Mentor Mindset: How Having The Right Mentors Will Save Years on Your Career Climb

A piece of advice often given by professionals in every industry is to always network with other people. Colleagues can help you out in a pinch, friends will have your back, and connections in high places can get you that new job or promotion. While networking is hugely important, there is an often undersold facet of the practice that is finding mentors!

What a Great Mentor Will Do For You

A great mentor is someone that will truly take you under their wing and develop your talents at an accelerated pace. Imagine gaining all the wisdom from years of working and making mistakes in only a few short meetings.

Some examples of mentors I have had in my career thus far include:

• My technology teacher in high school. He taught me foundational professional traits like work ethic, timeliness, and respect.
• The Director of IT at the University of Miami. From him I learned how to present myself, the inner workings of corporate politics, and a deeper understanding of higher order business strategy and innovation.
• My serial entrepreneur mentor opened my eyes to the possibilities for new businesses not just in America, but in emerging markets as well!
• Then my mentor who has over 30 years experience in technology sales. He taught me the art of building professional relationships and demonstrating value.

How to Properly Build Your Mentor Relationship

The mentor-mentee relationship is a sacred one, and should be treated with respect from both sides. Below are a few guidelines for developing a strong mentor relationship:

• Be open and honest so they will know best how to guide you.
• Have an idea of what you would like to get out of the relationship. By having an idea of what you want, that will help jump start discussion. The only way they can help you is if they know what you want help with.
• Maintain an open mind while receiving critiques from your mentor. They have years of experience and may be seeing something you are not.
• Think for yourself. Your mentor is there to guide and advice you, not hold your hand. The greatest growth comes from taking their input and mixing it with your own thoughts and ideas.
• Schedule regular meetings with your mentor to discuss objectives and progress. This adds a layer of accountability to the relationship and will push you to consistently apply what you are learning.

How to Find Your Next Mentor

Finding a quality mentor is not as difficult as you might think. Look for someone who is where you want to be next, or someone that has knowledge of field that you wish to learn more about. Then reach out to them for a short conversation, or have a mutual connection make the introductions. In my experience it has been those successful people, the ones that would make the best mentors, that are the most willing to help out! These people can be your boss, your professors, members of a mentoring program, or even strangers on LinkedIn. So get out there and find your next mentor to help elevate you career to the next level!