Unearthing the Gold — Mentoring in Moments that Matter
Every so often, I’m reminded that the most meaningful work doesn’t always begin with a grand plan. Sometimes it starts quietly, with a conversation, a question, or a moment of trust between two people trying to make sense of change.
When I first began working with this particular CEO, it was through a consultancy brief to support strategic planning. We were shaping ideas, reimagining direction, and bringing clarity to purpose. Then life shifted, as it often does, and the work deepened. A period of sickness meant the team had to adapt, to stretch, and to hold things differently. What had started as strategy became something more human.
What unfolded was a mentoring relationship that held space for both strength and uncertainty. The CEO later described our work together as “transformational, inspiring, understanding, encouraging.” Those words sit gently with me, not as praise, but as a reflection of what happens when people are given space to pause, breathe, and rediscover what matters.
In those months, I saw a senior leader grow into shared leadership with quiet confidence, taking decisions, finding their voice, and supporting others. I saw a CEO who, even while navigating recovery, refused to lose sight of purpose. Together, we shaped key board papers, refined thinking, and reconnected strategy to meaning. It wasn’t about fixing anything. It was about finding a rhythm again, a sense of self, and a belief that the organisation could hold steady while its people healed and grew.
What touched me most was the honesty of our conversations about fear, fatigue, and the fragile line between professional resilience and human exhaustion. Mentoring, for me, isn’t about performance management or clever frameworks. It’s about being alongside someone as they find their footing again. Sometimes that happens through a well-placed question. Sometimes it comes from silence and presence.
I’ve come to believe that real leadership doesn’t live in strategy documents or governance frameworks. It shows up in moments of care, in the courage to ask for help, in the quiet recalibration after a storm. That’s where the gold is. And it’s always there, waiting to be unearthed.
When I think back on this work, I feel grateful. Grateful for the trust, the openness, and the laughter that came even in the hardest moments. Grateful for the reminder that mentoring is less about teaching and more about witnessing growth in real time.
If I could wish for anything, it would be that all leaders, especially those carrying so much, had the space and support to pause, reflect, and reconnect. Because when they do, the ripple effect reaches everyone around them. Teams grow stronger, decisions become clearer, and organisations find a steadier heartbeat.
In the CEO’s own words, if there were an endless pot of funding, the mentoring would continue “to go even deeper into the gold.” I think that says everything about the value of this work.
Sometimes, the most profound change comes not from doing more, but from being present enough to see what’s already within.
