Mentor tells her charges: you can call me anytime

Marg O’Donnell has an important piece of advice for mentors: don’t offer advice.

11/2/2016: Marg O'Donnell, a former director general of three Queensland government departments, at a park near her home in New Farm, Brisbane. Marg has been acting as a mentor to an Aboriginal Health administrator in Far North Queensland, through a non-profit mentoring scholarship group, McCarthy mentoring. Lyndon Mechielsen/The Australian

Marg O’Donnell has an important piece of advice for mentors: don’t offer advice.

She says those she mentors don’t want to know how she handled something.

“It’s not you going in there giving out the wisdom of your experience; that’s very boring and probably not needed,” O’Donnell says. “I usually ask them what they think the options are and try and encourage them to find a solution. Everyone has ideas about what they do, rather than me pontificating.”

O’Donnell has been a director-general of three Queensland government departments, was the first Victorian Legal Ombudsman, and chairs the Breast Cancer Network of Australia and the law school visiting committee at Griffith University.

Often she has been the only woman sitting at a board table, and has battled discrimination while being a mother to two young children.

O’Donnell has been a mentor for close to 15 years, including helping senior workers in the public service, female engineers in senior management, and heads of arts and health organisations.

Many are still in close contact, even if for a quick chat every few months.

While she may not be an expert in every industry, O’Donnell’s social worker background shines when she listens and learns.

“There are issues about relationships with board members, furthering business relationships with other companies,” she says.

“We talk about work-life balance, how are the kids going, how is your partner, is the marriage surviving, we talk about health, losing weight: these issues straddle everyone in every situation.”

O’Donnell, who is Brisbane-based, mentors eight people, mostly women. She meets them once a month for lunch or dinner and spends about two hours talking with them about their life and workplace issues.

She makes herself available at other times but, as she says, high-powered executives are highly competent and rarely need daily advice.

“I say if there’s a crisis or if there’s something you want me to look at, or a document, you can call me anytime.”