The power of mentorship

Growing as a person or within your organisation is amazing but it has its challenges and a common theme is the lack of answers to difficult questions. To become better at our jobs, relationships or mastering our craft, we need to get out of our comfort zone and experience something new. However, often we are required to make decisions to which we don’t know the answers or strategies to find them. This is where mentorship and help from others are extremely valuable.

Third-person view

Providing feedback and advice to friends and family is difficult, some will feel hurt after a negative comment and others will not feel comfortable being honest and showing where another person has done wrong. There’s nothing wrong with that, neither of us wants to hurt the feelings of our close friends, nor make them feel not worthy. This is where seeking an opinion from someone external who is not part of your daily lifestyle and will be able to provide a curtain-free view of yourself is so valuable.

I have been stressing this out to all my junior colleagues and friends who have a growth mindset and sometimes struggle to find where they must improve. Even your direct manager may not be comfortable sharing bad news and giving constructive feedback, thus we need to find a way to better understand ourselves and our performance.

There are tens of websites that allow you to search and match with a mentor with specific skills and knowledge that will be of use to your situation. Some of the platforms that I have used so far are:

• MicroMentor (my preference)
• Meet-a-Mentor
• FindaMentor

However, my favourite option is to expand your network and find people that you can learn from and guide you to become a better version of yourself. These can be senior people in your company, industry or just people you admire on LinkedIn. Connect with them, either in person or online, schedule a meeting, introduce yourself and see if they will be able to spend time sharing their advice.

There is no right formula for everyone, people have different preferability of how to receive feedback and advice and not all of us are wired the same, so seek what works best for you and don’t be afraid to try new things until you are confident that your mentorship is bringing enough benefits to yourself. But also don’t forget to give back — ask what your mentor needs or is unsure about. People with a lot of experience usually face the issue of not being able to find someone to guide them forward as more experienced people will usually not have enough time or are difficult to reach. Don’t forget that being a human and having a mindset of helping others is beneficial for everyone.