Do you have an idea, goal, or side business you’d like to take on but aren’t sure how to proceed or even start?
A mentor, or someone more experienced than you in that area, can be a valuable way of unlocking insider knowledge and information you can learn and grow from. They can show you the way and help you see what skills and knowledge you might need to develop further to accomplish your goals.
What Is a Mentor?
A mentor is typically a professional in your field or someone with experience accomplishing a goal you ultimately want to achieve. A mentor serves as a guide to exchange ideas with, someone who can provide objective feedback, hold you accountable, and help you feel less isolated in your undertaking.
Why Work with a Mentor?
You might consider working with a mentor when you have a particular goal in mind and feel you need support and guidance to get there. Often people seek out mentors to help them achieve professional goals, but a mentor can also help you accomplish personal goals.
Because they’ve walked the path you’re embarking on now, they can provide insights into what to expect, mistakes to avoid, and tips for success. In addition, when navigating particularly unfamiliar territory, a mentor can help you feel more confident during this time.
If personal and professional growth is important to you, but you’re feeling stuck about what move to make next, seeking out a mentorship with someone who inspires you can help you make strides in your progress.
The Benefits of Mentorship
A mentorship relationship may benefit both the mentor and the mentee. Mentors may benefit from mentoring because it’s an opportunity to broaden their teaching and collaboration skills, network with others in their industry, reflect on their experiences and develop coaching skills.
Below are the primary benefits of being a mentee:
- Gain a new perspective from someone who’s walked the walk
- Receive guidance in identifying and achieving goals
- Identify and correct gaps in skills and knowledge
- Increase opportunities for career advancement
- Receive encouragement and support
- Greater success in achieving goals
- Personal and/or professional development
- Develop networking skills
How To Find a Mentor
Before approaching someone about mentoring you, be sure to have a clear goal in mind that you’re hoping to achieve. When it comes to being mentored, it’s good to take a business-like approach and come prepared and ready to do the work.
A mentor can be anyone in or outside your existing network. It can be a close friend or family member, an executive at your company, or someone you find browsing mentorship networks and groups.
Truly, it can be anyone you look up to, feel inspired by, and see accomplishing things or embodying qualities you hope to achieve and acquire.
Some organizations have mentorship programs that employees can enroll in, or you may attend niche-specific networking events where you can meet plenty of like-minded people.
What To Look for In a Mentor
When choosing a mentor, you want to find someone who has measured experience and success in the area you’re undertaking. So, for example, if you’d like to find a mentor to help you advance in your career, it’s good to find someone in the same industry who’s a bit ahead on the same career path.
If you’d like to achieve better work-life balance and wellbeing, someone already embodying and thriving in this lifestyle would be your go-to choice.
You’ll also want to look for someone who is relatable, shares your same values, and seems genuinely excited to see you succeed.
Some characteristics of a good mentor may include authenticity, empathy, being a good listener and communicator, openness, and honesty.
Mentorship also requires a willingness to teach. Unfortunately, not everyone is cut out to be a teacher or has the verbal mastery to explain things in Lehman’s terms for the less experienced.
These are all vital things to consider when looking for a mentor.
How Does Mentorship Work?
A mentorship typically begins by building a relationship with the person you’d like to be mentored by. By taking an interest in what they’re doing right, asking questions, and exchanging ideas and information, you can cultivate familiarity and respect for each other. This is essential because you want to ensure your mentor truly has your best interest at heart. A mentorship may develop naturally, or you may formally ask someone to be your mentor if you have a specific goal you are trying to achieve.
A mentor is investing their time and energy in you, so you must do your part to maintain the relationship.
Some things to consider when building a mentorship relationship:
- Set goals and milestones to review along the way
- Schedule regular meet-up times
- Interact and share relevant articles with them on social media as a low-pressure way to stay on their radar
- Save the significant updates for in-person meetings
- Ask for feedback
- Show your appreciation with a personalized thank you note, for example
Conclusion
Leaning on a mentor for support in your personal and/or professional development can help propel you toward your goals and the life you’ve always dreamed of. If you have aspirations but you’re feeling stuck, a mentor can help give you the confidence and motivation to get yourself unstuck. A mentorship relationship can help you unlock aspects of yourself and opportunities that you wouldn’t have had access to had you gone at it alone.
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