From Mentoring to Momentum: How to Truly Develop Future Leaders
In a recent conversation, Alison Martin, Founder and Chief Program Officer of Engage Mentoring, sat down with Andrew Correll, Chief Development Officer at CNO Financial Group, to explore a critical question facing today’s organizations:
How do we truly develop leaders, not just prepare them for the next role, but equip them to lead people well?
As a long-time Engage Mentoring partner, CNO Financial Group has invested in developing both senior leaders and emerging talent through structured, intentional programming. And in that conversation, one theme came through clearly:
Mentoring is powerful and on its own, it’s not enough.
The Moment That Changes How Leaders Lead
During the conversation, Andrew shared a pivotal moment in his own leadership journey, one that didn’t come from a formal training or a leadership course, but from a mentor who challenged how he was thinking.
“Have you thought about the fact that these are people, not learners?”
At the time, Andrew was approaching his work through a learning and development lens; focused on training programs and skill-building.
But that single question shifted his perspective entirely.
It moved him from:
Delivering training → to shaping culture
Developing skills → to developing people
Managing outcomes → to creating environments where people thrive
And that shift is where leadership actually begins.
Why Mentoring Matters And Where It Fits
Mentoring plays a critical role in leadership development because it does what traditional training cannot.
It challenges thinking.
It expands perspective.
It creates space for reflection and growth.
As Andrew described, mentoring isn’t about telling someone what to do, it’s about helping them make connections, think differently, and ultimately own their development.
But here’s where many organizations get stuck:
They treat mentoring as the solution.
When in reality, mentoring is one piece of a much larger leadership development system.
The Risk of “One-Dimensional” Leadership Development
Organizations that rely solely on training or solely on informal mentoring often see the same outcomes:
Strong individual contributors promoted into leadership roles… without the perspective, support, or structure to lead effectively.
As Andrew shared, this can create leaders who default to leading others the way they were led rather than adapting to the people and environments around them.
And that’s where gaps begin to show:
In team engagement
In retention of emerging talent
In the strength of the leadership pipeline
Because leaders aren’t built through a single experience. It’s developed through a connected, intentional approach.
What Actually Works: A Structured, Integrated Approach
This is where Engage Mentoring’s Leadership Exchange stands apart.
It’s not just about pairing people with mentors.
It’s about creating an ecosystem for leadership development.
One that:
Supports senior leaders as they grow, reflect, and lead more intentionally
Develops emerging leaders through structured, proven experiences
Creates connection across levels of the organization and across organizations
Blends mentoring with broader development strategies, not as a standalone solution, but as part of a system
Because mentoring alone can spark growth.
But structure, community, and intentional development are what sustain it.
Mentoring vs. Coaching vs. Development Systems
One of the most valuable distinctions from Alison and Andrew’s conversation is understanding how these pieces fit together.
Training builds knowledge
Coaching improves performance
Mentoring expands perspective
Structured programs (like Leadership Exchange) connect it all
As Andrew shared, mentoring often happens in real-time when leaders are navigating challenges, making decisions, and leading people.
But without a broader framework, those moments can be inconsistent or inaccessible to many employees.
A structured approach ensures that development isn’t left to chance.
From Potential to Prepared Leaders
For organizations focused on succession planning and long-term growth, this distinction matters.
Because developing leaders isn’t just about identifying high performers.
It’s about intentionally preparing them.
Through:
Exposure to different perspectives
Opportunities to reflect and grow
Support from experienced leaders
A clear, structured development path
Mentoring is a key part of that journey. But it’s most effective when it’s embedded within a larger strategy.
If organizations want to build strong leaders, resilient teams, and a sustainable leadership pipeline, the question isn’t:
“Do we have mentoring?”
It’s:
“Do we have a leadership development system that actually supports how people grow?”
Because mentoring can spark transformation. But it’s the system around it that makes that transformation scalable, repeatable, and lasting.
A Thought to Leave You With
As you think about how you’re developing leaders across your organization, where might you be relying on a single approach? And where could a more connected, intentional system create greater impact?
If you’re exploring how to better support both your senior leaders and emerging talent, Engage Mentoring is always happy to be a thought partner in building a development strategy that aligns with your people and your goals. If you’d like to have a conversation, we also welcome learning more about you and your team.