We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Dr. Amanda Hill a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Dr. Amanda, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. How did you come up with the idea for your business?
My journey started when I was a preteen, I would often invite my neighborhood friends to my house and teach them what was taught to me in my local church ( I was a youth leader in my church). As I begin to mature and understand more in depth of what I was actually teaching, women started to reach out to me requesting that I meet with them. During these meets I found myself giving advice. This occurred for over several years. It wasn’t until 2013 that I became a solidified Mentor. A young lady by the name of LaShawn Washington would come to my home to do my hair (she was a hair stylish) and I would take that opportunity to speak into her life as I would do with many other women. One day she looked at me and said ” You’re my Mentor! It was the first time that someone had referred to me as their mentor. Thereafter, other women begin to ask me to mentor them. This is when I decided to take on the title of a Mentor. I knew that this was something I had the passion to do. Not only did I have the passion, but I had the experience. Approximately five years later I made the decision to Establish Mandy the Mentor International (501c3 Organization).
As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?
As I stated earlier, I enjoyed spending time and encouraging women. This actually became a regular routine. I would have breakfast or lunch with women weekly and it would be the same outcome which was me providing encouragement or/ and giving advice. When a meeting was scheduled I looked forward to the day and I was excited about it. Becoming a CEO/ Founder of Mandy the Mentor International (MTMI) came with a lot of self-discipline. Engaging with a variety of people brings different personalities and it is important as a Mentor that I do not take things personally. For example: someone may disagree with the advice and feedback that I provide to them. This has actually happened. I structured my mindset to go into every meeting open minded when it comes to others’ opinion and how they see things. I believe listening thoroughly before speaking out pertaining to someone else’s situation is “Gold”. Often times people just want to know that they are heard. My method to every counseling session is ” In the end always Uplift, Empower and Encourage the mentee/client. I do not care how difficult the situation may seem; I believe that I should in some form provide Motivation and Inspiration to every lady that I come in contact with.
Often times when it comes to problem solving, I issue homework assignments. These homework assignments are structured around what the mentees/clients are experiencing in that moment. Homework assignments are designed to assist the mentee/client by helping them to take a deeper look into their situation. Leading questions are provided so that the mentee/client can possibly identify key details that they may have overlooked. The questions are design to assist with problem solving, self-worth, life goals, setting boundaries etc.
MTMI offer zoom classes weekly. We also host quarterly courses to all individuals that are interested (it does not matter if you are not a mentee/client … YOU NEED TO BE EMPOWERED). We offer 1 on 1 sessions as well. Pre- COVID MTMI would host events to explain the Organization in its entirety. Our team sends out weekly emails with encouraging messages.
I am grateful and proud that the work we do here at MTMI is very effective. We have so many testimonials of how the tools that we provide actually work. We take pride in loving on people. Our slogan is ” Grow so you can go”. Once the mentees/clients have achieved their goals we strongly encourage them to provide the same level of assistance to others. I can honestly say, many women have connected to us in a broken state and now they are witnessing the healed aspect of themselves.
Do you have any insights you can share related to maintaining high team morale?
When managing a team, it is important for everyone that is a part of your team to know and understand your vision. There should be team meeting regularly. I also find that it is beneficial to delegate challenging responsibilities to those individuals that desire to grow. When I challenge members that are a part of my team, hidden qualities within them are often exposed. Also find it beneficial to meet with each individual privately to ask how I can be of assistance to them personally. This works because my team knows that I am not only concerned about my organization; I am also concerned about their well-being, and they are just as important to me as the mentees/clients are.
Have you ever had to pivot?
Okay, here it goes. In 2021 I had to make a painful decision to dissociate a certain team member from MTMI. They are a great person with a lot to offer, however, they did not have the heart of MTMI vision. What I mean is, I discovered that their reason for being connected to MTMI wasn’t entirely about assisting others. It did not matter how much I spoke to this individual they completely refused to change how they engaged with the mentees/clients. After an appropriate amount of time, I made a difficult decision to release them. Although the decision was not easy because there were certain opportunities that came with this person’s involvement with MTMI, I have to admit it was the most integral decision and the love that we provide to other is stronger than before. The foundation of what we do is based on love.
Contact Info:
- Website: Mandythementor.com
- Instagram: Mandy The Mentor
- Facebook: Mandy The Mentor
- Youtube: Mandy The Mentor
Image Credits
MTMI owns all pictures