Take a second to imagine how your life would look like if you could look into the future. Wouldn’t you use that as an advantage to leverage every opportunity to experience? However, you actually have the power to look into the future, and this power comes in the form of another human who has done what you want to embark upon – a mentor.
Andy Davenport, a Learning and Development Manager at SEEK Learning said, “Having a mentor allows you to tap into a resource who has experienced some of the challenges that you’re currently going through and would have a solution to those challenges. It’s basically having someone in your life who have blazed the trail before you and can share some wisdom.”
Davenport also has a mentor that he looks up to and has associated it with being a lot like having a tour guide taking you through various points of your career, and often using their experiences to help make you better understand. “They’re going to give you that road map for the next 5-10 years and will help you avoid making the mistakes that you’d probably make without them.”
You definitely need a mentor as that is a weapon you need to forge ahead in life. Here are some questions you should ask yourself in your search for a mentor;
- What are the benefits of having a mentor?
- What are the purpose of a mentor?
- What are the qualities of a mentor?
- How to find a good mentor?
- how to find the right mentor?
Here’s how to find the right mentor
When looking for a mentor, it may not necessarily have to do with how old the other person is. Take a critical look at your industry and check out those people that you believe are doing a great job in the areas you’d love to work in.
Davenport also said, “You should choose someone who is going to be approachable and a natural mentor to you. Don’t approach somebody who you couldn’t imagine having a conversation with. You need to have a professional relationship based on trust and respect. Even if they were successful, I would never approach someone who didn’t possess the kinds of traits I’d like in myself.”
How to approach a possible mentor
A lot of people cringe about reaching out to a possible mentor, but really, it doesn’t have to be nerve-wracking. You could either approach them in person or send them an email to introduce yourself. However, Davenport suggests that you approach them in person especially if you have met them and have a chance to approach them.
Don’t bore them with irrelevant stuff, realise that they are busy people, too. But most importantly, you want to state why exactly you do admire them and how you’d appreciate their guidance.
It is very possible you’d get turned down, but don’t let that define you – a failure or someone who shows no interest to be invested in. Understand that they might be busy and may not have enough time for you if they were to accept you as their mentees. You should, however, never give up until you find the right person.
How to get the most out of a mentor
Constant and periodical conversations are very important as it fuels your relationship and keeps the momentum going. But for you to get the most out of your conversation, you need to have a problem you need a solution to, you need to be serious enough to have stuff that you want to tackle.
Davenport made a big point where he said, “It’s not about the mentor telling you what to do or lecturing you. You as the mentee need to initiate the topics, drive the relationship and drive the discussions.”
And a piece of important advice is to do everything your mentor asks you to do. Read whatever books he recommends, whatever advice you get on how to deal with people, seminars they suggest that you attend, and always put it into practice.
One of the most frustrating things you will ever do to your mentor is to do other than he asks, you trusted him to be your eyes, trust him enough to follow in his footsteps – a big reason why you have to be sure who you’re asking to take the lead.