Why Mentoring Matters

In the first quarter issue of Franchise Update magazine each year, we shine the light on female leaders throughout this industry. It’s been fun to discover the “people” behind the leaders over the years. This year, we thought it would be interesting to look at female leaders through the lens of mentoring.

Mentoring has become a hot topic, and rightly so. Mentoring regularly increases job satisfaction, increases networking opportunities, leads to better jobs and higher salaries, and builds confidence in those who participate. Whether it’s finding a mentor, being mentored, or mentoring others, it’s happening all across franchising.

We interviewed more than a dozen female executive suite leaders throughout a variety of franchising sectors. We asked them how mentoring had impacted their careers, how it helped them navigate challenges, what they considered the essential parts of a good mentoring relationship, and much more. They were candid, frank, and articulate. Some of the common themes I picked up on were how mentoring cultivates confidence in leaders, builds stronger organizations, and empowers leaders through the sharing of wisdom and experience. But perhaps most critically, the mentor-mentee relationship is a two-way street where both parties learn and grow.

Elsewhere in this issue, we dig into how brands are using technology to assist their franchisees with local store marketing. Some interesting things are going on, and the results are increased efficiencies and revenue opportunities for franchisees. As Creative Colors International President Mark J. Bollman told us, “If it doesn’t really help franchisees make any more money or save them time, quite frankly, they’re just not interested, and they don’t get engaged.”

We interviewed Toppers Pizza’s new CEO Adam Oldenburg, who began as a delivery driver and is still involved as a franchisee. He told us how the brand is refranchising a number of its stores to put even more focus on franchisees. We also interviewed Joe Thornton, Scooter’s Coffee’s new CEO. He has an interesting history working with companies, such as Blockbuster Video, Starbucks, HMSHost, and Jamba. Whether it was in operations, marketing, branding, or something else, Thornton has a history of getting results.

You will also notice in this issue that we have expanded the number of responses we feature in both CMO Roundtable and Challenge the Pros. This was an effort to bring additional insight and perspective to our topical questions that impact franchising leadership.

With that, I’ll let you dig into the issue. I hope you enjoy our profiles of female franchise mentors. They are the kinds of leaders who make mentoring matter.