It doesn’t matter where you’re at in your career, just starting out or an accomplished executive, having someone (or a few people!) you can look to for guidance, support and inspiration is critical to your success.
I’ve been thinking about this topic a lot lately as I’ve joined a fantastic formal mentoring program and I’m also mentoring a young person from Newcastle Uni. I’m finding both the experiences to be transformational. Here I share 9 major benefits of having a mentor to encourage you to get out there and develop a valuable mentoring relationship.
Building confidence
A good mentor will assist you to hone in on your strengths. Knowing your strengths, and using them to your advantage is really powerful. It will help you feel confident, particularly in decision making. They can also assist you with identifying areas you can develop.
Personalised expertise
If you engage with the right mentor, someone with specific experience in your field, or with similar interests and goals, you can gain valuable, personalised advice, not available elsewhere.
Inspire you to be better
Everyone needs inspiration. Working with a good mentor, one that has a passion for what they do, can provide for huge motivation. After my mentoring sessions, I am always pumped to get back to the office, set new goals and get to work.
Support you through difficult professional situations
It’s often the tough situations when you need a mentor the most. Whether it’s a difficult boss, a project gone wrong or a tricky conversation with a staff member, having someone you can speak to that is objective and experienced is invaluable.
Help you shape your career
A mentor can help you to plan your career and identify the skills you need to succeed. Given they were once in your shoes, a mentor is in a good position to advise you on areas of development, education and possible career paths (that you may not have even considered!).
Networking and job opportunities
Having a mentor can open up opportunities for you to significantly advance your career. Your mentor can introduce you to other successful people in your industry, that you wouldn’t have otherwise had access to. And they will likely to endorse you to those in their network, should a job opportunity arise.
Stay accountable
A good mentor can help you set goals and define strategies to achieve them. But even more importantly they will follow up on your progress and help you stay true to yourself, and accountable.
Learn from
A good mentoring relationship will provide you with immense opportunities to learn through shared experience. This is not the sort of stuff they teach you at uni, this is real-life, on-the-job experiences, that will help you reach your goals.
Thinking BIG
It’s so important take time out of the daily grind for creative and strategic thinking. Regularly working with a mentor will encourage you to think big picture rather than just focusing on the now. This will help you discover opportunities, new ways of doing things and is incredibly important for your mental wellbeing.
Look out for part two of this on How to find and create a successful mentoring relationship. If you’re looking for a mentor and want some advice, give me a call and I’ll do my best to help you out. You can contact me on [email protected] or phone 0448 811 091.
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