Frances Mumford and Her Board of Advisors

Introduction Frances Mumford was not a naturally gifted computer scientist and found herself struggling to climb the steep learning curve necessary to be effective in her first post-college job. She wondered what she needed to do to succeed, if that was even possible. Always trusting in her own ability but knowing there was much she did not know, she wondered if she had overreached this time and eventually her employer would find out how ill-equipped she was and fire her. Based on a college professor's advice that mentoring was a necessity for success, Frances contemplated how she could leverage mentoring to avert immediate dismissal from her job and then build a board of advisors that would propel longer-term success. College, the First Hurdle Frances Mumford graduated in 2000 with a bachelor's degree in computer science from a top liberal arts university in the Northeast. During her years in college, she struggled vis-a-vis her peers, who seemed to have a natural gift for computers that she lacked. Seemingly each semester, in spite of her best efforts, she began with high hopes only to view her first returned tests with the usual C- or lower grade. To her credit, she was highly conscientious, often working from early morning until late at night so as to respect her parents' $35K a year investment in her education. Thus, each semester, she arrived at nearly each and every professor's office hours to receive tutelage on that week's topics. Initially, Frances's lack of success had given her a reputation in the computer science program as "the" student to be avoided as a study partner. Undaunted, she continued to work hard and seek help wherever she could find it. In addition to the many hours of assistance she gained from her professors, Frances relied heavily upon her parents and best friend, her roommate Molly, for affirmation and support during her struggles. Ultimately, Frances's efforts paid off: She graduated with top honors. The First Job As she reached her last semester in college, Frances began to seek employment in the Northeast. After pursuing a handful of opportunities, Frances was hired by a Fortune 500 information technology (IT) company as a consultant in its global business services group. Frances' primary responsibility was to assist clients--usually medium to large companies--in integrating process, strategy, and technology to enhance organizational effectiveness and reduce costs. Informally, a senior hiring manager told her that her starting salary was the highest of the Northeast's incoming entry-level consulting cohort. First Weeks on the Job During the first two weeks of her employment, she went to New York City to join a cadre of newly hired consultants for a training program aimed at providing them with a rich and deep understanding of the company's methodology, tools, and support infrastructure. "They were two of the most exciting and fun-filled weeks of my life. Everyone was energized to be there. It felt like an extension of college as we worked hard during the day and enjoyed each other's company in the evenings after work." However, after training, within the first weeks on the job with clients, she realized that she lacked the ability to grasp and leverage the concepts and tools in practice as quickly as needed to climb the steep learning curve associated with the position. To her credit, she possessed client relationship management competencies like empathy, listening skills, attentiveness during conversations, and professionalism in demeanor, as well as an understanding of the general nature of the position. However, she lacked the deep and broad technical knowledge needed to solve client problems and develop process and systems architecture. "I felt in over my head, to say the least. In fact, I wondered if I'd lose my job when they learned that I was a charade," she explained. Francis commented that her newfound lack of confidence and inability to perform was demonstrated when, during a brief break from a client meeting, a managing consultant "got literally right in my face and yelled at me that it was essential that I NOT remain silent during meetings with the client. …