Advice on Leading and Mentoring for Greater Innovation

In the modern era of rapid digital transformation, engineering leaders are expected to be more than project managers and technical experts. They need to be vision-setters, innovation enablers, and mentors shaping the next generation of talent.Leadership and mentorship, when paired with intention, do more than advance business goals. They create an ecosystem where innovation flourishes and careers accelerate.I want to share how my professional journey, spanning leadership roles at retail giant Walmart and cloud communications company Twilio, has underscored the profound synergy between the two dimensions.Leadership as an innovation engineInnovation rarely happens by accident. It is cultivated in environments where leaders articulate a compelling vision, empower their teams to experiment, and then remove obstacles that stifle creativity.As a senior engineering manager at Walmart Global Tech in Sunnyvale, Calif., I have led efforts to address one of the retail industry’s most persistent challenges: shrinkage. This loss of inventory, commonly due to shoplifting, theft, and return fraud, results in a difference between the amount of stock a retailer is supposed to have and the amount it actually has.Globally, retailers lose more than US $100 billion annually due to shrinkage. Walmart alone faces multibillion-dollar losses each year.The scale of the problem demands more than incremental improvements. By aligning the challenge with cutting-edge technologies such as computer vision and artificial intelligence, I framed a plan that transformed a business imperative into a technological frontier. We focused on deploying computer vision models at the store front-end, supported by an edge and cloud pipeline that allowed rapid experimentation. The system combined real-time detection of high-risk events with predictive analytics that highlighted emerging patterns of loss, and it integrated directly with store operations so actions could be taken quickly.The impact was twofold. Engineers were energized by the opportunity to solve a problem of global relevance, and the company gained a system that significantly reduced losses while protecting customer trust. The role of leadership in this context was not to dictate solutions but to create clarity of purpose and provide the latitude for teams to innovate boldly.As a senior engineering manager at Twilio, I led the billing platform team during a period of exponential growth, and innovation manifested itself differently.Working on a billing system is not typically met with excitement, yet it is mission-critical because billions of dollars are processed annually. By giving engineers ownership of architectural decisions and encouraging experimentation in scalability and fault tolerance, we achieved breakthroughs that enabled the company to scale reliably. There, leadership meant empowering teams with autonomy and fostering a culture where innovation could emerge from the ground up.Mentorship as a catalyst for professional growthIf leadership provides the framework for innovation, mentorship provides the scaffolding for individual growth. In my experience, mentorship is not a one-time act but a continuous relationship built on guidance, challenge, and advocacy.One effective approach I have employed is the use of stretch projects, which are tasks beyond an employee’s current skill set, experience, or job responsibilities.At Twilio, I formed the Tiger Team, bringing together individuals from across the organization who expressed interest in learning new skills and solving complex billing challenges. They were encouraged to generate new ideas, conduct experiments, and develop improvements to the billing platform. The initiative not only advanced the platform’s capabilities but also gave employees a rare opportunity to develop and grow outside of their day-to-day responsibilities.At Walmart, I also used stretch assignments to accelerate an employee’s professional growth. For example, when an engineer expressed a strong interest in applying AI to improve our on-call operations, I encouraged him to lead the design and development of a solution leveraging the model context protocol (MCP) standard to reduce on-call workload. MCP standardizes AI models that connect with and use external tools and data sources to automate tasks and simplify integrations.The effort was successful, attracting contributions from the broader team and reducing the staff’s labor for dealing with incidents by more than 1,500 hours annually.That not only created measurable operational impact but also provided the engineer with a platform to develop his leadership skills and drive innovation at scale.A feedback-rich environment is advisable. At Walmart, I instituted weekly one-on-one sessions with each of my staff members that extended beyond project updates to cover their career aspirations, strengths, and areas for growth. The conversations uncovered career blind spots, exposed leadership potential, and helped prepare people to step into broader roles.Equally important is advocacy. Mentorship does not stop at giving advice; it involves opening doors to opportunities. I have nominated mentees for conference speaking roles, cross-team leadership positions, and recognition programs. The platforms advanced their careers and amplified our teams’ work.Encouraging exploration beyond boundariesAnother powerful mechanism to accelerate innovation and growth is intentionally allocating time for self-directed exploration. At both Walmart and Twilio, we designated a dedicated week every six months during which engineers were encouraged to work on anything they found meaningful, even if it was outside their team or organizational responsibilities.“Engineering leadership and mentorship are not optional complements to technical execution; they are fundamental drivers of sustainable success.”Some chose to collaborate with colleagues across different departments, while others pursued new projects. The experience gave the employees the freedom to follow their curiosity, sharpen their skills, and explore areas aligned with their personal growth. Beyond skill development, it often led to surprising innovations, as cross-pollination of ideas from different parts of the organization produced creative solutions that likely would not have emerged doing traditional project work.The interdependence of innovation and growthLeadership and mentorship are not parallel tracks. They are interdependent areas that reinforce each other. Innovative projects provide fertile ground for engineers to grow, while their professional growth feeds back into innovation by broadening their perspectives and capabilities.The AI-powered shrink-prevention initiative at Walmart exemplifies the dynamic. Engineers who contributed to the project gained technical expertise in machine learning and computer vision, as well as career-defining opportunities. Some presented their work at internal company forums. Others became mentors to new engineers. And many transitioned into leadership roles. Innovation was not an isolated outcome but part of a virtuous cycle of growth.Lessons for future leadersReflecting on my experiences, here are several lessons for those aspiring to lead with impact:Balance technology with people. Great systems are built by motivated, empowered individuals.Encourage risk-taking within safe boundaries. Innovation is often the product of bold experiments, not cautious, gradual adjustments.Invest early and consistently in mentorship. Influence is measured not only by what you build but also by whom you help.Recognize and celebrate achievements. Acknowledgement fosters motivation, which accelerates innovation and professional development.Create opportunities for exploration. Allocating time for personal projects can spark creativity and cultivate skills that enrich the organization.Engineering leadership and mentorship are not optional complements to technical execution; they are fundamental drivers of sustainable success. Leadership provides the vision and structure for innovation, while mentorship nurtures the individuals who bring that vision to life. Together, they create a multiplier effect that advances both technological innovation and career growth.My experience demonstrates that when leaders intentionally combine the two practices, organizations not only deliver transformative technologies but also cultivate the next generation of innovators and leaders.That dual impact is what makes engineering leadership such a powerful force in shaping both the future of technology and the careers of those who drive it.