The mentor you didn’t realize you already are

By Pete Stoddart

One of the things I've been noticing lately –  in my own work and in conversations with leaders – is how many people don't see themselves as mentors.

They assume mentorship is something formal. Something you earn after decades of experience. Something reserved for senior leaders with a title or a track record that feels “big enough.”

But that hasn't been my experience.

What I see, again and again, is that most leaders are already mentoring others – they just don't recognize it. And there's a reason for that.

The skills you've built over years of navigating hard situations – making decisions under pressure, handling tough conversations, finding your footing in uncertainty – have become second nature. They feel easy now. Obvious, even. So it's natural to discount them.

But that's exactly the trap. What feels effortless to you is anything but obvious to someone earlier in their journey. Your unconscious competence is someone else's breakthrough waiting to happen.

That's where mentorship really lives.

It's not about having all the answers. It's about being willing to share your perspective – to talk about what worked, what didn't, and what you learned along the way. To offer a lens that helps someone else think a little more clearly or move a little more confidently.

You don't need a formal role or an impressive title. You just need to give yourself permission to share what you've learned – the wins, the missteps, the moments that changed how you think.

And here's one more thing worth sitting with: mentorship doesn't only flow in one direction. Some of the richest learning I've seen happens when a senior leader stays genuinely open to being mentored by someone earlier in their career – someone with a different vantage point, different tools, a different way of seeing the world.

So here's a simple question: where in your world are you already mentoring – and are you giving yourself permission to lean into it?

Because whether you realize it or not, someone is already learning from you.

Sincerely, 

Pete Stoddart

COO and Leadership Coach

Vision Coaching