Mentoring in Action

At Major, Lindsey & Africa, mentoring is an important part of our culture. We strategically pair people together based on their goals and experiences in hopes of making matches that will be mutually beneficial to the mentee and mentor. Here are a few that have made distance and unusual circumstances work for them.

Jon Lindsey (mentor) – Kate Reder Sheikh (mentee)

What are the benefits to working with a mentor?

Kate: For me, Jon has been a voice of total reason – the ultimate calm hand. Any concern I have, he has a war story that tells me it will be OK. He’s a tremendous resource to bounce things off of.

What does being a mentor mean to you?

Jon: Mentoring is a wonderful opportunity to wheel out life lessons that I have gone through, often at some cost, in the hope that others won’t repeat my dumb mistakes. It is also the perfect forum to wheel out my famous false modesty and some of my pithy maxims (such as Justice Brandeis’s “I can do a year’s work in 11 months but not in 12”). It is a chance to pay forward some of the lessons I have learned from others, both in recruiting and in life, who have generously shared their insights with me.

What inspired you to seek out a mentor?

Kate: I have been a recruiter for only seven years; I still have a lot to learn. I was ecstatic when I learned I had been assigned to Jon! I had only lightly stalked him at our annual meetings but hadn’t spoken to him before he became my mentor.

How are you hoping to help your mentee grow in their career?

Jon: Kate is an incredibly accomplished recruiter so whatever help I can provide tends to be more on the psychological side of our profession – including dealing with difficult individuals (clients, candidates or otherwise) – than the quotidian. The fact that she was promoted to partner this year, as part of a stellar class, is further proof of how little help she really needs from me! Hopefully I can add some modest value from time to time as a reasonably objective observer.

Please share a story of success that resulted from your work with your mentor.

Kate: Jon *strongly encourages* me to take more time off – truly off. With his guidance, I took a proper break in Hawaii in August, and my candidates were left in the capable hands of MY mentee.

What have you learned from your mentee?

Jon: Kate is a social media savant, while I am much more tentative – I am still learning but luckily have her as a role model. While we are both proud alums of Wesleyan University, I went there some decades ahead of her. I have thousands of folks in my LinkedIn network but hardly any content, so I have a great deal of catching up to do. I am continually amazed – and inspired -- by the energy, initiative and creativity of Kate and all of my other mentees.

Dimitri Mastrocola (mentor) – Robert Mannino (mentee)

What are the benefits to working with a mentor?

Bob: When I made the transition from practicing law to recruiting, my main challenge was learning a new career and applying skills that I developed while practicing law to this new occupation. Dimitri made that same transition and has been a great guide along this new path. His knowledge and experience has helped me find focus in my career development and business development activities. It has truly been invaluable to have a top recruiter serve as a sounding board and also as an advocate within the company.

What does being a mentor mean to you?

Dimitri: Being a mentor is an opportunity for me to act as a trusted advisor to someone at MLA who is earlier in their career than I am and who can benefit from some of my experience and perspective. It means making myself available to support and advise Bob when he needs it, delivering that support in a way that makes sense to him, and always keeping Bob's professional success and overall best interests in mind.

What inspired you to seek out a mentor?

Bob: During my career as an attorney, I was fortunate to have a number of outstanding mentors and also to serve as a mentor to younger attorneys. Through these experiences, as well as my experience as a coach and mentor to high school and DI collegiate athletes, I have experienced the benefits that a mentor can bring when starting a new venture or in trying to advance and grow in an area.

How are you hoping to help your mentee grow in their career?

Dimitri: I am hoping to serve as Bob's career advisor and advocate. In essence, I think I can help Bob shorten his learning curve by sharing what's worked (and not worked) for me. I intend to be open to sharing my success tips as well as my own mistakes and failures. I also intend to highlight Bob's successes and achievements, which I think will bolster his confidence, reinforce best practices and keep Bob focused and motivated. Ultimately, I'd like to serve as a positive role model for Bob. I think he can learn from me via simple observation. I'm hoping he'll pick up useful nuggets about my ethics, values, beliefs, methods and practices.

Please share a story of success that resulted from your work with your mentor.

Bob: As everyone at MLA can attest, Dimitri has perfected the use of social media as a tool for building a brand as a recruiter and growing his business. Dimitri has given me advice on fine-tuning my social media presence. His guidance was particularly helpful with establishing a working group of in-house attorneys to collaborate and participate in MLA sponsored panels during COVID-19 and more generally in establishing a social media footprint.

What have you learned from your mentee?

Dimitri: I think a big part of being a mentor is to help build up a mentee’s self-confidence. From being encouraging and supportive, and not letting him lapse into negative self-talk, one of the most important skills I can give Bob is an increased capacity to believe in and be kind to himself. That same lesson is something I’m still working on within myself, and my mentor-mentee interactions with Bob have made me more aware of that. So, whenever I remind Bob of his good qualities, I try to take a moment to remind myself, too. To be kind to and confident in myself is the best way I can be a role model for others. By taking on the responsibility of mentorship, and with Bob serving as a mirror, I am reminding myself to strive for a higher standard.

Betsy Sinn (mentor) – Nina Houston (mentee)

What are the benefits to working with a mentor?

Nina: Having a mentor has created a safe space for me to share my unique experiences, ask questions, gain honest feedback and share ideas outside of my day-to-day business meetings. Since gaining a mentor, I’ve been more confident in my skill set, knowing that I now have an extended support system guiding me toward reaching my professional goals.

What does being a mentor mean to you?

Betsy: Mentoring is such an important aspect of MLA’s culture. It was important to me that Nina felt comfortable coming to me with literally anything – work-related questions, personal challenges and everything in between. Creating an environment of trust for Nina and a safe space to discuss wins/losses, career growth plans, advice for how to navigate difficult situations and ideas, without judgment, was a top priority for me.

What inspired you to seek out a mentor?

Nina: I was inspired to seek out a mentor in hopes of building a genuine relationship with a high-performing recruiter who would challenge me to grow, hold me accountable and provide encouragement along the way. I believed that doing so would only develop a better understanding of our business goals while also building relationships with colleagues across the country.

How are you hoping to help your mentee grow in their career?

Betsy: Nina was already a talented and highly skilled recruiter when she joined MLA. With those building blocks already in place, we were able to really focus on building her brand both internally and externally, which allowed her to partner with recruiters in other MLA offices. By doing so, she was able to not only use me as a sounding board, but she also gained exposure to and advice from other tenured colleagues in our practice group throughout the country. This also allowed her to assist candidates all across the U.S. and help make a positive impact on their legal careers.  

Please share a story of success that resulted from your work with your mentor.

Nina: Betsy and I instantly connected after learning that we were both from Ohio! Her excitement and willingness to mentor me from day one helped me become comfortable sharing and ultimately learning more. To date, my favorite memory was Betsy asking me to assist her in sourcing a challenging role in the Chicago market. Not only did I find a qualified candidate in my own market, but we were also able to fill the requirement in a short amount of time as a Mentor/Mentee Team. It was great!

What have you learned from your mentee?

Betsy: Nina’s meteoric rise on MLA Interim’s Candidate Development Team has been awe-inspiring to behold! She approaches her work with a level of tenacity and finesse that is unmatched. Nina inspires me to face each day with a positive attitude and the self-confidence to face any challenges that may arise. On a personal note, Nina is lovely to work with and her delightful sense of humor constantly has me LOL’ing.