As a manager, you often face many difficult choices and find yourself in situations that are unfamiliar to you; you are not always able to identify the right solution. Who do you consult about your dilemma? And how do you choose the right mentor? An article on this subject was published on the Business 2 Community website.
A mentor is basically an adviser who helps mentees direct his professional and, often, his personal life. The core of a mentoring relationship is the voluntary support one person gives another, based on partnership and mutual trust.
What can you expect from a good mentor?
First, he should be a good listener, who you will not judge the way you act and the decisions you have made. He is your mirror, and gives you feedback during your career. If you get into a situation which you do not thoroughly understand, he is the right person to explain the problem from another perspective and advise you on what to do next. According to Jennifer Dulski, President and COO change.org there are five types of people who are important during your career life:
1. The Expert, from whom you would like to learn something new.
2. The Role Model, who represents the pinnacle of your career goals.
3. The Listener, who can read your mind and listen to all your concerns.
4. The Motivator, who gives you inspiration on the way to fulfilling stated objectives.
5. The Achiever, who has high expectations and challenges you to achieve them, with no exceptions.
These are just a few great examples of people that you should meet in an ideal world. However, what if you do not? Then you need to search. This does not mean asking people, "Will you be my mentor?". Mentoring relationship should arise from the mutual harmony of ideas. Therefore, once you have found the person who you think would be a great counselor, then confide your problems to him and ask for advice first. If he is a good listener, he understands your concerns and then you can boldly proceed with your first question.
Remember that as a mentee, you are responsible for maintaining the relationship, which purpose has to be clear right from the beginning. You set the standard of formality and informality of your meetings and their regularity. The mentor, whether he is someone close or someone completely new, can be anyone who is a bit ahead of you in a certain sphere. Therefore, learn to be open to changes and new people with their opinions. You never know where this can take you!
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