PURPOSE DRIVEN WOMAN

This month’s Purpose Driven Woman is my mentor, Stephanie Moore. She is a married mom of three very active children, James (9), Sienna (7) and Savanna (4). She is currently a Lead Technologist at Booz Allen Hamilton where she has spent the last 10 years of her professional career. Stephanie spends a lot of time volunteering for causes such as STEM education (specifically girls) and childhood obesity. She truly is an inspiring woman of God and she’s blessed my life greatly.
 
Why do you mentor? 
Mentoring is important because it provides a two way transfer of experience and perspectives. Many of us don’t know where we are going on our road to meeting our goals until we get there. Once we get there, it is time to help pave a more direct path for the next generation.
 
I mentor directly because I think it is important to reach one, teach one. When I think about my experiences growing up as a little girl in South Carolina, first generation college student, I would have loved the idea of having a mentor. Unfortunately, I did not have that reckoning voice to help me get over my fears of pursuing education in a STEM field. While I was able to move forward, the road was difficult to tread.Instead, I had guidance counselors tell me that my desire to study computers would be too difficult for me.
 
How does it feel to be asked to mentor?
I feel honored! It is an opportunity to lead by example. I truly believe that when someone seeks you for mentoring support, they see something in you with the idea that they can see themselves in that same light. I do not taking mentorship lightly. Such a relationship should be built on a trusted relationship and a mutual, meaningful commitment from both the mentee and mentor.
 
Are the roles ever reversed?
The roles are absolutely reversed. Reverse mentoring gives a mentor the greatest opportunity to learn from a rising generation. What’s new, what’s hot, what’s not in business and the culture of a young workforce. Mentees, especially the millennials, come with new and fresh ideas. Ideas of which often times those who are mentors are not privy to because they are already in and have been in an adapted professional environment for a lengthy period of time. Reversal mentoring helps a mentor avoid complacency.
 
Do you have a mentor? How did you connect with your mentor (s)?  
I have had several mentors. All for various aspects of my professional career as well as my personal enrichment. The connections with each of my mentors were all pretty unique. It was very important for me to have a diverse pool of mentors. The diversity provides me with varied viewpoints. A mix of female and male, different ethnicities and cultures, different job disciplines and those internal to my firm as well as a few external.  I have benefited from having guidance from different perspectives and that alone is priceless.
 
What would you tell those that don’t have a mentor or see value in it?
I would tell those that have not considered a mentor to rethink the option. Having a mentor does not mean that you do not know how to make the right choices about your career and/or life. It is simply a means to have honest, neutral guidance to help nurture your career or personal enrichment.

Can women have it all?
I think that women can have it all, maybe not all at the same the time. What I mean by that is, we know that there are some things we want that will be longer term commitments [family, children, jobs, etc]. 
 
Prioritization is key in having everything you desire. For me it is God, family, volunteerism and career. I have found that often time combining my priorities works well in covering my basics. Our faith is overarching all the priorities, without God there is nothing. My family on occasion joins me for volunteer efforts and I have a lot of volunteer efforts with my employer.
 
How do you balance it all?
Well, this is where I am looking for a little mentorship myself [she smiles]. But when people ask, “How do you do it all?” I simply respond, “If it has to be done, I just do it”. What I recently learned over the past couple of years is that it is okay to ask for help. I also understand that there will be times where I will simply have to decline offers of adding yet another task to my plate. However, I get some gratification by recommending a mentee to step in and serve in a capacity that I might not be able to support. Every day, I reflect on Philippians 4:13.#ALLThings!
 
How does your faith play a role in your day to day life?
In addition to my daily devotions held before the kids are awake, all day I remind myself that my higher being does not fail. We have also taught our children to rely heavily on prayers at all times. Without this daily dose, we would all be in chaos.
 
What advice would you give to other women, moms, mentors, mentees? 
In all your busy-ness ["if that is a word", she adds] ask God for strength. Prayer for good health and a purposeful life. If you are currently not where you wish to be in your respective careers, use this time to build your acumen in preparation for moving forward. Remember it is okay to seek a mentor for guidance and support in both your professional and personal goals. Whatever status you hold at present [single, married, divorced] be confident in that status. Find what makes you happy and thrive upon that happiness. In the end, when you’ve found success, always turn back and ask yourself who you can help.

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