The Red Door Project: A Mentor Program For Leaders

In traditional Chinese feng shui, a front door painted red is a symbol of welcomeness or openness. Even in early American times, a tired traveler knew that if a door was red, the home was a welcoming place to rest and prepare for the next part of their journey. This concept of welcomeness and creating an environment to help others along their journey was the foundation on which the Red Door Project was built.

The Red Door Project is a 6-month mentoring program where newer team leaders throughout Rocket Companies^® gets valuable one-on-one time with senior-level leaders. The senior-level leaders, or the mentors, have agreed to volunteer their time to help newer leaders, the mentees, find their footing and hone their leadership style. Mentors use this time to guide mentees through challenging issues personally and professionally, providing them with skills that will last a lifetime.

Zakiya Minifee, a Senior Talent Development Specialist and the program manager for the Red Door Project, says the program can make a real difference in the lives of the participants.

“What makes the program so worthwhile is that it eliminates a barrier between people. This program creates connectivity between senior leadership and first-level leaders, as well as between all of the mentees as a group,” says Minifee.

Mentees are challenged to work as a team to tackle a community service issue as well as participate in self-selected leadership skills challenges during their time in the Red Door Project. In order to take part in the program, participants must first apply and meet eligibility criteria. Most mentors are VP-level leaders or have more than 10 years of leadership experience. Most mentees are newer leaders that only have team members as direct reports.

Mentors and mentees don’t have to be from the same business areas. A mentor could be a senior leader in technology while their mentee is a newer leader in banking. This challenges participants to dig deeper into what they know about business areas that are very different than their own. This approach leads to tying threads of commonalities between multiple business areas, often bringing to light solutions from one area of the business that can apply to problems in other areas. When individuals take time out of their day to come together and share business perspectives, the knowledge being shared can easily spread and continue to make a positive difference in the lives of others.

John Fair, Chief Technology Officer of Rocket Homes Real Estate LLC, has participated in the Red Door Project as a both a mentee and a mentor. What he learned through his own personal mentor he now applies to his mentees. 

“It was so important to me that you invested the level that you did – that I can’t half do it. I only have 100% to give,” says John, while speaking to his own mentor, Todd Horner, Vice President of Focus.

This mindset of paying it forward is common among participants in the Red Door Project.

Minifee says the program is only as successful as the effort that both the mentor and the mentee put into their partnership. 

“It is truly impossible to grow or be successful in any role alone, and this program acts as a conduit of generating relationships with other people that are passionate about actively investing in others and themselves,” says Minifee. 

When this passion is passed down, it generates a ripple effect, reverberating through Rocket Companies^® and challenging team members to seek their full potential as leaders. The relationships that are formed through the Red Door Project often end up becoming lifetime friendships, continuing long after the 6-month program has concluded. The network of strong connections that the Red Door Project has cultivated will continue to make a lasting impression on the Rocket Companies^® and the community as a whole for years to come.

The Red Door Project is only one example of the many programs available to help team members make the most of their career with Rocket Companies^®.