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As Reese Witherspoon revealed in a recent interview in The New York Times, “I had a really pivotal conversation with Shonda Rhimes in 2017.”
Here’s how the Academy Award-winning actress Reese described her confidence-bolstering conversation with television producer and filmmaker Shonda… Reese attended a forum with women exploring ways to help individuals in business come forward with their stories of harassment and abuse in the workplace. Seated next to Shonda, she leaned over and asserted, “If we could just get people to show up at this one event, then that would be great. So, somebody is going to have to get them there.” Shonda stated matter-of-factly: “You’re going to do it.” Reese: “What?” Shonda repeated: “You’re going to do it. They’re going to listen to you. When you tell them to show up at your office, they’re going to come because you’re the leader. You just don’t know it.” Reese reflected, “That was a big moment for me, because it was scary. [Being a leader] is a responsibility. But [Shonda’s comment] made me think, if I don’t do this, who will?” Reese continued: “I needed her to tell me that [I’m a leader] because I would not have seen it. I do lack some self-awareness. When Shonda said it to me, it made it true in my mind.” What is most striking about Reese’s reveal is the timing. Typically, when celebrities describe turning points, they reference a conversation in their origin story with someone whose words were instrumental in shaping their career. But Reese’s exchange with Shonda occurred in 2017, and by then, Reese was already famous – their mentoring conversation took place when successful people tend to eschew advice. Case in point, new managers often struggle in the Mentee seat. They are typically so busy proving themselves that they either miss the guidance when it’s offered or fear that accepting any advice would be an admission of a flaw and a genuflection to their imposter syndrome. Notably, when Shonda labeled Reese a “leader,” Reese didn’t defend, deflect, or demur. Instead, she leaned into her self-confessed insecurity, committed to exploring and growing her leadership. Whenever someone offers any advice, a suggestion, an idea, or a nudge, grab it and gauge it – there is likely a contribution (not a condemnation!) lingering even in a nonchalant observation. In a 2023 interview, Reese obscurely mentored her followers when she declared, “I’d rather be a learn-it-all than a know-it-all.” © 2025. Ann Tardy and MentorLead. www.mentorlead.com. All Rights Reserved. |