Leaning on Mentors To Reimagine What's Possible

May 16, 2022 at 05:00 AM EDT

SOURCE: 3M

DESCRIPTION:

Every community faces tough challenges and needs passionate people to find solutions. Liliana Pulido, a marketing activation supervisor for the 3M Transportation and Electronics Business Group (TEBG), helps her community in the Andean Region by leaning on 3Mers across the world to solve difficult customer challenges.

Liliana appreciates 3M’s culture of open communication, collaboration and support. Through conversations with her 3M mentor, Jennifer Lindberg, senior global portfolio manager of TSD (Transportation Safety Division), Liliana was inspired to look at her work and professional development from a different perspective.

Meaningful mentorships unlock the power of people

3M is a global company with employees in 70 different countries on various teams across different divisions. But they don’t let their diverse work responsibilities hinder collaboration and mentorship.

During her mentor search, Jennifer stood out from the jump. Liliana attended an inspiring meeting and was immediately drawn to Jennifer’s charisma, confidence, professionalism and energy. After the meeting, Liliana asked human resources to connect the pair for a formal mentorship.

From there, Liliana and Jennifer’s relationship bloomed into a mentorship that isn’t just focused on career advice and solving tough customer challenges. Instead, their discussions look at how Liliana can enhance her soft skills, such as having confidence in corporate environments and relationship building.

They schedule a conversation every quarter and chat day-to-day through WhatsApp when challenges pop up. Even though they are thousands of miles apart Liliana feels well supported.

Jennifer is always happy to give Liliana advice before a big presentation or brainstorm new ways to think about customer challenges.

“It’s engrained in 3M’s culture to help people,” said Jennifer. “In such a huge and diverse company, if it weren’t for our networking culture, how would anyone ever make those global connections and grow within the company? Not only have I been able to help Liliana grow, but her thoughtful questions have inspired me to reflect on my own talents and leadership qualities. She has helped me become more purposeful in all my interactions.”

Open doors and open minds

At 3M, ideas are unlocked through strong relationships with customers and close collaboration among teams. Mentorship allows for creativity to be shared and new challenges to be solved.

“There is such an open-door policy at 3M,” said Liliana. “After reaching out to Jennifer a year and a half ago, she was so willing to help me, and she has never expected anything in return. I really believe this type of care and support for your coworkers only happens at 3M. It’s by far the best company I’ve worked for.”

Liliana’s career journey is unique, and she has cultivated a nurturing relationship with her mentor. She can ask Jennifer questions and knows she is always there to engage in meaningful conversations. Jennifer’s mentorship reminds Liliana of why 3M values collaboration.

“We don’t lean on collaboration so one person can shine,” Liliana said. “We do it so we can all shine.”

Learn more about 3M here

Tweet me: Meet Liliana, a supervisor for the @3M Transportation and Electronics Business Group, and learn how her conversations with a senior manager have cultivated a relationship of trust and mentorship that has helped solve difficult customer challenges. https://bit.ly/3LYpsBW

KEYWORDS: NYSE: MMM, 3M, 3M Transportation and Electronics Business Group, Transportation Safety Division, diverse workforce, Mentoring Teams