The Impact of Mentoring & Paying It Forward with Li Fan #64

Li Fan (CTO @ Circle) shares about the power of mentoring and the impact of paying it forward! We cover Li’s career journey, the mentors that have inspired and shaped her leadership, and how Li’s passed along those lessons to the people she’s mentored. Through Li’s stories, we uncover the long-term impact and ripple effect when you pay it forward.

ABOUT LI FAN

Li Fan is CTO at Circle, a global fintech firm enabling business to harness the power of digital currencies and public blockchains (Circle is the principle operator of USD Coin). Prior to Circle, Li was CTO at Lime, an innovative technology company that connects and empowers urban living through mobility. Before Lime, Li was SVP of engineering at Pinterest leading all 600+ engineers to execute technology strategy and deliver company priorities. Li was a Senior Director of Engineering in Google, accountable for Google’s popular image search and was Vice President of Engineering at Baidu.

SHOW NOTES

• Why this conversation with Li Fan is so special (2:02)
• When has a mentor made a meaningful difference for you? (3:30)
• How mentors help show you what’s possible in your career and life (6:29)
• How mentors inspire and shape your leadership (10:00)
• Mental models for a successful mentor relationship (13:29)
• Paying it forward and becoming a mentor (15:19)
• How to balance your team’s retention and your mentee’s career growth (19:12)
• The hard-to-imagine long term impact of mentoring (25:20)
• Staying in touch with your mentors and the people you mentor (29:17)
• The long-term ripple effect when you “pay it forward” and mentor others (31:22)
• Finding the right mentor and creating mutually beneficial relationships (36:04)
• How Art influences Li’s approach to engineering leadership (39:51)
• Rapid Fire Questions (44:17)
• Takeaways (47:38)

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Listen to our Bonus Episode: Building Your AI Organization with Maia Brenner! Listen HERE: https://spoti.fi/2WLX9Cm