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Mentor the Next Generation

5 min read

Eng Manager

You mentor report. Elena mentors you — and future CTOs. The chain matters. Who are you developing?

Tech Lead

You're the technical mentor. Elena's role: leadership, judgment, and 'how to think about the business.' Different level, same intent.

Devrel

Mentorship can be public. Talks, office hours, writing. Elena's wisdom scales when she shares it. You can help amplify.

Mentor the Next Generation

TL;DR

  • Elena's 24 years of pattern recognition — what works, what doesn't, how to read a room — is irreplaceable. AI can't replicate that.
  • Mentorship at this level: developing future CTOs, VPs, and technical leaders. You're not teaching syntax. You're teaching judgment.
  • The CTOs who leave a legacy are the ones who built the bench. Start now.

AI can teach coding. AI can't teach: when to fight and when to fold, how to read a board, what "good enough" looks like when the timeline is brutal. That comes from experience. That's what Elena has. That's what she can give.

What You Have That AI Doesn't

  • Pattern recognition: You've seen this movie. The "AI will change everything" cycle. The "we need to cut" conversation. The "this project is doomed" moment. You know the patterns.
  • Judgment: When to push, when to compromise, when to quit. No algorithm has that. You do.
  • Institutional memory: Why we made that decision. What we learned. What we'd do differently. That lives in people. Pass it on.

Who to Mentor

  • High-potential directors/VPs: The ones who could be CTO in 5 years. They need: strategy, board presence, and "how to think about the business."
  • Technical leaders: Staff/Principal engineers who might stay IC or move to management. They need: scope, influence, and "how to multiply."
  • Peers: Other CTOs. The ones a few years behind. Swap stories. Share scars. Community compounds.

How to Do It

  • Formal: Executive coaching, advisory roles, board seats. Structured time.
  • Informal: "Let's grab coffee. I've been thinking about your situation." One conversation can shift a trajectory.
  • Public: Talks, writing, podcasts. Your experience helps more people when it's shared.

Quick Check

AI can teach coding. What can Elena give that AI CANNOT replicate?

You've built systems. You've led orgs. You retire. That knowledge walks out the door. The next CTO reinvents the wheel.

Click "Legacy" to see the difference →

Do This Next

  1. Identify one person you could mentor. A VP, a director, a Staff engineer with leadership potential. Make the offer. "I'd like to help. Would that be useful?"
  2. Share one lesson publicly. A post, a talk, or a podcast. One piece of wisdom. See who responds.