Cover Mentor Walks is a fresh air morning mentoring session where accomplished female leaders or executives take small groups of aspiring women on a one-hour walk and talk
Mentor Walks is a fresh air morning mentoring session where accomplished female leaders or executives take small groups of aspiring women on a one-hour walk and talk
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From tackling career dilemmas to offering transformative advice, Mentor Walks provides a unique, accessible way for women to gain valuable insights from some of the most successful female executives and leaders. Mentors Aliza Knox, Sui Ling Cheah and Tracey Woon share how this global initiative is redefining mentorship, one step at a time
How do I get people to listen to me? How do I get along better with my boss? Should I take a break? And how did I get here? These are some of the questions that Sui Ling Cheah tackles with mentees at Singapore’s Mentor Walks, fresh air mentoring sessions that see an accomplished female leader or executive take a small group of aspiring women on a one-hour walk and talk around Marina Bay.
Cheah is currently a board chair, board director and partner at a venture capital firm. These roles follow an illustrious career in investment banking that took her to the world’s top global financial centres.
Cheah says she is lucky to have benefitted from mentors from a young age. Her first mentor was her cousin, who studied European History at Harvard, and who spoke French and Russian. “She was so inspiring,” says Cheah, who grew up in a small town in Malaysia. “Having someone like that mentor me was life changing. But I didn’t realise at the time that I had this mentor. Now, I look back and of course I know what it was.”
Cheah went on to reap many benefits from mentoring programmes and mentors across the global firms where she worked, particularly as best practices began to dictate that such initiatives should be implemented to support career progression, particularly for minorities, which at the time included women.
“I had my first Wall Street mentor and I remember this woman was extremely successful, but was not somebody who had work-life balance, which is who I also ended up being. But then, I had different mentors, and some of them really had such a transformational effect on my life,” says Cheah. “That’s why I feel very strongly about this. And why I feel it’s very important to pay it forward.”
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I love the idea of offering high impact, low commitment options. We are able to give women seeking mentoring a chance to speak with very senior women whom they might not ordinarily be able to access
Tracey Woon experienced the opposite when it came to mentorship. “Given the time I was building my career, there was really very little by way of formal mentorship. Certainly, there were hardly any women mentors to speak of. So, I never really had formal mentors in my life,” she says. Instead, Woon learned what she could from those around her. “I always thought about just learning from everybody and everyone.”
But that’s not to say that she doesn’t value and encourage mentorship now. “There’s availability now, so I think people should take advantage and benefit from those who want to give and share.”
Woon is keen to do just that, sharing the insights she gained from an impressive career in banking that saw her in senior leadership positions at Merrill Lynch, Citigroup and UBS. She is now retired but serves as a director at the National University Health System and UOB, and as a member of the Investment Board at GIC.
“When I retired, one of the things I wanted to do was to share my experiences. I didn’t want to waste all these wonderful experiences and the knowledge I had gained; I wanted to help young girls,” says Woon. Mentor Walks is just one of the places where she does that alongside Cheah and a roster of other exceptional women leaders.
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Mentor Walks was established in Australia in 2016 by esteemed entrepreneurs Bobby Mahlab and Adina Jacobs, who wanted to make mentoring more accessible. Having attended Mentor Walks in China, led by renowned restaurateur Michelle Garnaut, founder of M Group, they decided to launch the same concept in Australia. Six years later, Aliza Knox and Belinda Pervan helped found the Singapore chapter of the initiative, which now also regularly takes place in New Zealand, Canada, and as of this year, in Dubai.
“I saw how much people were getting out of these walks when I joined some while visiting Sydney,” says Knox. “And I love the idea of offering high impact, low commitment options, especially in Singapore, where people travel a lot. We are able to give women seeking mentoring a chance to speak with very senior women whom they might not ordinarily be able to access.”
"I like that it can be very targeted—people come with that one question that’s bothering them at that moment. I believe that the right advice at the right time can be transformational and highly impactful
Mentor Walks is not designed as a long-term mentorship programme, but rather a place where women can go to get advice from seasoned leaders when they are facing a particular challenge in that moment or just want to get inspired. Attendees are advised to come with a question to pose to an assigned mentor.
Mentors all have at least 20 years of senior experience, so have usually worked for at least 30 years, and they span industries, from government to healthcare to energy to technology to theatre to finance.
The unique format appeals to mentors and mentees alike.
“Walking contributes to our physical health, and research shows that getting outside contributes to mental wellness. So, as is often the case with ambitious women, I guess we are accomplishing more than one thing at the same time,” says Knox, an award-winning tech executive who also mentors for Mentor Walks, having held leadership roles at Google, Twitter and Cloudflare, as well as a wide range of INED positions. “Also, not everyone is comfortable looking straight into the eyes of someone significantly more senior for an hour straight. Walking parallel to someone creates a more comfortable environment.”
“I like the low touch format and the fact that it can be very targeted—people come with that one question that’s bothering them at that moment. I believe that the right advice at the right time can be transformational and highly impactful,” says Cheah.
“What I like about Mentor Walks is that, first of all, it’s exercise. It’s a great use of my time,” says Woon. “The format is good because it’s an hour, and it’s not just you with one mentee. It’s nice that mentees get to share their own stories and experiences—they learn from each other, so I think that’s very productive. There’s an opportunity for either side to follow up, if they so wish, but there is no obligation.”
So, as well as the access to senior women, Mentor Walks offers a chance to network and an opportunity to get new ideas, get inspired, or sometimes just vent in a safe space.
It’s nice that mentees get to share their own stories and experiences—they learn from each other, so I think that’s very productive. There’s an opportunity for either side to follow up, if they so wish, but there is no obligation
“Mentors come because they want to give back and they enjoy helping other women with their careers, in addition to the chance to meet new, often younger or next generation women and learn from them—it goes both ways,” says Knox.
“I learn how younger people look at life, their priorities, what they want and what’s important. If you don’t take that into consideration and you just say, ‘Okay, when I was doing it…’ then you are archaic and backward in your thinking. So I think [the mentees] keep me alive and in sync with the times.”
Here, mentors Knox, Cheah and Woon share the importance of mentorship, how you should go about finding the right mentor—or mentors—and some of the wisdom they share on their walks.
Aliza Knox
Above Knox is an award-winning tech executive, who was a senior executive at Google, Twitter and Cloudflare, and has held a wide range of INED positions
Knox is an award-winning tech executive, who was a senior executive at Google, Twitter and Cloudflare, and has held a wide range of INED positions
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Why is mentorship important?
I had terrific mentors when I was at The Boston Consulting Group. Since then, I haven’t really had consistent mentors. And partly because it’s something I missed, I feel strongly about providing mentoring to others, either through formal programmes or informally. I get asked about careers so much, I tried to write a lot of it down in a book called Don’t Quit Your Day Job—the title reflects its release during #TheGreatResignation more than the idea that you should never quit. If there’s one thing you learn in tech, it’s that you have to do something that scales—individual mentoring sessions do not; books do.
Is there a piece of advice that you give most often?
Each discussion and walk is so different; there isn’t one constant theme. I talk a lot about building a personal board of directors, as many people want more input but don’t have long-term mentors.
I think another thing that often comes up is to remind people they do have options. Sometimes people lose sight of the bigger picture and feel incredibly stuck and Mentor Walks discussions can help to remind them that they are not.
Sui Ling Cheah
Above Cheah is currently a board chair, board director and partner at a venture capital firm, following an illustrious career in investment banking
Cheah is currently a board chair, board director and partner at a venture capital firm, following an illustrious career in investment banking
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What is the value of having a mentor?
It’s really having a third-party sounding board, but also an experienced person—somebody who has gone through it. It may not necessarily be somebody with 30 years more experience than you—it could be someone who’s one rank above you so you can see how they got there. So, it’s having different mentors for different reasons. And it’s really learning from someone else’s journey and in a safe space where you can ask questions.
How would you recommend women go about finding a mentor?
I think having a mentor in your organisation is good, but it should be someone you can trust and who is clear that they also have your welfare in mind. Independent platforms such as Mentor Walks, where you can meet people from other industries and organisations, are also helpful.
I also think it’s good to be able to try out different mentors to see who you have chemistry with. Sometimes people may be very willing to help, but having that chemistry is important.
When it comes to the mentorship, be clear in what you’re seeking, because you are taking people’s time. As a mentor I like my mentees to be prepared and tell me how I can help them when they ask for advice. It’s not a social thing. Someone has carved out time, so take that time seriously.
What advice do you give most often?
- Read as much as you can, because then you are benefitting from the wisdom of many other people.
- Love yourself the most. A lot of women put a lot of other people in front of them and sacrifice too much, and then life doesn’t become fun anymore. My superpower is that I love myself.
- Often, people go into projects or experiences or challenges and think ‘What if I mess up? What if something goes wrong?’ Go in with a positive mindset. Picture yourself on the podium with that gold medal shining and your national anthem playing and the audience giving you a standing ovation. If you have that picture in your mind when you start out, you set yourself up for much higher chances of success. And even if you end up with bronze, that journey is so different than if you start with ‘What if I fail?’
Tracey Woon
Above Woon held senior leadership positions at Merrill Lynch, Citigroup and UBS, and now serves as a director at the National University Health System and UOB, and as a member of the Investment Board at GIC
Woon held senior leadership positions at Merrill Lynch, Citigroup and UBS, and now serves as a director at the National University Health System and UOB, and as a member of the Investment Board at GIC
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What should you look for in a mentor/mentorship?
- I don’t believe in one mentor, because you learn so many different things from so many people.
- Everybody has different styles and some fit you and some don’t.
- I also don’t believe in meeting a mentor every six weeks. I tell all my mentees to come to me when you need me or when you have a problem or when you have something, such as a year-end review or you need someone to bounce ideas off of. I think those sessions are far more useful.
Is there a piece of advice that you give most often?
You have to know your own strengths. And rather than work on your weaknesses, you should work on your strengths. Of course, you want to get yourself to a certain, respectable level in anything that you do, but don’t try to work on things that you know you’re never going to be the best at. Just work on your strengths.
What advice do you have for other mentors?
Mentoring is actually having a very good ear, being able to repeat back to that person what they are actually saying and just guiding them to a way where they can trust themselves and be brave enough to make the decisions that they know they should make.
Mentor Walks and Lean in Network, Singapore will be partnering for a special Singapore Mega Walk on November 6. This is an hour long walk and talk mentoring session and networking opportunity for women at all stages of their career. For more information and tickets visit MegaWalk Sign Up.
About
Rachel Duffell is regional content director for Power & Purpose, including Front & Female, and former regional content director for Tatler Dining. She is a journalist and editor who has been covering people, gender, impact, leadership, culture and lifestyle for more than 15 years.
