Use metrics to determine a mentorship program’s return on investment.

First Lessons, Lasting Insights Nearly all of us have stories of advice given by the mom or mother figure in our lives. In Leadership Lessons for Any Occasion: Stories of Our Mothers, executive coaches and authors Ed and Nila Betof have collected stories from a wide range of leaders, teachers, coaches, and talent development professionals about how their mothers guided their paths to helping others lead resourceful, meaningful lives.

Our Lady of the Lake Regional Medical Center is one of the largest private medical centers in Louisiana. The private, nonprofit, 800-bed hospital in Baton Rouge serves approximately 45,000 inpatients and 350,000 outpatients annually.The hospital has used external sourcing to fill many of its senior-level leadership positions, as this approach can bring in leaders from a variety of backgrounds and perspectives.

Greenheck is a leading manufacturer of air-movement and control equipment, providing ventilation products to customers around the world. Seeing a need to fill the companys leadership bench with emerging talent, Greenhecks talent management team, along with Floyd Carlson, director of talent management and acquisition, established the LEAD program in 2015.The LEAD program was unique for its combination of mentoring and rotational training.

Building and launching mentoring programs can seem daunting. Yet despite the initial challenges, mentoring programs are increasing in popularity, with more than two-thirds of top executives reporting to have a mentor.

As a global, integrated healthcare services and products company, Cardinal Health provides customized solutions for hospital systems, pharmacies, ambulatory surgery centers, clinical laboratories, and physician offices worldwide. Cardinal Health Chairman and CEO George Barrett attests: We are committed deeply to talent development and believe this is the secret to competitive advantage.In 2013, the organization identified mentorship as an area where it could expand and improve the effectiveness of employee development opportunities.

A looming leadership gap faces most organizations over the next 10 years. As Cynthia D. McCauley of the Center for Creative Leadership notes in her overview, leadership is also a tool designed to help with a particular human dilemma: how to get individuals to work together effectively to produce collective outcomes.