, which provide a platform for connecting over non-work-related topics, fostering team cohesion and collaboration.
As a leader, Gabe Garcia believes in leading by example when it comes to mentorship. He holds weekly one-on-one meetings with his team members and allocates time each month to share insights and conduct architecture reviews. Having been one of the first engineers responsible for developing the backend pipeline for their dashboarding engine, Garcia has unique knowledge to share with his team. Encouraging team members to reserve time for collaboration, whether through pair coding, knowledge transfer sessions, or internal presentations, is a fundamental aspect of their team’s culture.
Formal Mentorship Initiatives at ThousandEyes
ThousandEyes has implemented formal mentorship programs to support its engineers. One notable program is the buddy system, where an experienced engineer partners with a new hire during their first month on the job. This mentorship includes multiple meetings to facilitate onboarding and familiarize new team members with the company’s processes and services. This initiative has proven highly successful in providing valuable assistance to newcomers and fostering collaboration, especially in a hybrid work environment.
Mentorship at Self Financial
Self Financial, a fintech company dedicated to helping credit-invisible individuals, also places a strong emphasis on mentorship. While their approach may be less formal, it is deeply ingrained in the company’s culture. Instead of assigning specific mentors, Self Financial relies on its supervisors and team leads to collaborate in guiding each team member toward their desired career paths. This approach has been highly effective, resulting in numerous promotions from within the company.
Cultivating a Mentorship Culture at Self-Financial
Self Financial has a diverse team with varying levels of experience, which makes it crucial to provide guidance and mentorship regardless of whether team members are entry-level developers or principal architects. They have implemented a career ladder that allows engineers to choose between an individual contributor track or a management path. For individual contributors, a strong lead culture is in place, where each team has a lead who mentors and guides engineers. These leads partner with managers to support individual career goals and help engineers develop their technical and leadership skills.
Self Financial also encourages knowledge-sharing across teams. For instance, their architecture team hosts monthly forums to review different aspects of the software, explain its current functioning, and outline any planned changes. This open communication helps everyone stay informed and learn about new technologies.
Leadership and Mentorship at Self-Financial
Jim Mulkey, the Senior Vice President of Software Engineering at Self Financial, adopts a collaborative approach as a leader. He provides vision and guidance while allowing leaders within the organization to determine how to implement goals and initiatives. By assembling cross-functional teams of technical leaders, management, and product management team members, they collectively define and steer the rollout of various projects.
The mentorship culture at Self Financial has been instrumental in their growth. Despite hiring many individuals externally due to their rapid expansion, the company has a strong preference for promoting from within whenever possible. Through mentorship and guidance, they have successfully filled numerous senior roles with individuals who initially joined the company in various capacities.
In conclusion, mentorship is a cornerstone of growth and success in the tech industry. ThousandEyes and Self Financial both demonstrate the significant impact of fostering a culture of mentorship and knowledge-sharing within their teams. By embracing mentorship in both formal and informal capacities, these companies have not only empowered their team members but also nurtured talent from within their organizations, ultimately contributing to their continued success in the competitive tech landscape.