HBR Guides to Managing Your Career Collection (6 Books)

Chapter 10

Employ a Personal Board of Directors

by Priscilla Claman

Like avocado-colored appliances, traditional mentoring is something you don’t see much anymore. Yes, corporate-sponsored mentoring programs will always improve personal exposure and connections. But the career strategy of hitching your future to some rising manager is outdated.

That’s partly because midlevel and senior managers are no longer the ones with stable jobs. Many organizations are dealing with restructuring, downsizing, acquisitions, mergers, and, of course, recessions—so your mentor is just as likely to move on or be laid off as you are. And if you are considered her special protégé, you may lose your job when she does.

Another reason one mentor alone won’t cut it ...