When Louis Venezia arrived at his first training session for PromaxBDA’s Executive Mentorship Program (EMP), he wasn’t entirely sure what role he would be playing.

“I’d been traveling and I sort of missed my [introductory] packet,” Venezia told Brief. “I showed up not sure if I was going to be a mentee or mentor.”

As owner of the in-demand creative and branding agency Pilot and the former director of on-air creative for Vh1, it turned out Venezia easily qualified to be a mentor. But in retrospect, he sees it as a testament to the quality of EMP that, as an industry veteran of more than 15 years, “I could easily have been a mentor or a mentee. There could easily have been someone there who’s seen more than I have.”

Applications are now open for the sixth cycle of EMP, a structured year-long mentorship program that matches industry leaders with high-potential managers and directors in order to develop the next generation of leaders and creative talent. Each match works together to create its own structure of interaction, but at a minimum, the program requires that mentors and mentees meet in person or by phone once per month for two hours, and correspond in between meetings to maintain and strengthen communication channels. The mentor can serve many roles depending on the match, but the ultimate goal is to use his or her experience in the industry as a catalyst for mentee self-reflection and self-analysis.

Each new EMP cycle begins with a collaborative training session, with the training for the program’s upcoming cycle on November 18. During that session, both mentors and mentees receive guidance in communications, leadership, and optimizing their partnership using the PromaxBDA executive mentorship curriculum and mentoring framework.

A highly experienced coach and facilitator—global leadership consultant Esther Weinberg led the last cycle—helps participants develop their own communication framework for the ensuing year. Special guest speakers chime in as well, such as Dan Quinn, a managing consultant for the leadership firm YSC, to aide in “breaking down the walls,” said Venezia. “It feels very human. That’s super important for me. I think the less it feels like a corporate event, the better.”

For Venezia, arriving at a place of complete openness is key to a successful mentorship. As a mentor, he aims to be not only a dispenser of career advice to his current mentee, Meagan O’Connell, but a confidant to whom she can “ask the questions she wants to get answered,” he said. “One of the hardest things about working at a corporation, I think, is that it’s hard for people to feel as if they can speak freely, and so one of the things I want to give my mentee is a very open dialogue. I think people are dying to be asked the question, ‘how do you like your job?’”

EMP has garnered a reputation for creating strong mentor-mentee matches, and Venezia and O’Connell are no exception. A project manager for Bedrocket Media Ventures, O’Connell told Brief she feels “exceptionally lucky to be paired with Louis,” because he is a seasoned creator of promos and her goal is to become a promo producer herself, and eventually, a creative director.

“I feel I have someone who can guide me, who can give me direct feedback, who’s not a boss or a colleague,” she said. “He’s been there for me personally, not just professionally. I feel very reassured because I have this person now who does what I want to do, and is going to be rooting for me and helping me in any way possible.”

For Venezia’s part, the biggest challenge “is to remember to listen,” he said. “Don’t just give them monologues. Often they ask if you have ever been through a position like A, B or C and my job is to say, ‘oh yeah, one time in 1998 I went through A.’”

On that subject, O’Connell was moved by Venezia’s tales of jumping from a stellar staff position at Vh1 to building his own successful business.

“Knowing someone who took a huge risk and not only made it but is very successful is really inspiring,” she said. “And it could be a risk in anything: [For instance,] taking a job with a new title that maybe has skills you have but don’t feel confident about. I think I’ll always look at what [Louis has] accomplished and have the courage to take that next step.”

Venezia, like most EMP mentors, finds the experience to be a two-way street of inspiration and encouragement.

“If you’re not ready to put all of your experiences up there for their benefit, then you’re not going to get anything back,” he said. “Every one of the conversations I have with my mentee keeps me honest, and makes me think, ‘Am I challenging myself?’ I love conversations where two people can say what we are trying to achieve. You cannot grow without asking more questions.”

Applications for PromaxBDA’s Executive Mentorship Program are due September 13. Click here to apply to be a mentor or mentee today.

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