Let me make this clear right from the outset, anybody without a mentor at any level will end up a mediocre. Mentors serve as the inspiration through which people ride on to success. Also, they serve as a guide that put mentees on the right path when they seem confused. A strong and trusted mentor is someone who can provide you a solid baseline of career support, someone who will keep you grounded, and someone who will help you remain self-aware throughout your entire career journey (Petrus, 2017). Hence, having a mentor or coach as an employee in the contemporary world is very sacrosanct.
The definition of a mentor is “Wise and trusted counselor or teacher; an influential senior sponsor or supporter.” Those words are ‘trusted’, ‘influential’, and ‘supporter’. A strong mentor must be all three of these things; someone who you can absolutely trust during those times where you need guidance, someone who can be influential, someone who you look up to and respect their advice and feedback and someone who will support you in any way they can to further grow your career. A mentor is someone who you can feel comfortable bouncing ideas off of without fear of embarrassment. You should have a level of understanding with your mentor that no matter what the subject matter may be or how crazy an idea may seem, that it is okay to have these types of conversations and feel comfortable doing so. An ideal mentor should be willing to invest their time and support in your professional development and have a strong desire to help you succeed (Petrus, 2017). Now that I have made the definition of an ideal mentor very clear, I do hope you wouldn’t be looking for the wrong person to be a guide for you.
It is recommended that your mentor be someone within your same profession, or one who is closely-aligned to what it is you do. Whether that is industry of function, you want to identify someone who you can relate to in your professional life, someone who has a perspective of the daily trials and tribulations that you encounter and can offer advice or insight that is appropriately aligned to your career. Your mentor can also come from different stages within their career. While it is highly encouraged to seek out someone who is more senior to you in experience and leadership, don’t hesitate to consider a mentor that could be your peer, one that you could potentially relate to better than someone who may be senior to you. No matter what level of career experience, leadership or management they may have, the most important factor of your mentor is that it is someone who you look up to at any stage of their career (Petrus, 2017). With this guideline, you should be able to identify the right person for your career life.
Now that you have identified your mentor, the next step is to approach them with a plan. What do you want to cull from this relationship? You may decide that you want to develop a certain skill set and you are looking to your mentor to share their knowledge. Or you may wish to pursue another career. A mentor can help identify how to approach these goals. Outlining your plan to a mentor is important – this helps you both work towards common ground and also sets clear guidelines and expectations on the role each of you will play in the relationship. It is also helpful to set scheduled meetings, if possible. Don’t overburden your mentor with demanding too much of their time (Recruiting Specialist, 2018).
Having established this solid background through insightful ways you can identify and broker relationships with your potential mentor, here are reasons why you really need them:
Mentors can see where we need to improve where we often cannot. Movie maker George Lucas noted, “Mentors have a way of seeing more of our faults that we would like. It’s the only way we grow.” They will always be brutally honest with you and tell you exactly how it is rather than downplay any weaknesses they see in you. Read the experience John Rampton (2018) on this point: “This constructive criticism that my mentor offered helped me to see things in myself that I could not recognize. I appreciated that insight because I didn’t want someone to pad my ego. (Well, I did want someone to pad my ego, but I had to decide that the business was more important.) Instead, I wanted to know exactly where I was lacking so I could improve those areas” (Rampton, 2018). So, you must be ready to humble yourself to learn under the feet of your mentor.
Further, mentors find ways to stimulate your personal and professional growth. Another famous movie director explained, “The delicate balance of mentoring someone is not creating them in your own image, but giving them the opportunity to create themselves.” Rampton shares a practical experience that his mentor would often pose questions for him to think about and ask him to come back with answers later. In the same vein, the mentor also sets goals for him and lets him loose to see if he can achieve them on his own without any supervision. However, he watches Rampton from afar off to see if he’s getting it right. Also, the thorough-bred mentors will also focus on your character and virtues in order to build you to become the person you’ve always dreamed to be (Rampton, 2018).
Also, mentors do all within their possible best to break you out of your comfort zone and provide you with unimaginable opportunities. Good mentors will have the ability to bring you out of your shell. They will expose you to things you never thought you will be doing. They will encourage you and push you toward improving your mindset, your skills and your professionalism. And once you try something out of your comfort zone, it will become easier as time passes by. If you continue to put yourself out there, no one will be able to stop you (Vargas, 2017).
References
Petrus, C (2017). The Importance of a Career Mentor. Retrieved from https://www.businessmagazinegainesville.com/the-importance-of-a-career-mentor/
Rampton, V (2018). 10 Reasons Why A Mentor Is A Must. Retrieved from https://www.inc.com/john-rampton/10-reasons-why-a-mentor-is-a-must.html
Recruiting Specialist (2018). The Importance of Mentors. Retrieved from https://www.americasjobexchange.com/career-advice/national-mentoring-month
Vargas, K (2017). 5 Ways A Mentor Can Take Your Career To The Next Level. Retrieved from https://www.entitymag.com/importance-of-mentors/
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(C) 2021, Alan Elangovan, All Copy Rights Reserved.