In partnership with

The Daily Newsletter for Intellectually Curious Readers

Join over 4 million Americans who start their day with 1440 – your daily digest for unbiased, fact-centric news. From politics to sports, we cover it all by analyzing over 100 sources. Our concise, 5-minute read lands in your inbox each morning at no cost. Experience news without the noise; let 1440 help you make up your own mind. Sign up now and invite your friends and family to be part of the informed.

Join for free today!

Issue #84 - May 13, 2025

Welcome to G.R.O.W. (Guidance Redefines Our Way)!

Hey everyone,

With Mother's Day just behind us, I've been thinking a lot about how moms are our first and most important mentors. The mentorship skills that good moms naturally use with their kids are the same ones that make people great leaders and mentors in the workplace.

This week, we're looking at how the caring, supportive mentorship approaches that good moms use make a huge difference in professional settings. Whether you're a mom yourself, were mentored by an amazing mom figure, or mentor others using these same principles, there's something valuable here for you.

The research backs this up: companies that embrace mentorship with these mom-inspired qualities have happier employees who stick around longer and develop better ideas. After everything we've been through with the pandemic, where work-life balance and mental health became major priorities, maybe the mentorship style moms have perfected over generations is exactly what our workplaces need right now.

From one-on-one mentoring to team leadership, people who focus on helping others grow, showing real understanding, and thinking about long-term success (like moms do) create environments where people don't just work—they develop and thrive. And isn't creating that kind of mentorship culture what AFGM is all about?

So let's jump in and see how mom-style mentorship and professional success fit together!

Growth Spotlight

Mom Instincts: How That Special "Mom Radar" Makes for Better Mentorship and Leadership

We hear a lot about data-driven decision-making these days, but there's something else that makes great mentors and leaders stand out: gut feelings and instincts. And nobody gets more credit for this than moms with their famous "mom radar"—that almost magical ability to know what's going on before anyone says a word.

Recent research on leadership effectiveness suggests that mentors and leaders who combine data with intuition tend to make better decisions in complex situations than those who rely solely on analytics. As leadership experts often note, what we call instinct is usually pattern recognition happening subconsciously – something experienced mentors and moms develop through thousands of interactions.

This mom-style mentorship has two powerful parts that work in both parenting and professional mentoring:

1. Seeing What's Going On With Your Mentee

Moms often know something's wrong with their kid even when the kid says, "I'm fine." Good mentors can tell when there's more to the story with those they're guiding. Research from Gallup has consistently shown that emotional intelligence helps leaders identify issues like burnout early, allowing them to address problems before they significantly impact performance.

Ellyn Shook, Accenture's Chief Leadership and Human Resources Officer, describes this as listening beyond words—paying attention to body language, energy, and behavior patterns. In her leadership communications, she emphasizes that critical information often isn't verbalized but shows up in facial expressions, energy shifts, and behavior patterns.

Try This: In your next three mentoring conversations, challenge yourself to notice one thing about each person they're not saying out loud. Is your mentee quieter than usual? Do they seem excited but holding back? Make mental notes and see how often your hunches are correct when you follow up later.

2. Creating a Safe Mentoring Space, Just Like Moms Do

Harvard professor Amy Edmondson's groundbreaking research on psychological safety has consistently shown that environments where people feel safe speaking up, taking risks, and being vulnerable are crucial for effective learning and performance. This safety to share ideas and admit mistakes is exactly what good moms create for their kids.

Google's Project Aristotle, a comprehensive study of team effectiveness, confirmed this finding. Their research discovered that psychological safety was the most critical factor in successful teams, more important than having the most talented individuals.

Indra Nooyi, former CEO of PepsiCo, often speaks about bringing a nurturing approach to leadership. In her memoir "My Life in Full," she describes creating informal gathering spaces with her team – opportunities for authentic connection where people could share concerns and build the trust necessary for innovative thinking.

Try This: At the start of your next mentoring session, share something in your work that didn't go as planned and what you learned from it. When you show it's okay to be human and make mistakes, it opens the door for your mentee to do the same, slowly building that safety that leads to real growth and new ideas.

The Bottom Line

Intuitive, nurturing mentorship isn't soft or weak. Using these mom-inspired approaches, mentors can create relationships where people don't just check boxes but develop into their best selves.

And here's something worth noting: these mentorship qualities aren't just for women or moms. The characteristics of effective mentorship transcend gender. What matters most is being willing to mentor with both head and heart, combining analytical thinking with the perceptive wisdom that moms have demonstrated for generations.

So, what mom wisdom might make your mentorship better this month?

Professional Growth Gateway

Growing Leaders the Mom Way: What Parenting Teaches Us About Helping Others Succeed

Over my thirty years working in leadership development, I've noticed something: the most powerful professional growth often happens through approaches that resemble how good moms help their kids develop.

Here are two mom-tested development strategies that work amazingly well in the workplace:

1. The "Mirror Effect": Using Reflection to Grow

Moms often act as mirrors for their kids, reflecting back what they see about the child's behaviors, strengths, and areas for improvement. This reflection helps kids become more self-aware and learn from their experiences.

Leadership expert Dr. James Mitchell from Stanford found that taking time to reflect increases what you learn from experience by up to 40%. "Most professionals are so busy doing stuff that they never process what they've done," Mitchell says. "Without reflection, repeating the same experience gives you the same results. With reflection, each experience builds on the previous one."

Capital One's "Learning Loops" program puts this mom's approach into practice. After important projects or milestones, team members answer five reflection questions and share their thoughts with a dedicated "Reflection Partner." This practice has become so valuable that they credit it with reducing repeated mistakes by 28%.

Try This: After your next big work experience—whether giving a presentation, having a tough conversation, or finishing a project—take 15 minutes to write down answers to these questions: What went well? What didn't go as planned? What would I do differently next time? What did I learn about myself? How can I use this learning going forward?

2. Celebrating Progress, Not Just End Results

Moms naturally understand that growth itself deserves celebration, not just final achievements. A child's first wobbly steps are just as exciting as their later ability to run, because moms know that progress matters.

This approach makes a huge difference at work, too. Teresa Amabile's research at Harvard Business School found that noticing and celebrating small steps forward is the most powerful motivator in professional settings—more effective than bonuses, awards, or even clear goals.

Try This: At your next team meeting, spend five minutes on "Progress Spotlights"—brief callouts of team members' progress, especially on tough challenges or growth areas. Be specific about the progress you've noticed and why it matters to that person's development.

Success Spotlight

Anne Wojcicki: How Being a Mom Influenced Her Leadership at 23andMe

When Anne Wojcicki co-founded 23andMe in 2006, she was already accomplished—Yale graduate, successful healthcare analyst, the works. But becoming a mom in 2008—right as her company faced its early challenges—changed her leadership approach in ways that would help the company navigate difficult times ahead.

Today, 23andMe is a multi-billion-dollar company that has transformed how we think about genetic information and healthcare. While Wojcicki's business expertise certainly contributed to this success, she has spoken publicly about how motherhood shaped her leadership during critical periods, including when the FDA ordered 23andMe to stop providing health-related genetic reports in 2013, creating an existential challenge for the company.

The Mom Leadership Difference

In interviews and public appearances, Wojcicki has discussed several parenting-inspired principles that influenced her leadership:

1. Being Patient with the Growth Process

When the FDA ordered 23andMe to stop providing health data in 2013, many advisors suggested pivoting entirely to ancestry testing. Instead, Wojcicki took a longer-term view, drawing parallels to how parents need patience with their children's development.

"Watching my children grow helped me understand that progress isn't a straight line," Wojcicki has explained in interviews. "There are jumps forward, plateaus, and sometimes what looks like steps backward. I applied this same perspective to our company challenges."

This patience allowed her to maintain focus on the company's health mission through regulatory challenges. Rather than abandoning their vision, she methodically worked through the FDA's concerns, eventually creating a pathway for direct-to-consumer genetic testing that received regulatory approval.

2. Understanding What People Really Need

In media interviews, Wojcicki noted that becoming a mom enhanced her empathy and instincts about human needs—skills that proved crucial in product development.

"Parenthood fundamentally changed how I think about product design," she has said. "It helped me develop a deeper understanding of how people relate to health information and what support they need when receiving potentially sensitive information."

This perspective influenced 23andMe's approach to delivering genetic health information, including potential disease risks. The company developed supportive ways of presenting complex health data that healthcare organizations now study as an example of patient-centered communication.

Emily Drabant Conley, who previously served as Vice President of Business Development at 23andMe, noted in industry panels how Wojcicki's perspective ensured the company treated genetic information not just as data but considered the actual person receiving potentially life-changing information.

Creating a Supportive Company Culture

Perhaps most significantly, Wojcicki implemented family-friendly workplace policies ahead of their time in the tech industry. 23andMe offers substantial parental leave and flexibility options—practices Wojcicki sees as both ethically important and competitively advantageous.

"The skills developed through parenting are valuable in the workplace," she has stated. "By supporting parents, we're investing in their professional growth while ensuring we don't lose talented people during family formation years."

The company's approach to supporting working parents has been recognized in "Best Places to Work" rankings, and employee surveys note the positive impact on recruitment and retention.

The Leadership Legacy

As 23andMe continues expanding into pharmaceutical development and personalized healthcare, Wojcicki's leadership approach has influenced the company's culture and operations. Her willingness to openly discuss how parenthood shaped her professional perspectives has also contributed to broader conversations about the value of diverse life experiences in leadership development.

Wojcicki's story offers a compelling example of recognizing and applying the leadership capabilities developed through parenthood, not just for working parents, but as approaches that can strengthen organizational resilience and innovation.

Michael's Hot Take

Supporting Mothers at Work: Smart Business, Not Special Treatment

Let's be honest: When companies treat policies for working moms as optional extras or special favors, they're not just being unfair—they're making terrible business decisions. In 2025, it's amazing that we still need to explain why supporting half the workforce might help the bottom line.

The facts are right in front of us—for anyone who bothers to look. Studies show that companies with family-friendly policies make more money and last longer than their competitors. These aren't small gains—they're major advantages that smart businesses use to get ahead. Everyone else seems happy building their future on quicksand.

Despite all this evidence (so obvious you'd have to work hard to miss it), America still lags behind other developed countries in how we treat working parents. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, only about 23% of American workers get paid family leave through their jobs, and even fewer get any help with childcare costs. How very forward-thinking of us.

Supporting moms isn't charity—it's an innovative business concept.

When Google gave mothers more paid leave time, they saw way fewer new moms quitting. Patagonia found the same thing. The math is simple—even for executives who slept through basic economics: Keeping talented mothers costs less than replacing them. According to the Society for Human Resources Management, replacement costs run between 50% and 200% of yearly salary. But why trust simple math when vague feelings about "workplace dedication" feel much better?

Parents pick up crucial leadership skills just by being parents—staying cool under pressure, managing time, understanding others, and helping people grow. These skills don't come from nowhere—they come from years of raising children, as many top leaders have pointed out. Dealing with toddlers who have zero concept of reason or patience is fantastic training for managing corporate teams.

The value of different viewpoints can't be overstated, though plenty of companies keep trying. McKinsey's research shows that businesses with more diversity consistently make more money from new ideas. Teams that include mothers returning from leave bring fresh perspectives that question old thinking and create better solutions to challenging problems. Seeing life beyond meetings and quarterly targets adds value. Who would have guessed?

And remember, policies that help mothers help everyone. Flexible work arrangements and respect for personal life make work better for all employees, not just parents. The idea that supporting mothers somehow hurts other workers isn't just divisive—it goes against all the research and real-world experience. Believing that making work better for some makes it worse for all takes real dedication.

What needs to change?

• Stop seeing family-friendly policies as "perks" and start seeing them as smart investments

• Give real paid family leave

• Offer flexible options for coming back to work

• Provide actual childcare support (on-site or help paying for it)

• Create career paths that work with family life

• Value the leadership skills that come from parenthood

Many states now have programs for small businesses worried about costs to help cover paid leave expenses. Options like remote work and job sharing can give flexibility without spending a fortune.

The truth is, companies that adhere to outdated workplace rules made for employees with stay-at-home spouses are failing everyone—their mothers, their shareholders, their customers, and all their workers. They're leaving money and talent on the table. But sure, keep running your company like it's 1955. That approach is working out great.

This Mother's Day, let's move beyond token gifts and nice-sounding emails to real changes that capture the huge value mothers bring to our organizations. It's both the right and the smart thing to do. Or we could keep sending flowers once a year and wondering why talented people keep walking out the door. Your choice.

What mom wisdom has shaped how you lead? Please share your stories with us at [email protected].

Until next Tuesday – stay curious, be kind, and remember that some of the best leadership lessons come from the people who helped raise us.

~ Michael

Upcoming Events

GROW Newsletter - Issue #85

Release Date: May 20, 2025

Our upcoming May edition of GROW focuses on "Career Launch Success," offering essential mentorship guidance for new graduates entering the workforce. Why read? This timely issue bridges the gap between academic achievement and professional success, providing graduates and mentors with practical strategies for effective career beginnings. Readers will discover insights on early career navigation, building professional networks, and transitioning classroom knowledge to workplace skills. The issue features our popular "Caps Off" spotlight on graduate success stories, highlights first-generation college graduates, announces the exciting AFGM Scholarship Program launch, and includes Michael's thought-provoking take on mentorship dynamics. Whether launching your career or guiding someone who is, this issue delivers the roadmap for transforming academic credentials into professional accomplishments.

Echoes of Freedom Tour

• Date: July 19, 2025

• Duration: 5 hours

• The Echoes of Freedom Tour is a guided journey through Northern Virginia, revealing the rich and often untold history of African American resilience, activism, and community building. This immersive experience takes participants to key historical sites, including early freedmen settlements, civil rights landmarks, and educational institutions that shaped Black history in the region. Why attend? Connect with the powerful legacy of those who fought for equality, gain perspective on how these historical struggles resonate today, and participate in preserving stories that traditional education often overlooks. The tour connects the past to the present through storytelling, reflection, and engagement, ensuring these vital narratives inspire future generations.