Ted Jordan

Location: Seattle, WA, USA

Current/Most Recent Company/Position: Sales Manager, Avenue In Consulting LLC; Senior Program/Account Manager, Microsoft

Background/Interest Areas/Expertise: After 24 years at Microsoft, I’ve gained some hard-earned wisdom. As a result, I make/take every opportunity to mentor the people I work with. And now I mentor students at the UW Foster School of Business. I get energy from helping others see a new perspective and discover their opportunities. Here's what I tell new students. It's my why and my how.

Why do I want to be a mentor?

When I was just starting out in my career, especially at Microsoft, I would have benefited immensely from a mentor. I had so many assumptions that were flat out wrong. I was trying to do everything on my own to prove myself. This mindset held me back for years because I was only seeing the world from one perspective.

I’ll tell you things that others won’t/can’t tell you

My most potent lesson while at Microsoft: A General Manager came to speak to my group on the topic of “How You Are Evaluated at Microsoft.” For years no one could provide a simple, succinct explanation of how the evaluation process works—until this guy. I still remember his story/explanation verbatim—and this was 19 years ago. His explanation helped me see how I could take action/ownership of my evaluation. Now I tell new hires this story at every opportunity because I know they might never hear it. Over the years I’ve collected stories and lessons like this one where all I needed was a new angle to see how everything works. Your teammates and coworkers might not share their learnings with you because they either don’t understand or they assume that everyone already knows. I want to share with you another perspective.

I’ll be your audience and you’ll be mine

I’m going to enjoy this experience with you. I know I’ll learn as much from you as you learn from me. I will be an eager and curious listener because that’s what I do best. I’ll find value in our differences.