What Top Leaders Know About Mentorship (But You Don’t)
A practical guide for HR and tech leaders who want to build culture, grow capability, and retain top talent.
If your organisation is serious about inclusion, leadership development, or knowledge transfer, mentorship is no longer optional. It’s the multiplier. The culture keeper. The quiet engine behind innovation, retention and readiness.
In this evidence-backed guide, Gordon C. Smith draws on 45 years of leadership experience – from RAF service during the Cold War to global SAP delivery – to demonstrate how structured, human-centred mentorship creates a lasting impact. Written for those building teams, shaping culture or scaling talent strategies, this book offers real-world tools you can act on from day one.
You’ll learn how to:
Embed mentorship into onboarding, L&D, and succession planning
Link mentorship to measurable outcomes like retention, engagement and readiness
Equip mentors to support neurodivergent, hybrid and cross-generational teams
Build scalable programmes without overcomplicating the process
Apply the Harber Helix™ – a flexible model built for real-world complexity
The book features examples from Microsoft, SAP, Spotify, Accenture and others, alongside lived experience mentoring frontline staff, analysts, and directors across cultures and industries.
Each chapter closes with takeaways designed for two key audiences:
HR and programme designers looking to scale effectively
Mentors and team leads delivering support on the ground
Whether you're building a leadership pipeline, supporting high performers, or creating space for diverse talent to rise, mentorship helps your strategy stick. This book will show you how to make it simple, intentional and sustainable.
If you believe the future of work depends on human connection, not just systems…
This is your playbook.
