After initially reading this post it seems that it only deals with why women need mentors in the workplace, but in all honesty women mentors are important to you as an emerging and leading business woman as well.

There are companies like Accenture who are aiming for 40 per cent of its new hires to be women by next year. They then want to encourage promotion of women by enabling staff to grow with continuous education and training. Establishing leadership growth plans is key to ensuring a pipeline of qualified candidates.

This is true not only in the office environment, as a woman business owner you need to be mentored to encourage growth and empowerment through learning and education, attend workshops and business matchmaking events and meet with a diverse group of people who can facilitate your growth process.

In the workplace, do not just think the job is done once a new hire is recruited; for many firms the critical part is developing female middle management in order to help build a senior management pipeline. It’s also important to be inclusive across the board and encourage men to get involved: most senior executives say they’ve benefited from a diverse group of mentors.

Similarly, even though you may have just got recently certified and your business has seen some growth, do not think this is “good enough” – get your staff involved in how you can grow further and build and develop your team through leadership training online.

Getting certified is just the first step. What’s next for you?

_{This content originally appeared in the South China Morning Post on March 11, 2016. View the original article here}