Mentorship is one of the foundational passions of 4word and is something that as an organization we fiercely advocate. The 4word: Mentor Program has seen dozens of mentor/mentee pairs go through our 10-week sessions and emerge reinvigorated, realigned, and ready to tackle new or existing goals for their lives, both professional and personal. We spoke with a recent pair, mentor Pat Myers and her mentee Kelley Molen, to hear about their experience in the 4word: Mentor Program and what it did for both of them. Watch the video below for a brief introduction from 4word team member Katie Reiff!

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4word: Tell us a little about yourselves.

Pat: I have been in business all of my life—from corporate communications for a multi-national to bank marketing and project management. In 2000, my husband and I made a life-changing decision to work in the Middle East for the largest bank in Saudi Arabia, and we stayed for eight years, living in Saudi, Bahrain and Kuwait. During that time, I moved into talent management and leadership development, got a Masters degree in Clinical Organizational Psychology, and was certified as an executive coach. I’ve been doing coaching for consulting firms and multi-national ever since.

I love coaching and helping people reach their full potential. Most of the people I coach are awesome from the start so I always say that we try to expand their leadership repertoire and elevate them to the next level. While coaching is my professional love, my second career is caring for my only granddaughter when my daughter substitute teaches at Covenant Christian Academy in Colleyville.

Kelley: I am a native Arizonan that lives in Texas. I have a Masters in Counseling Psychology, with an emphasis on Industrial Psychology. I have been working in the corporate world for the last 17 years with an emphasis on Learning Management Systems, and I am currently a Program Manager with Accenture.

I have two wonderful 11-year-old twin boys. Even though they are twins, they are each most definitely their own person and are a joy to love, nurture, and live life with. We are quite busy with karate, basketball, Scouting, robotics, and lots of other boy activities. Next to my relationship with Christ, they are the loves of my life.

I have many wonderful groups of friends that I enjoy spending time with, going out to eat, going to concerts and church events, and just having a good girl chat. I enjoy running, working out, reading, being outside, worship music, and cooking.

4word: At what point did you realize that you needed to be part of the 4word: Mentor Program?

Pat: I heard about 4word from a friend and believed that it was an awesome way of combining my coaching with God’s work—and what better way than to nurture and mentor young women who want to balance their spiritual, personal, and career lives.

Kelley: Mentoring and counseling others is a natural desire and part of my make-up. It’s part of my everyday life, which is part of the reason for my Masters and LLC. In the last few years, it’s been an informal experience. I met Diane at church through a friend and heard about the 4word organization and the 4word: Mentor Program. I instantly thought that I should be a part of this group of women supporting other women. I would like to mentor others and decided it would be best for me to go through the process with 4word first, before becoming a mentor. I was also in the process of a transition, and the timing was perfect.

4word: What were some of the highlights of your mentorship? Do you have any examples of “successes” that were achieved during your time together?

Pat: From the beginning of my first relationship with Kelley, I felt blessed to be a part of her life. I listened to her story and how she conquered incredible personal challenges but always recognized God’s presence along the way. We immediately connected, and we got to work on her short-term mentoring goals. She wanted a new job—and knew everything she needed to do to move forward, but I believe that I provided accountability (and perhaps some tough love) to immediately take the steps that she needed to take. Believe me—I know that God’s hand was at work as she had two offers during our mentoring relationship. I helped her think through each offer and consider what she most wanted and didn’t want to do in a new position. Perhaps the most important role I played was simply helping her understand that no job would be perfect and that nothing was forever when it comes to careers! We prayed that God would roll out His red carpet for her!

Kelley: The overall experience was very positive and encouraging. I think the reason our partnership was successful was that we were a perfect match. I feel that God placed my mentor and I together for such a time as this. Going into the mentorship, I knew I wanted to make a job transition, and I had been preparing for such prior to the mentor program.

However, it was through the mentor process that I was actually able to carry out the change with confidence, a plan, and someone to discuss all my concerns with. The highlight for me was when my mentor confirmed something that I had prayed about, and her words were almost exactly what I believed God was telling me. To have a mentor for my career is great, but to have a mentor that also prays for me is priceless.

4word: Do you feel like the 4word: Mentor Program was a good investment, both financially and professionally?

Kelley: Absolutely. For me, I was comparing the pricing of the 4word: Mentor Program to the pricing of a coach and comparatively, the 4word: Mentor Program is inexpensive. I felt like the support and direction I received was worth the cost.

4word: Would you recommend the 4word: Mentor Program to other professional women?

Pat: Having a more experienced professional, Christian woman who shares your values is valuable—especially since the 4word mentors are not co-workers of the mentees. This offers a more objective viewpoint—and also allows for more disclosure.

Kelley: Yes, I would recommend the 4word: Mentor Program and would recommend that they pray and ask that God would match them with the best fit for this time in their life.

4word: What advice or “tips for success” can you share for those entering a mentorship?

Pat: When you go into a mentor/mentee relationship, you should remember that your mentor will not have the “answers” but should have the “questions” you may ask yourself. One exercise I usually take my mentees through is to think about several alternatives to an issue and then think through the various scenarios of each possibility—from best to worst case. Also—if someone is thinking about a job change, I help them develop “their story” which might consist of four or five key areas of expertise they have acquired and how that value can be transferred to a new business opportunity. It’s also good to understand that many mentors may just be good sounding boards who offer a caring and safe place to talk. All mentors are not trained coaches or senior executives. That’s good to know going into a mentorship.

Kelley: I would share that it is important that both the mentor and the mentee take responsibility for the process. It’s important that the mentee be honest and communicate what you want and how you want it and that you come expecting God to use the experience to do something important in your life.

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After hearing Pat and Kelley’s experience as a mentor/mentee pairing in the 4word: Mentor Program, we hope that you would consider joining the 4word: Mentor Program this summer. Applications for the upcoming session are being accepted through May 29th. Make the choice to take the next step in your career journey and put someone in your corner to help you achieve your professional, personal, and spiritual goals!

Are you looking for a mentor or to be a mentor to someone? What can you share about a past or current mentorship?

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Interested in entering a mentorship like Pat and Kelley’s?  The 4word: Mentor Program is accepting applications through May 29th for the upcoming Summer Session. Let 4word help you get a mentor in your corner to help you make your next career move!

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Pat Myers specializes in executive coaching, talent management, and helping groups manage change. Her consulting capitalizes on 25 years experience in US marketing, project management and corporate affairs in telecommunications, finance and manufacturing along with ten years working in the Middle East in talent management and organizational development as Head of Talent Management for National Commercial Bank of Saudi Arabia. She was also a senior consultant and executive coach at a Cairo-based Organizational Development firm and coached over a hundred leaders of Zain, a major telecommunications company. Currently, she does independent coaching and is a senior consultant affiliate of The Hayes Group International.

Deeply passionate about elevating people’s effectiveness, Pat has coached and mentored hundreds of senior leaders and key young talent and has led team coaching and training to improve relationships through constructive feedback. Pat has developed international talent management and mentoring processes for businesses focused on developing and defending their talent pool, has facilitated team effectiveness and change processes using the Appreciative Inquiry process and is certified as an Extraordinary Leader© trainer.

She has a BA from Villa Maria College in Communications and earned a (Masters) Diploma in Clinical Organizational Psychology from the French University- INSEAD –Europe’s leading business school. She is certified from INSEAD in Consulting and Coaching for Change. Her clients list includes international firms such as KPMG, Equate (A Dow Chemical JV), Hilton Hotels, Zain Telecommunications, Assa Abloy, Intercontinental Hotels, Proctor & Gamble, Pepsico, CBS, and many regional firms, along with  private clients.

Pat serves clients from the Dallas/Fort Worth area and resides in Colleyville, Texas.

Kelley Molen is an experienced IT business professional with an extensive background in HR Operations Systems Support with an emphasis on Training and Development Management. She has served as lead Program and Project manager for multiple projects with multimillion dollar budgets.  She also has a background in leading Operational teams through daily work efforts and process improvement.  She is known for her excellent communication skills and her ability to work efficiently and effectively. The majority of Kelley’s functional expertise has extended over a 15 year career with AT&T and most recently with Accenture, servicing AT&T.  

Kelley is an avid believer that in order to have a successful team and product it is necessary to coach and continually develop each individual on the team to reach their full potential.  Therefore, working with individuals to help them maximize their talents is a practice applied by Kelley on every team and project.  Likewise, Kelley is proactive when it comes to regularly monitoring progress to improve work process efficiency, identify process improvement opportunities and recommend solutions in order to maximize production.

Kelley has her BS from Oral Robert’s University in Psychology Pre-Med and earned a Master’s of Science Degree in Clinical Psychology from Our Lady of the Lake University.  Kelley is a Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC) and a Certified PMP.