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By Kammie McArthur

When asked, “Who’s your mentor?” we tend to do a mental search for that mentor archetype—that older, wiser person sitting across from us on weekly coffee dates bestowing pearls of career wisdom between sips of a mocha (or slashes of a lightsaber.)

But if a mentor can be distilled down to what it really is—someone we learn from—well, that broadens things, doesn’t it?

We’re asking people who influence the ad industry to tell us who has influenced their work and careers.

What’s obvious is that no two mentors take on the same form, and that form is not necessarily a boss.  For one person, a mentor is a charismatic figure from the past, for another it’s a role model she never met and for yet another, it’s not even a person.

Jeff Goodby, Co-Chairman of Goodby, Silverstein & Partners

Mentor: Hal Riney

A prolific mentor, himself, judging from the many successful agency offshoots from his agency, Jeff explains how his own idea of mentorship has evolved over time.

“When I was younger, I believed the charmingly tyrannical Hal Riney was my mentor,” he said. “But having gone off on my own, I now believe I have an endless supply of equally inspiring mentors in the form of twenty- and thirty-something people who work with me.”

Liz Olson, Business Development Manager, Ogilvy & Mather, Chicago

Mentor: Shelly Lazarus

What happens when you’re a junior woman in the business and you look up, but there are few female role models to be found? If you’re Liz Olson, you find yourself a mentor in someone you’ve never met.

“I would lay in bed at night and obsessively watch Shelly interviews on youtube,” she said. “I  marveled at her honesty, her kindness, her charm. In an industry of mad men, I watched her do things her own way. It gave me hope that I could too.”

After three and half years at Ogilvy & Mather and as Liz was transitioning into a bigger role, she finally met Shelly. She said it was the perfect time to connect with someone who could give her perspective, encouragement and clarity through the lens of her own remarkable experience.

“I think that’s what role models are all about—vision. They’re like glasses you never knew you needed,” Liz said. “You just have to seek out the ones that fit you best.”

See Liz’s post about Shelly Lazarus at http://www.huffingtonpost.com/liz-olson/shelly-lazarus-advertising-hall-of-fame_b_3165606.html

Paul Venables, Founder, Creative Director, Venables Bell & Partners

Mentor: Mr. Z

Paul cites someone who probably never stepped foot inside of an ad agency as his most formidable mentor: his high school teacher, Mr. Zahner.

“In 1983, Mr. Zahner ignored the tradition of having committees run things and instead selected me to be the one and only editor of the high school newspaper. He said it was because I was a maverick,” Paul said. “I had to go look up the word to fully understand what he meant.”

Paul said that Mr. Zahner never pushed or prodded him. Instead, he just “expected.” He expected Paul to take risks, try things people thought were crazy and to fail gloriously.

Thirty years later, and unlikely by coincidence, Paul takes a similar leadership approach to his mentor’s.

“As a leader and a boss, I want you to go out and do things that excite you,” he said.

“I don’t want you thinking about what I want. I want you free to push and discover and fail, without looking over your shoulder. I’m here to help, guide and support, no doubt, he said.

“But it starts with your passion, not my demands.”

Lisa Rios, SVP, Director of Brand Planning, Cramer-Krasselt

Mentor: Mark Lantz

In her book Lean In Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg writes about how women, far more often than men, see themselves as less qualified for a job than they actually are.

Lisa Rios, despite her ambitious nature, found herself making a series of lateral moves in her career. She acknowledges that she tends to get a little too comfortable in roles where she is performing well.

She said,  “I started to rationalize that I wasn’t the ‘boss type.’”

Lisa holds up her mentor and former boss, Mark Lantz, as the one who called B.S. on her thinking and helped her refocus on taking the next step in her career to run a planning department. Turns out, she’s an ideal fit for the leadership role.

She said, “I’m leading a group of really talented people and working on exciting business in an environment full of people that aren’t the agency ‘boss type.’”

Sometimes a mentor can see us better than we can see ourselves.

Cynthia Maller, Global Creative Director, PayPal

Mentor: Art Center

While Cynthia can name several key people who’ve made an indelible mark on her life, as far as her career goes, she says her most important mentor wasn’t a person. It was her experience at Art Center, where she earned her BFA.

“It was so unbelievably tough, and I don’t mean the ‘I had to walk 10 miles in the snow to get to class’ tough, but the ‘your need for sleep doesn’t matter, your looks don’t matter, your economic status doesn’t matter, your high-school glory days don’t matter, your car breaking down doesn’t matter, your parent’s expectations don’t matter, your tears don’t matter, your bleeding finger cut by your Exact-o doesn’t matter, your nervous breakdown doesn’t matter, your second nervous breakdown doesn’t matter, that so-and-so told you you had talent doesn’t matter, that you think your teacher is an idiot doesn’t matter, that your teacher thinks you are an idiot doesn’t matter, your righteous indignation doesn’t matter, that you think the assignment is lame doesn’t matter, that the dog literally did eat your homework doesn’t matter, that the classmate you thought was your friend just threw you under the bus doesn’t matter, only the work matters’ kind of tough. And I’m forever grateful for the experience,” she said.

The Mentory website is planned to launch in Summer of 2013 and will bring the ad industry a new way to mentor. If you’re interested in being a mentor, go to thementory.com temp page and submit your info, so we can keep you updated.