By Amanda Brummitt, FACHE

For mid- to late-career healthcare leaders and retired executives, there comes a pivotal question: How do I continue to make an impact?

One of the most powerful answers is mentoring.

The ACHE Central Texas Mentoring Program offers experienced healthcare leaders a structured, meaningful way to invest in the next generation. Few professional commitments deliver as much long-term value to individuals and to the healthcare ecosystem as intentional mentoring.

At a time when our industry is navigating workforce strain, reimbursement volatility, care model redesign, and rising consumer expectations, emerging leaders do not simply need technical knowledge. They need context. They need perspective. They need access to the kind of pattern recognition that only comes with years of executive responsibility.

That is where you come in.

Why Your Experience Is Irreplaceable

Early- and mid-career professionals are leading teams, managing budgets, and influencing strategy earlier than ever before. They are capable and ambitious, but many are navigating complexity without the benefit of seasoned counsel.

As a mentor, you provide:

• Context for high-stakes decisions
• Candid feedback in a confidential setting
• Insight into organizational dynamics and governance
• Guidance on career inflection points
• A sounding board for ideas that cannot always be tested internally

You shorten learning curves. You help emerging leaders avoid predictable missteps. You broaden their strategic lens.

In doing so, you strengthen the leadership bench across Central Texas healthcare.

Mentoring Is Not Casual Networking

The most effective mentoring relationships are intentional.

They begin with clarity. Mentor and mentee align early on purpose: leadership growth, board readiness, succession planning, operational expansion, or career navigation. Clear objectives reduce ambiguity and increase accountability.

They are grounded in psychological safety. Conversations must remain confidential and separate from performance evaluation. The mentor’s role is not to critique from a distance. It is to guide, challenge constructively, and foster thoughtful decision-making.

They include light structure. A defined meeting cadence and periodic goal checkpoints keep the relationship productive without creating administrative burden.

When done well, mentoring becomes a disciplined professional practice, not an informal coffee meeting.

What Distinguished Mentors Do Differently

Great mentors focus on the mentee’s growth, not their own résumé.

They listen deeply.

They ask strategic questions.

They share lessons from failure as readily as from success.

They resist the urge to provide immediate answers.

They hold mentees accountable to their stated goals.

You do not need to have every solution. You need to create space for disciplined thinking and honest reflection.

For retired leaders, mentoring also offers continued connection to the profession and the opportunity to shape healthcare’s future without the demands of day-to-day operational leadership. It is a way to convert decades of experience into enduring impact.

The Commitment

The American College of Healthcare Executives Central Texas chapter is currently accepting applications for mentors.

The commitment is clear and manageable:

• Active ACHE membership at the time of application
• Six contact hours with your assigned mentee, virtual or in person
• Availability by phone, email, or in person as appropriate
• Facilitation of professional development discussions
• Serving as a trusted resource throughout the program
• Completion of a brief post-program survey

This is not an open-ended obligation. It is a defined engagement designed for meaningful impact.

Healthcare leadership is learned through experience. Mentoring ensures that experience is not lost, but transferred.

If you are in a position to invest in the next generation, this is the moment.

Apply by the end of March:

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdbxcgyoXfXnjvguhOowXek-bmfR2bl1lO888BxV66B-mFHEQ/viewform