What Is A Horizontal Mentor?

Jon McNeill, co-founder of DVx Ventures, has built a career on proactively seeking advice. With roles like Tesla’s president of global sales and marketing and COO of Lyft, plus founding and scaling six companies, McNeill’s leadership has generated significant growth and investor returns.

Right from college, McNeill sought mentorship, starting at Bain & Company, and continued this habit throughout his career. His approach offers a lesson for enterprise leaders to recognize future talent seeking guidance—especially in today’s fast-paced work culture.

McNeill’s success also comes from embracing “horizontal mentoring,” where peers at the same level share insights. Unlike traditional mentoring from senior figures, horizontal mentoring fosters open exchanges that might not happen with bosses or direct reports. This “leadership hack” helped him blend advice from experienced mentors with candid conversations from equals.

While working with industry giants like Elon Musk at Tesla, McNeill learned to set ambitious goals while supporting teams. His advice to leaders: always have a plan B and ensure employees understand business goals and forecasts.