Mindy Honcoop, Chief People Officer, TimeClock Plus
Mindy Honcoop, Chief People Officer, TimeClock Plus. As an Executive Human Resources Leader, Mindy has built and led the overall vision, designed and implemented change and transition strategies to enable global business growth, and coached and influenced senior executives. Mindy also is a co-founder of the Austin Women in Agile meetup.
Q: Why do you choose to spend your time mentoring others?
A: It’s a rewarding feeling to see something unlocked for someone and to be a part of that journey, to see that person realize more for themselves, more than what they would have before the conversation. And, you know, if there’s anything I can do in my limited time here, it’s to have made a difference and to feel like you have a thumbprint on people’s lives.
Q: What do you personally gain from mentoring?
A: It gives me energy, and in some ways, it’s how I take care of myself - by holding time to coach and mentor others. I also gain knowledge about how I can sharpen myself. There is so much learning that I do as a mentor. Sometimes I wonder, who’s learning the most out of this? Because when you share stories, when you enter into a connected conversation that gets to a deeper level, you naturally learn from one another - it’s reciprocal learning, which I find so engaging and rewarding. If you genuinely are open and listening and go into it with an open mind, then you become a better mentor for others. We’re always evolving as individuals.
"....when you share stories, when you enter into a connected conversation that gets to a deeper level, you naturally learn from one another - it’s reciprocal learning, which I find so engaging and rewarding."
Q: To what do you attribute your success?
A: It’s a lot of different things - a combination of my community, my network, my mentors, my hunger and thirst for knowledge, learning through books. I’m a continuous learner, and I realize that I don’t know it all. I always want to be authentic, which, for me, means being true to myself and knowing who I am. It’s an ever-evolving journey. I’m curious, so I ask questions and learn about people. I want to travel and see the world, have experiences to impart onto others.
I’ve also spent time becoming comfortable with who I am – finding my authenticity. At times, being true to myself has been clouded by a lack of confidence or people-pleasing, which was holding me back from being the true impact my community needed. I’ve become more aware of these “gremlins” and through self-work and conversations with my support network - counselors, coaches, mentors - I’m more in touch with my authenticity. I’m not 100% perfect – no one is, but I don’t beat myself up about it. And I have realized that my own journey of finding my authentic self is an important one to share in mentoring.
Q: What does good mentoring look like to you?
A: I find that good mentoring looks like a trusted relationship that is vulnerable. It’s about connecting with someone at a deeper level – building trust and being able to peel the layers of the onion and get to the roots faster. And that’s not always easy. Some people are naturally good at it, and others are not. It’s a muscle that you need to build over time to be really perceptive, which creates trust. And in good mentoring, you find ways to connect by putting yourself into the other person’s shoes. Thinking about if I was in the same place in life - what is it that I wish I had heard? What story would have helped me? What are they motivated by, and how do they learn? What do they value? These types of questions lead to authenticity and help align your story to their values.
Q: How has mentoring impacted your own journey?
A: I think mentoring has made me more curious and more self-aware. It has sharpened me as a person and helped me grow. I don’t think I’d be a Chief People Officer if it weren’t for mentoring. I believe people in leadership roles should be curious and always evolving and have the drive to want to make a difference and be intentional. In every moment, I’m thinking I might not have a tomorrow, and this could be my last conversation, so I want it to be the best conversation. And in some ways, any person that we touch is making a difference. Because even though you may only have a moment with someone, you may be mentoring by how you chose to show up, the words you chose, or the actions you take. It’s a mentoring mindset. You never know when you might course-correct someone’s view on life.
"I think mentoring has made me more curious and more self-aware. It has sharpened me as a person and helped me grow. I don’t think I’d be a Chief People Officer if it weren’t for mentoring."
Q: Why do you choose to mentor with Ceresa?
A: I wanted to be a mentor with Ceresa because the approach fits my frame of reference in how I choose to walk and live in life and show up. And I felt like I could learn to be a better mentor and connect with others that could benefit from my stories. It’s hard to find the right match sometimes, right? I only have so much time, and I want that time to be the most impactful for the right person at the right time. And Ceresa helps you do that.
Mentorship: Integral to the Ceresa whole-person approach
At Ceresa, mentorship is an integral part of our leadership development process. The mentor-mentee relationship is a key component in providing the structure, and at the same time fluidity, necessary to facilitate pointed leadership and career growth for both the participant and the mentor.