Lailah Gifty Akita once said, “Every great achiever is inspired by a mentor.” Mark Zuckerberg, Richard Branson, and Jeff Bezos all need mentors in their careers and businesses to reach greater heights.
Richard Branson said in one of his interviews: “It’s always great to get help at the outset. If it wasn’t for Sir Freddie Lake’s guidance, I wouldn’t have been successful in aviation.”
While not everyone can find the same mentor as Sir Freddy, you can find a trusted advisor to give you the guidance you need develop leadership and succeed in your career. In this article, we’ll show you how to find a good mentor.
The importance of mentors in professional growth
Here are some of the ways mentors can influence your career development:
- Mentors help you break the glass ceiling: Impostor syndrome and sociopolitics in the corporate environment are some of the factors hindering career development. Tutors will give you actionable insights on how to deal with such situations so you can move up the ranks.
- Mentors to help you make good career choices: As a junior employee, you may lack self-awareness and understanding of your professional abilities. A good mentor will discover the right career path for you and advise you on the key skills you need to master to suit your future role.The employees who were mentored early were Five times higher than peers There is no mentor.
- Mentors help you push your limits: Are you limiting your potential to what you believe in yourself? A mentor can help you transcend these limiting beliefs and give you the confidence you need to find yourself. As Shawn Hitchcok said, “A mentor makes you see a possible future and believe it can be achieved.”
Do I need a mentor?
One thing to note is that different people need mentors for different reasons. When is the right time to find a mentor?
- When you’re stuck and unhappy with where you are: Sometimes you may feel like your career is in jeopardy. You are confused, confused, and don’t know what to do next. In this case, a mentor can help you figure out your next steps to get your career back on track. There’s a good chance that a mentor has also been through it and knows the best way to solve a problem you’re having.
- When you need a new perspective: When you’re stuck in a busy work life, it’s easy to feel satisfied with what you’ve accomplished in your career. To break out of this cocoon and reach your full potential, you need a fresh perspective from someone smarter and more experienced.
- When you need valuable guidance to help you move forward: When you’re budding in your industry, figuring out how to avoid obstacles can be tough and disorienting. Bad news: The knowledge you gain in school doesn’t solve the corporate ladder problem.In this case, you need to seek advice from people just like you: your boss, co-worker or manager can improve your thinking and help you Develop new skills without going back to school.
What are the characteristics of a good mentor?
A mentor can be anyone – your parents, managers, colleagues, friends, alumni or bosses. However, finding a mentor with the right traits is not easy. Some characteristics to consider when looking for a mentor include:
- more experience and success than you: When looking for a mentor, you want someone to make you a better version of what you envisioned. To do this, find a mentor who is more experienced and has a better track record of success than you. Bob Proctor said, “A good mentor is someone who sees more ability and talent in you than you see in yourself and helps you bring it to life.”
- you share the same values: Experience is not all characteristics of a good mentor. Someone may be more experienced than you, but if they have different values in leadership or management, then they are not for you.
- Authenticity, Honesty and Empathy: A good mentor is honest, authentic, creative and empathetic. They should be unequivocal in providing constructive criticism and supporting you as you reach your career goals and milestones.
How to develop a mentoring relationship
The mentor-mentee bond does not have to be intense or formal. However, knowing what’s expected of you – as a mentor or mentee – will make things easier for both parties.
For a relationship to run smoothly, three things are critical:
- Professionalism: Maintain a high level of professionalism. First, always appreciate advice and motivation. Beyond that, respect mentors and make yourself available when they need you. Also, don’t hesitate when you say you’re going to have a conversation. Some of these things may sound simple, but they go a long way in ensuring prosperity and mutuality.
- meeting frequency: Knowing how and when to follow up on a conversation is important. Keep in mind that your tutor can be busy, so ask the tutor for the best time to answer the phone or meet and set a reminder.
- Where and how to meet: In the digital age, you don’t always have to organize face-to-face meetings unless you want to. If it’s an easy, stress-free interaction, you can do it via email, social media, or virtually. The most important thing is to always arrive or attend meetings as early as possible so as not to waste your mentor’s time.
