Today my nibble of abundant deliciousness is the mentoring relationship I have with another woman at work. We’ve been exploring and playing and creating and delivering together for several years now.
While Jennifer P asked me to be her mentor, the relationship has, from the start, not been about a mentor guiding a mentee – we’ve been a mentor-mentor team that empowers each other to see a possible future and believe it can be obtained. The sharing that happens between us enables us to see into different parts of the organization and to find synergies that would otherwise be invisible.
A few months ago, Jennifer expressed an interest in ‘job shadowing’ me. Given that we don’t live near each other – I work from my home in Iowa and she works in corporate offices in NC – this provided us with a challenge. A couple times now, I have paused at a tough point in my work to share with her what’s going on with me – the challenges I’m facing, the options that I see, the actions I’m taking. Here again, as I look at how we engage, it’s not me showing her, we are showing each other. She regularly shares with me challenges she’s facing, solutions she’s creating.
As we peak into each other’s lives, we share what we see there. Her perspective is always, always insightful. She listens with her heart and gently guides me where I want to go. She listens with her mind and provides ideas that inspire valuable action.
I love that I noticed this nibble at the office today! Thank you, Jennifer, for your partnership along this path we’re walking. I treasure the friendship that is growing out of our experience together.
This quote was taken from the little book Jennifer gave to me when we met in person earlier this year, You’ll Always Be My Friend…
This Abundantly Delicious Life 
So impressed and delighted to share in the journey – you guys rock – that giving and taking is so important and is the Big Gift.
You, my friend, are another awesome and abundantly delicious example of what mentor-mentor means to me. We rock, too, and I feel our friendship is such a huge gift. Thank you.
Vicki,
Thank you for being a charming gardener to me and providing me with this nibble! You always seem to have perfect timing. Without our mentor-mentor relationship, I would have been stuck in the box forever. You have really helped me see the path light up.
“And the day came when the risk to remain tight in a bud was more painful than the risk it took to blossom.” ― Anaïs Nin
Thank you so much for helping me bloom my gardener friend!
Jennifer P
You make me smile. That is a lovely quote, isn’t it? Our blooming together is a source of great JOY in my life, Jennifer. Let’s keep tilling the soil together!