Rachel, should I join my mentor at a new agency?

Dear Rachel,
My mentor and dear friend has left to go to another agency in a top position and has asked me to join her. I feel a great obligation to her but this is new to me, and I’m not sure what I should do. Where she is going has been through a lot of turmoil. She’s being brought in to shape the place up. What’s your advice? Go or stay? Sign me On the Fence in Los Angeles

Dear on the Fence,
I’m sure you and your mentor are very close, but my best advice is to consider whether you would go to this agency were she not going.

From what you know of it, is it your kind of agency? Do you think you’d fit in there without her? Is the sort of media they work on the sort of media where you see a future for yourself?

If the answer is no, I would take a pass on it, especially if you are happy where you are.

Here are the risks in following your mentor:

One, she’s going into a snake pit with the mandate to clean the place up.

She could well succeed. But she could also fail. And if she fails and you’re there you might go down with here. That often happens where a new manager comes in with an entourage and doesn’t pull off a promised turnaround.

Your mentor may be super good—a born turnaround artist—but consider that in many snake pit situations the problem can often be traced right back to top management.  They are often the creators of the turmoil.

They may say they want to put an end to it, and it some level they might mean it. But they don’t want it enough to change their behavior—the behavior that’s behind the turmoil. They’ll cycle manager after manager through and all will fail.

Your mentor may just be the next one up at bat.

We’re always reading about turnaround artists as corporate heroes. Much less ink is devoted the far larger number of executives who were brought in to fix problems and got the ax when they saw the real problem, tried the fix it, and found themselves on the street dusting off their keisters in disbelief over how quickly the doors parted for them.

The other thing to keep in mind is that mentor relationships are typically unique to particular situations-places, times, personalities, the chemistry of a particular organization. They tend not to travel well.

You could well follow your mentor only to realize that the relationship has cooled, and it could be for a variety of reasons. She may just be too busy to give you the time and support.

Ask yourself, is this something I’d be okay with?

If no is the answer to the questions I posed, I’d take a pass.

Also, I would not worry too much about hurting your mentor’s feelings. If she’s as savvy as you suggest, she knows exactly what she’s getting into, and all the risks she’s facing. She’s not going to hold it against you if you take a pass on those same risks.

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