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Panel Recap: Mentoring the Next Generation

Los Angeles Times B2B Inspirational Women Magazine

Blank Rome partners Stacy D. Phillips and Linda Kornfeld were featured in the Los Angeles Times B2B Inspirational Women Magazine (published December 5, 2021), in which they discussed their shared insights from their virtual panel session, Mentoring the Next Generation, which was held at the Inspirational Women Forum & Awards on October 26, 2021.

Stacy and Linda’s panel session featured an in-depth discussion with leading female executives Danone Simpson, Montage Insurance Solutions, President & CEO, and Jenn McCabe, Armanino, Consulting Partner, Business Outsourcing Services, on mentoring the next generation of women leaders. The panel shared personal experiences that demonstrated the importance of having a mentor early in one’s career to provide the knowledge and guidance that’s invaluable in today’s complex business environment.

To read Stacy’s and Linda’s shared insights and profiles, please click here (see pages 18-19).


Excerpts: Shared Insights from the Event 

Stacy D. Phillips

STACY D. PHILLIPS: "I encourage everyone to seek to be a mentor and/or mentee. Although we primarily talked about more senior women mentoring younger women, mentoring across the sexes and ages can also be valuable. Mentors are important at any age. We all want to continue to grow and learn. Mentors can be peers of a similar age or can be younger than you. There is something you can learn from or teach anyone. Keep an open mind and seek out those that can advance your career...

"...I believe it is really important for women in an organization to uplift other women within the organization. When I joined Blank Rome six years ago, I had an idea to host an annual conference for all of the firm’s women partners and clients. Five years later, it has been a game-changer for the firm. Beyond developing business, it has built strong bonds between the women partners across the firm, which has lifted up all of the women in the firm."

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Linda Kornfeld

LINDA KORNFELD: "When talking to younger professionals, I’ve sometimes felt that I need to make it look like, as a woman who wants it all, you can have it all. The reality is, if you want success, you’ve got to work hard, and there are balancing acts involved. Today’s mentees don’t want me to “guild the lily” in terms of what it takes to get to where they want to be. There is a give-and-take if you want success, and you need to figure out where the give is and where the take is...

"...A mentor doesn’t have to be a mentor for all time. At different times in your career, you need different things and different mentors. As a young attorney, I had a mentor with a huge presence. At some point, I knew I was going to have to come out from under his wings to spread my own wings. If I’d waited too long under his wings, it would have inhibited my ultimate success. Figure out what you need from the mentoring relationship and when it is the right time to fly."