I recently met up with an old boss of mine from a few years ago. I was sharing how things were going at work, and he had a lot of great perspective that helped me think through some issues I am facing. It reminded me of the importance of having a mentor at work. I thought my readers may be interested in the benefits of having a mentor at work and how to find one.
Why do you need a mentor?
Navigating the landmines of your place of work can be challenging. How to succeed, get noticed, and avoid drama is not necessarily something you were born knowing (nor are these things that you are taught in school).
You will greatly benefit from the input and advice of someone who has experienced the workforce and has insights based on trial and error.
So, how do you find a mentor at work who can help your career?
Let’s see…
5 Tips for Finding a Mentor at Work
1. Find someone who is a different part of your company (or at another company entirely)
At first, this may seem counter-intuitive. How can someone offer you advice about how to succeed at work when they do not know your workplace?
In some ways, I think it’s better when someone doesn’t know the people and the politics. They are looking at the situation as an objective third party and can share perspective that is unbiased. In most cases, I think that would be the best advice.
Also, if you choose someone who is too close to your specific department, he or she may have their own motives in advising you on an issue. For example, he or she may have had a bad experience with someone you’re having a bad experience with, so the advice may be more appropriate to their situation and not yours.
If there is someone with whom you work closely and respect, then I would not tell you to avoid seeking their advice and input. I would just encourage you seek out other mentors as well.
That takes me to Tip #2…
2. Don’t just choose mentors who are more senior
In my experience, most people seek out mentors who are more senior than they are. In fact, most people think “the more senior the better.”
I advocate that you should, instead, think, “The more helpful to my needs the better.” Think about what your goals are and find someone who can help accordingly.
For example, when I first became a manager, I had 2 mentors. The first was a female leader who was much more senior than I was. My second was someone who had only 2 years of management experience. I learned SO much more from her because she was much more familiar with the challenges a new manager faces. Each of these mentors played a critical role in my transition, but for very different purposes.
This brings me to Tip 3…
3. Have very clear mentoring goals and communicate them to your mentor at work
In order to even find a mentor, it’s important to have clear mentoring goals. Also, you will want to communicate them to your mentor and check in on those goals over time. This helps ensure that your mentoring relationship isn’t just “sitting and talking.” You are working towards specific goals (i.e., success as a first time manager) and your meetings focus on helping you with that.
To that end, I always end mentoring sessions with “homework” and follow ups for the next time we meet. For example, in the first meeting I had with one of my mentors after I was a newly promoted manager, my mentor mentioned it would be important for me to have a Vision statement for my team. I left with the homework to put one together and have her review it at the next meeting.
Having clear goals helps you keep your meetings focused, and valuable for both parties. Also, it helps you know when the mentorship is no longer needed, which is a critical step in the journey.
4. Choose a mentor who has a passion for helping people
Most people choose to be a mentor in order to be helpful and “give back” since they, too, benefited from the help of a mentor at work. Some, however, look to become mentors in order to benefit themselves. Some benefits could be establishing a relationship with you so they can recruit you in the future. Or, to claim to others that they are your mentor and, therefore, in some part responsible for your success (yes, I had a mentor do that to me).
I alluded to this a bit above, but sometimes mentors may be in it for themselves and, as such, they may not be the most productive mentor for you.
Lastly, you will want to make sure your mentor respects the confidentiality of your relationship. As a mentor, I can’t tell you how many times the managers of the people I mentor will call asking what he or she might have said about an issue, or whether they would apply for another job or not.
Under no circumstance do I answer those questions. My mentees share information with me so I can help them. If they have to edit their thoughts and perspective because they are worried I will “tell” their manager (or someone else), then I’m not doing my job.
5. Be weary of a mentor who “tells you what to do”
Work mentors should give input and guidance on your career and professional decisions you need to make. They should not “tell you what to do.” In the end, you need to weigh a host of professional and personal considerations. The mentor should provide you information, insights and experience; they should tell you “things to consider” not what you need to do.
In summary, your mentor is not your boss and should behave accordingly.
In conclusion, I do hope you all have the benefit of having a mentor (or a few!) at work. I hope the information above is helpful to you in navigating a successful relationship with your mentor. I would love to hear about your experiences with mentors at work below!
If you liked this post, be sure to check out:
- How to Overcome the 5 Biggest Career Killers
- Career Tips You Need to Ignore
- Career Advice I Would Give Myself As a New Professional
If you want another perspective on finding a mentor at work, check out the great tips from The Muse: https://www.themuse.com/advice/9-tips-for-findingand-gettingthe-perfect-mentor
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