Great leadership is never built alone.
Across the One Young World Community, mentorship has played a pivotal role in equipping young leaders with tools to create real-world impact and impact over 8 million people globally.
Research from the Association of Business Mentors shows 65% of business leaders believe mentoring has positively impacted business performance and growth — highlighting the value of mentorship not only for employees but also for the bottom line.
We asked seven members of our global Ambassador Community — all current mentors in One Young World’s 2026 Action Accelerator programme — to share how mentorship has helped them, or the young leaders they’ve guided, create measurable impact and accelerate the leadership potential of the next generation.
Here’s what they told us about the power of mentorship to guide the next generation.
Unlocking Potential in Young Leaders
Mentorship often helps young leaders recognise capabilities they may not yet see in themselves, transforming ambition into action and ideas into tangible impact.
Danceline Dsouza, Senior Director - Commerce and Retail Media Strategy at Kinesso, reflected on how mentorship can help emerging leaders move from passion to clarity:
“I’ve seen young leaders who already cared deeply about an issue become much clearer about what they were trying to change, who they needed to work with, and what a first real step could look like. That kind of shift can make the difference between a good idea staying abstract and actually beginning to influence something.”
For Talita Honorato-Rzeszewicz, Director, Global/US Grant Officer - Speciality and Anti-Infectives at Pfizer, mentorship is less about giving answers and more about helping mentees expand their perspective:
“Mentors have always pointed to something right in front of me that I was not seeing. And that is my goal as a mentor — to listen and add to mentees’ experiences.”
Building Confidence and Skills
While mentorship can unlock potential and sharpen ideas, its impact often goes much deeper. Research from HR.com found that organisations with strong learning and development cultures are significantly more likely to report improved employee engagement and retention — reinforcing the growing value of mentoring and leadership support for early-career professionals.
For Safoora Biglari, Strategy Director at Proto and Co-Founder of Beyond.representation, mentorship is about nurturing potential while also helping mentees make difficult decisions when needed:
“As the mentor, you're there to help water the seeds of your mentee's big ideas. It's epic to see when those seeds grow roots and shoots, and scale to their fullest potential. But in some cases, helping them wind down an idea or close a chapter is just as important.”
Eldine Glees, Director at Nawaya Maritime, reflected on the confidence mentorship can instil early in a young leader’s career:
“Mentorship gave me permission to take up space in rooms I wasn't sure I belonged in. Having someone reflect your potential back to you, especially early in your career, builds a kind of confidence that no qualification can.”
Creating Ripple Effects of Impact
Organisations are increasingly recognising mentorship as a strategic investment in leadership development too. Research from the Association for Talent Development found that organisations with mentoring programmes report significantly higher levels of employee engagement and retention. When young leaders succeed, their impact spreads far beyond themselves — across communities, organisations, and sectors.
Norah Kimathi, Head of Finance and Operations at Wermuth Asset Management GmbH, has seen mentorship help young leaders turn lived experiences into solutions that serve others:
“Mentorship has helped young leaders I’ve worked with gain clarity on where they can create real impact, often turning personal challenges into entrepreneurial solutions. I’ve seen mentees not only strengthen their own livelihoods, but also address pressing needs in their communities through collaboration, skills-building, and locally grounded solutions.”
For Marc Alain Boucicault, Founder and CEO of BANJ, one of the most encouraging aspects of mentoring today’s young leaders is their evolving definition of success and impact:
“What surprises me most is how deeply this generation thinks about impact beyond traditional metrics. Well-being is now just as important as impact itself—both for themselves and for the communities they serve. That gives me hope for the future.”
Mentorship can also have a profound impact on mentors themselves, creating space for mutual learning, reflection, and optimism. Emmy Award-winning filmmaker and director, Tamana Ayazi, reflected on how mentorship becomes a mutually transformative experience:
I came into mentorship thinking I was the one who had something to give. What I didn't expect was how much I would receive, how often I leave a conversation with one of them feeling more hopeful about my own work and about the world. That's the surprise that never goes away.
Investing in the Next Generation
Mentorship is a powerful driver of growth and impact across countries, industries and organisations.
Through programmes like One Young World’s Action Accelerator programme, our own Ambassadors mentor the next cohort to help leaders develop ideas, scale their solutions, and create lasting change. Alongside weekly mentoring sessions, the programme allows young leaders to collaborate with peers in a supportive space and ends with a practice pitch competition to ensure their pitch is investor-ready.
Whether you’re a young leader looking to accelerate your impact or an organisation investing in future talent, One Young World offers access to a global Community committed to building a fairer and more sustainable future.
Find out more about the Action Accelerator programme.