March 20, 2019

The Two-Way Mentoring Relationship, with Lisa Fain

Episode 3:

Lisa Fain is the CEO of the Center for Mentoring Excellence, and founder of Vista Coaching, the coaching division of the Center. Her passion for diversity and inclusion work is fueled by her strong conviction that leveraging differences creates a better workplace and drives better business results.

She has conducted mentoring training programs for corporate, government and educational institutions. Lisa coaches mentors, mentees and program administrators on how to achieve mentoring excellence and create the right environment for the achievement of career and personal goals. She is highly regarded for her special combination of knowledge, expertise, humor and a no-nonsense practical approach.

As Senior Director of the Diversity and Inclusion function at Outerwall, Inc. (the parent company to automated retail giants Redbox and Coinstar), Lisa spearheaded the development, establishment, and implementation of its diversity initiative, including launching the company’s first mentoring program for its Women’s Business Resource Group. Prior to that position, she worked as Outerwall’s in-house counsel, where she coached leaders and partnered with Human Resources to establish fair and effective policies and practices that would sustain the organization as it grew in size, revenue and renown.

Lisa practiced law with the Chicago office of a major multinational law firm and counseled employers on creating inclusive policies and practices. In addition, she served as a Master Trainer, training thousands of employees at a variety of companies, large and small, on how to create a better workplace. Certified as a mediator through Chicago’s Center for Conflict Resolution, Lisa applied her counseling skills to help clients understand and proactively prevent conflict.

Lisa holds a B.S. in Social Policy from Northwestern University and a JD degree from Northwestern University School of Law. Lisa is a Life Coach and has completed her certification from the International Coach Academy.

A native of Syracuse, NY, Lisa spent 17 years in Chicago and moved to Seattle, WA in 2014, with her husband and two daughters. She now spends as much time as she can hiking and exploring the beautiful Pacific Northwest.

What you’ll learn about in this episode:

  • How Lisa found her way into the field of diversity and inclusion and mentoring, and why she left her career in a legal firm
  • Why Lisa decided to bring diversity and inclusion work into her position at Coinstar/Redbox
  • Why Lisa believes mentoring is a powerful tool in diversity and inclusion work, and in what areas it is best suited for furthering that work
  • How Lisa works to train and certify future mentors in diversity, inclusion and cultural competency
  • Why mentoring should be a two-way relationship, and what lessons the mentor can learn from the mentee
  • Why Lisa doesn’t like the term “reverse mentoring”, and why all effective mentoring relationships are co-mentoring
  • Why building trust between participants is the key to developing successful mentoring relationships
  • What Lisa believes the future holds for the integration of cultural competency and mentorship training
  • Why non-dyadic mentoring (triads, circles and peer mentoring) are growing areas within the business world
  • What advice Lisa has for people new to diversity and inclusion and mentoring efforts
  • How Lisa and her mother are writing a book on cultural competency that will be released in 2020

How to contact Lisa Fain: