I’ve spent some time lately reflecting on who has actually walked alongside me on this journey — as an entrepreneur, as a leader. And once again, I keep landing on the same realisation: I wouldn’t be where I am today without my mentors and coaches. Not because they gave me the right answers, but because they asked the right questions, at the right moments, when I most needed to think clearly.
That reflection also brought something else into focus: my journey isn’t finished, and it never really is.
📡 Trend
Mentorship is having a moment. Everyone seems to want one, and everyone senior seems to be asked to be one. But most conversations about mentorship confuse it with advice-giving — which misses the point entirely. The most valuable mentoring relationships aren’t about transferring knowledge. They’re about thinking together in a space where honesty is safe and clarity is the goal.
✏️ Three things from me
- A mentor shares what they know — that’s the whole point. The word comes from Greek mythology: before leaving for Troy, Odysseus asked his old friend Mentor to “teach my son everything you can.” A good mentor still listens and asks questions, but above all, they’re a sounding board, a sparring partner — sometimes a library of experience and knowledge you simply don’t have yet.
- Mentorship gives you dedicated time — time that’s actually yours. Many of the leaders I work with don’t lack information or competence. They lack a confidential space to think clearly, to sit with uncertainty, and to dare show themselves as vulnerable without consequences. That’s what mentorship provides — and it’s rarer than it should be.
- It’s okay for a mentor to be with you for only part of the journey. Choose them for their thinking, not their résumé — but know that the right mentor for who you were isn’t always the right mentor for who you’ve become, or who you’re trying to become next. Even mentors need to be changed out sometimes. I’ve realised this myself lately: for what’s ahead, I need a new companion.
📚 Book
Grit bt Angela Duckworth
Talent gets you started. Perseverance is what gets you there — and having someone in your corner along the way makes the difference between giving up and going the distance. It’s a reminder that the story I keep telling about my own mentors and coaches isn’t sentimental. It’s the actual mechanism behind staying the course.
Who has walked alongside you on your journey? I’d genuinely like to know — reply or comment. And if you’re looking for your own next companion, I’m available.
See you on the 5th of August — same format, a little lighter for summer, built around one book that’s stayed with me and what it means for leadership.
Harriet Bodö is the founder of Coach Me & More and works with individual coaching and mentoring for senior leaders in Ostrobothnia and Åland. With more than 20 years of international leadership experience – including as Head of Customer Support and Operations at Paf, with responsibility for teams across seven language markets. She is an ICF ACC certified coach with 600+ coaching hours and a certified board member (HHJ). Harriet Bodö is certified in EASI, Safety Steps and SDI, and an Associate Partner and certified Leadership Coach through EuroAcademy International.