Passing the Torch: Building Future Leaders Through eMentorship

[EDRM Editor’s Note: The opinions and positions are those of Sheila Grela.]

Every great mentor eventually faces a defining moment: the realization that the lessons shared today will become tomorrow’s leadership foundation. That is where eMentorship shines brightest.

In Lighting the Digital Path, we explored how mentorship expands connection through technology and intention. Now, in Passing the Torch, we turn to what happens next — the transformation of guidance into legacy and how digital mentoring sustains leadership across generations.

From Connection to Continuity

In this next stage of the journey, mentorship evolves from guidance to legacy. Virtual platforms allow wisdom to travel farther, helping organizations plan for the future while nurturing the next generation of professionals. What begins as a message of encouragement can grow into a movement of leadership.

One of the quiet strengths of eMentorship is how it supports succession planning and leadership development. Every conversation, shared resource, and moment of encouragement plants the seed for future leaders. What once required formal programs and scheduled shadowing can now happen across time zones and organizations through a single message or meeting.

When mentors share their time and knowledge online, they extend their reach far beyond their immediate teams. They help prepare professionals who might not yet have access to traditional leadership tracks. This reach matters. It gives visibility and confidence to emerging voices who will one day guide others in turn.

For organizations, eMentorship is a powerful tool for succession planning. It keeps institutional knowledge flowing while building trust between generations of professionals. Virtual mentorship allows senior leaders to nurture rising talent, share lessons learned, and strengthen the leadership pipeline in ways that are flexible, inclusive, and sustainable.

Virtual mentoring extends leadership influence beyond traditional boundaries, creating scalable opportunities for growth and inclusion.

Data from the National Summer Undergraduate Research Project (NSURP)¹ underscores this potential. Over three years, 364 underrepresented students participated in fully virtual mentorships, with 94% reporting that their abilities as scientists grew and 90% noting greater confidence in their professional identity. That level of impact, achieved entirely online, demonstrates that mentorship at scale can still be deeply personal.

When mentorship becomes part of daily communication through posts, calls, or shared learning spaces, it naturally multiplies leadership. The more we share, the more others grow. By reaching a wider audience with intention and generosity, we create the next generation of mentors who will continue to light the way forward.

This is where the full circle of mentorship begins. The influence of one connection can inspire many more, creating a legacy that continues long after the first conversation ends.

It also helps close opportunity gaps by meeting people where they are. NSURP’s data² revealed that one-third of students who joined the virtual program could not have participated in an in-person experience because of financial, caregiving, or transportation barriers. Virtual mentorship became a bridge to equity—proof that accessibility can coexist with excellence when programs are intentionally designed.

Turn Inspiration into Scalable Action

As we deepen the conversation around eMentorship, we now have an opportunity to move from storytelling to structure. To sustain mentorship at scale, especially in virtual environments, we need accessible frameworks and shared language that clarify how mentorship works — and who is already doing it well, often without formal recognition.

Two tools can help organizations and individuals embrace mentorship more intentionally: the L.I.G.H.T. model, which offers a flexible structure for digital mentoring interactions, and the Mentorship Personas framework, which highlights the diverse ways mentors show up and make impact online. Together, they bridge inspiration with action.

The L.I.G.H.T. Model: A Framework for Intentional Virtual Mentoring

The L.I.G.H.T. model — Listen, Invite, Guide, Hold, Transfer — provides a practical yet human-centered structure for mentoring in remote and hybrid environments. It ensures that digital mentorship remains grounded in presence and purpose.

Listen First: Begin with presence. Listen beyond words, especially in written or asynchronous formats. Pay attention to what’s said, and what isn’t.

Invite Reflection: Ask open-ended questions that spark self-awareness and confidence. “What did you learn from that experience?” or “What surprised you?”

Guide, Don’t Direct: Share stories, offer resources, and provide context. Let the mentee lead their journey with your insight as a compass.

Hold Space for Growth: Acknowledge discomfort and setbacks. Celebrate progress. Create a safe environment for questions and growth.

Transfer Leadership: Encourage mentees to take on mentoring roles themselves. Normalize the shift from learning to leading.

This model helps transform everyday interactions — a comment, a check-in, a shared article — into mentorship touchpoints that build leadership capacity without overextending time or formality.

Mentorship Personas: Recognizing Diverse Digital Mentoring Styles

The Mentorship Personas framework expands how we understand who mentors are and how they operate in virtual settings. In digital environments, mentorship takes many forms. Recognizing these styles helps us validate informal mentorship while creating room for more inclusive participation.

The Cheerleader: Offers encouragement and affirmation. Their feedback often appears in public forums, like LinkedIn comments or shared posts.

The Connector: Introduces people across networks. They create access by connecting individuals to opportunities, ideas, or communities.

The Challenger: Asks the tough questions. They help mentees stretch by offering honest feedback and new perspectives.

The Observer: Participates quietly. They may not speak often but offer high-impact insights at the right moments.

The Signal Booster: Elevates the mentee’s work by sharing it broadly. They validate others by helping their contributions reach wider audiences.

The Legacy Mentor: Leaves behind wisdom through example. Their influence continues in the practices and culture they helped build.

Each persona contributes differently. By naming these roles, we give language to the many ways people support each other in digital spaces. Mentorship becomes something anyone can do — not just those with formal titles or programs.

Town Halls: “How to Bring Mentorship Models to Life in Virtual Town Halls”

Virtual town halls offer a compelling way to bring the L.I.G.H.T. framework and Mentorship Personas to life. These events can be designed as interactive experiences that showcase mentorship in action while building community across roles and levels.

A structured town hall might begin with listening — a reflective opening or story from a mentor. Then, it could invite participants to reflect on their own mentorship experiences or goals. Panelists might guide others by sharing lessons they’ve learned. Organizers can hold space for open dialogue, acknowledging emotional truths or challenges. Finally, the event should close with a transfer — inviting attendees to share insights forward, support a peer, or begin mentoring someone new.

Highlighting persona stories within these events — for example, recognizing a Connector who facilitated career growth or a Signal Booster who helped others gain visibility — creates cultural buy-in. It shows that mentorship is happening already and that everyone has a role to play in sustaining it.

From Culture to Capability: How Mentorship Drives Development

When organizations adopt the L.I.G.H.T. model and Mentorship Personas as internal tools, they turn mentorship into a strategic lever for career development, leadership, and retention. These frameworks help early-career professionals understand how to seek guidance and contribute meaningfully. For mentors, they provide clarity on how to support others without needing formal programs or extra hours.

In talent development, these tools can be embedded into onboarding, leadership tracks, or learning design. They make mentorship more inclusive by validating different styles and scalable by recognizing small but consistent efforts. They also foster durable skills — like emotional intelligence, adaptability, and digital communication — that are essential for long-term success in today’s work environment.

Most importantly, these models reinforce that mentorship is not a single act. It’s a culture. One built from shared wisdom, lived experience, and the willingness to show up for others — especially across screens and time zones.

To sustain a mentorship culture that is both scalable and deeply personal, organizations must also consider the technology that enables it. When used with intention, virtual tools can expand access, streamline connection, and preserve the authenticity that defines meaningful mentorship.

Mentorship, when done well, translates to confidence, belonging, and leadership readiness. That finding is echoed in multiple³ studies. Participants in the NSURP program consistently reported increased self-confidence, stronger communication skills, and a deeper sense of belonging in their fields. Similarly, a University of North Florida study found that college students engaged in virtual mentoring developed higher leadership efficacy scores than peers in face-to-face programs. When mentorship goes virtual, growth still happens—often faster and with broader reach.

Technology as a Bridge for Mentorship

Technology plays a powerful role in extending the reach, rhythm, and responsiveness of modern mentorship. Platforms like Zoom and Microsoft Teams allow mentors and mentees to engage in face-to-face conversations from anywhere, making it easier to sustain consistent connection across time zones. Video meetings can be recorded for future reference or shared to support a broader network of mentees. Collaboration tools such as Slack, Microsoft Loop, and shared cloud folders encourage ongoing dialogue, idea exchange, and visibility of work in progress. These platforms make it possible to mentor through comments, feedback, or even shared learning playlists. Artificial intelligence further enhances mentorship by helping summarize conversations, recommend content, and surface patterns in career development discussions. With the right tools, mentorship becomes more than a meeting. It becomes a continuous and adaptive presence within daily work. Technology does not replace the mentor. It amplifies their ability to connect, guide, and inspire at scale.

Trust remains at the heart of every mentoring relationship. It does not matter whether it is virtual or otherwise. Lerman’s study⁴ emphasizes that trust is not diminished by distance. Mentors who maintained consistent communication and modeled reliability saw the strongest leadership outcomes in their mentees. In short, authenticity travels well through fiber-optic lines.

The tools may evolve, but the impact of eMentorship remains rooted in human connection. As emerging research shows, digital platforms do not dilute mentorship. They expand its reach while preserving its heart.

What the Data Says: eMentorship Delivers Results

My Journey with a Virtual Mentorship

Just like my mentorship relationship with Mary Mack and Kaylee Walstad, my virtual mentorship with Gayle O’Connor did not begin with a formal ask. It started on LinkedIn.

Gayle was a force in legal technology, and she had a gift for seeing potential in others. She could spot the spark in someone’s work and help it shine brighter. Over her thirty-year career, she built GMO Marketing to give attorneys and legal vendors the tools to tell their stories with confidence and purpose.

Gayle was one of those generous professionals who used social media to lift others. She commented, encouraged, and connected. That early online encouragement made me pay closer attention to her work and her way of building people up. Our connection became stronger in 2018 when she interviewed me for the ACEDS article “CEDS Certification: What a Difference a Certification Makes – Part 2.” She gave me space to share my story about studying for the CEDS exam with the handbook, the Sedona Glossary, and a collection of worn-out highlighters. She made me feel seen as a paralegal who was serious about eDiscovery, education, and mentorship. That was Gayle’s gift. She made people feel valued in public.

In 2019 I had the privilege of hearing her shout my name across a Chicago hotel during Relativity Fest. That is a sound I will always remember. She did not wave quietly. She celebrated loudly. That was Gayle! She was vibrant, generous, and a digital mentor whose legacy exemplifies what eMentorship can truly mean.

When the pandemic arrived and the world shifted to screens, we stayed connected through Ari Kaplan’s Virtual Lunch sessions. Those gatherings became a kind of professional kitchen table. Gayle always brought her humor, curiosity, and belief that we should keep learning even in difficult times. She was my cheerleader. She reminded me that the work I was doing for the paralegal and eDiscovery community mattered. She encouraged me to keep showing up for others.

Gayle passed away in October 2020. Losing her was a painful moment for many of us in the community. I learned from Gayle that I am not loud and obnoxious, but courageous and bold. That is the best kind of mentorship. It is the kind that helps you see your own strength clearly enough to believe in it.

What continues to inspire me is how her influence lives on. Each year, EDRM honors her legacy through the Gayle O’Connor GO Spirit Award. The award recognizes professionals who embody her generosity, boldness, and commitment to mentorship. It has become a reflection of her lasting impact on the legal community. Through every recipient, Gayle’s light continues to reach new professionals, new leaders, and new voices.

Gayle’s journey from law librarian to consultant and respected thought leader is proof that reinvention is possible. She spoke openly about imposter syndrome and faced it by learning, connecting, and helping others rise with her. She never kept knowledge to herself. She shared it freely. She turned encouragement into leadership and conversation into community.

That is why she remains one of the best examples of what eMentorship can achieve. Her mentorship did not end with her lifetime. It continues through the lives she touched, the people she lifted, and the leaders she inspired to light the way for others.

Studies confirm what many mentors already know instinctively—digital mentorship is both scalable and deeply human when done with purpose. The 2022 American Bar Association’s survey on mentorship in hybrid environments found that over 70% of legal professionals reported improved inclusion and accessibility through virtual mentorship formats, noting that remote contact reduced barriers tied to geography and schedule.⁵

Similarly, the 2022 LinkedIn Learning Report revealed that over 60% of professionals had formed meaningful mentoring relationships online, and that employees who engaged in virtual mentoring were five times more likely to report career satisfaction and leadership readiness.⁶ These findings reinforce what legal professionals experience daily: connection and credibility can travel through screens when trust and consistency guide the exchange.

Data-driven mentorship also complements leadership pipelines. Organizations that embed eMentorship into professional development see measurable outcomes improved retention, increased confidence among early-career professionals, and a more diverse flow of ideas from across teams and regions. Some of the most meaningful results of mentorship cannot be counted. A spark of confidence. A shift in direction. A new sense of belonging. Still, it helps to measure what we can. Retention rates, advancement, and participation in mentoring programs all tell part of the story. Even a short reflection after a conversation can reveal something powerful. What changed for that person? What did they take with them? Data gives us a glimpse of the ripple that mentorship creates.

Virtual mentorship democratizes access to guidance that once required physical proximity or privilege.

When done well, eMentorship combines the best of both worlds: the flexibility of digital platforms and the accountability of human connection. It brings forward a mentoring culture that is not limited by office walls but grounded in shared purpose.

Challenges and Considerations

Like any meaningful practice, eMentorship requires intention and structure. Digital spaces can blur boundaries or lead to uneven engagement if expectations are unclear. Mentors and mentees should define communication preferences, frequency, and goals early on.

Clear ethical boundaries matter too. Mentorship is built on trust, and digital platforms must uphold that trust with discretion. Respect confidentiality, avoid overstepping into personal or legal advice, and create space for openness without pressure. A safe mentorship space invites growth, not perfection.

Confidentiality also matters. In a virtual world where information is easily shared, ethical awareness must guide conversations—particularly in legal, compliance, or client-sensitive contexts. Mentorship thrives when built on trust, not convenience.

Organizations can support eMentorship success by aligning it with DEI, professional development, or leadership initiatives. A structured yet flexible framework—paired with thoughtful digital etiquette—helps ensure the mentorship remains both impactful and sustainable.

Ultimately, technology is the bridge, not the destination. What carries mentorship forward is the relationship itself.

Scaling Leadership Through Sharing

One of eMentorship’s greatest strengths is its ability to scale without losing impact.

Mentors can now share insights with many, not just one, through:

• A recorded session
• A shared document
• A thoughtful public post

These can become meaningful touchpoints for dozens or even hundreds.

This method respects time. It fits within modern life. It allows mentors to guide without overextending.

At its core, eMentorship turns every mentor into a multiplier. It expands leadership across borders, industries, and time zones. Most importantly, it inspires others to lead in kind.

What begins as a personal conversation often becomes a public contribution. What starts with receiving guidance ends in giving it.

That is how a new generation of strong, self-aware mentors is born—not through formality, but through intention, repetition, and care.

Final Reflections: Mentorship That Moves Us Forward

Even across time zones and platforms, mentorship stays rooted in something simple and lasting: presence.

You do not need a formal title, a perfect calendar, or an official program. You need the willingness to say, “I see you,” and the courage to ask, “How can I help?”

Whether you are guiding someone through their first resume or rediscovering your own voice in a career shift, one truth remains. Mentorship is more than guidance. It is continuity. A conversation that lives beyond the moment. A light offered, not held back.

In a digital world, mentorship can scale. But at its core, it still moves one person at a time.

Think of someone who helped you. Let them know. Then ask yourself this: Whose path can you help illuminate next?

Keep the light moving. Not just forward. In every direction.

A posture of generosity that says, “Here is what I have learned.”

Whether you are guiding someone through their first job search or navigating your own career pivot, one truth remains constant.

Mentorship is human work. It is soul work. The best mentors still light the path forward. The best journeys begin when someone chooses to follow that light.

As legal professionals and lifelong learners, we can use eMentorship not only to share wisdom but to strengthen the leadership pipeline that keeps our profession evolving.

eMentorship is not experimental

Together, these findings reveal that e-mentorship⁷ is not experimental—it is evidence-based. Studies from higher education, science, and management confirm that virtual mentoring builds confidence, leadership capacity, and inclusion. When we combine human intention with digital connection, we turn access into advancement. That is how the next generation of mentors—virtual or otherwise—will carry the torch forward.

Summary: What We’ve Learned

• eMentorship is flexible, inclusive, and essential in today’s digital world
• It offers scalable impact while maintaining emotional depth
• It builds critical, durable skills that transcend industries
• Both mentors and mentees grow when the relationship is mutual and intentional

Next Steps: How You Can Start Today

• Think of a mentor who’s helped you. Thank them by giving an example of how they shaped your growth.
• Reach out to someone you admire and start a conversation.
• Pay it forward by sharing insights with others in your network.
• Schedule a 15-minute call to check in with a mentee or peer.
• Write a post about something you’ve learned. Inspiring others is an important part of both the mentorship and leadership paths.
• Consider offering to mentor a paralegal student or new professional in your association—mentorship builds the profession from within.

Closing Thought

Think of someone who helped light the way for you. Reach out and say thank you. Then ask yourself: Whose path can you help illuminate next?

Let us keep the path lit for each other, for the future, and for the world we are still building, one conversation at a time.

Notes

1. See Corey J. Knox et al., Mentoring Across Difference and Distance: Building Effective Virtual Research Opportunities for Underrepresented Minority Undergraduate Students in Biological Sciences, 15 mBio e01452-23, 6–8 (2024). ↩︎
2. See id. at 6–7. ↩︎
3. See Justin M. Lerman, Examining the Impacts of Virtual Mentoring on College Students’ ↩︎
4. See id. at 63. ↩︎
5. American Bar Association, 2022 Survey on Mentorship in Hybrid Environments (2022). ↩︎
6. LinkedIn Learning, Global Workplace Learning Report (2022), https://learning.linkedin.com/resources/workplace-learning-report. ↩︎
7. See generally Rowland, supra; Knox et al., supra; Lerman, supra. ↩︎

Assisted by GAI and LLM Technologies per EDRM GAI and LLM Policy.