[Flash] Enterprise CEO Chrissy Taylor Used Personal Invitations to Whisper “You Belong Here”

When Chrissy Taylor became President of Enterprise Rent-a-Car, she set out to connect the female leaders in her 80,000-person organization.She started with the Level 4 Leaders – the highest level at Enterprise – and invited them to happy hour. She called it “Cocktails with Chrissy.” These events fueled intentional networking and mentoring conversations among senior leaders.

Chrissy then asked the Level 4 Leaders a favor: bring people forward. She requested that they each invite to the next happy hour a high-performing Level 3 Leader who could use an introduction and visibility.

For the next year, Chrissy invited a small group of Level 4 Leaders to Cocktails with Chrissy each month, and they each invited a Level 3 Leader. During that year, Chrissy reached every Level 4 and Level 3 Leader in the organization.

Chrissy’s Extend-an-Invite approach is the key to igniting a mentoring culture. It relies on personal invitations, rather than general announcements.

A personal invitation activates what psychology calls “self-identity.” Your brain perks up when it hears your name. A general announcement doesn’t trigger that same cognitive priority.

Whether it’s a happy hour or a mentoring program, people are constantly evaluating, “Is this worth my time?” “Is this for people like me?”

To launch new mentoring programs, my team designs beautiful promotional flyers. Sadly, they are marginally effective in recruiting participants. Why? Because they aren’t directed at anyone in particular.

Flyers scream, “Everyone is welcome!” A personal invite whispers, “This is for you.” It feels exclusive, even when it isn’t.

Flyers work to generate awareness. But people pay attention to and take action when something feels individualized.

“Sam, you would make a great mentor. Have you considered the new mentoring program? It would give you exposure and develop your leadership skills. Here’s the flyer with more information.”

When we extend personal invitations, people feel acknowledged and seen, which activates a mild sense of obligation to respond. Flyers and posters alone don’t create that same relational pull.

How to deploy a bring-them-forward approach in recruiting mentors and mentees:

Encourage each current participant to invite one peer to join them in the program.
Urge every former participant to nominate one colleague for the new cohort.
Ask senior leaders to recommend one of their team members.
Request that executives send targeted email requests.
Send that sparkling flyer to someone with a personal invitation to join the program.

Finding participants for a mentoring program can be challenging.

But if we are determined to create you-belong-here cultures, then recruiting needs to become an effort of the village, not an obligation of the program leader.

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