“Show me a successful individual and I’ll show you someone who had real positive influences in his or her life.
I don’t care what you do for a living—if you do it well I’m sure there was someone cheering you on or
showing the way. A mentor.” — Denzel Washington
WHY HAVING A MENTOR IS IMPORTANT
A mentor is someone who is experienced and someone you can trust to advise you. Seeking and finding a mentor can sometimes take time, but building the right relationship can make all the difference in your career. That is why having a mentor is important.
FAMOUS MENTORS AND THEIR MENTEES
There are several famous people who have benefited from mentors. Do you recognize any of these mentors and their mentees?
So, once again, you will see that several famous people had mentors. It shows just how important this aspect of life can be. From this list, you will see there are career similarities between the mentor and their mentee. Many times a mentor is in the same industry and share interests. Having that type of relationship is crucial so the mentor can give good and sound advice to help their mentee.
DO YOU REALLY NEED A MENTOR?
Over the years, I held human resources positions in a variety of industries. I learned something early on in my career – there was always someone more knowledgeable in the field than me. I quickly realized that it was great to have someone to bounce ideas off of as well as ask for advice whenever I was unsure of a situation. Having someone to advise me through my career definitely made my life easier.
I have had several different mentors in my various fields and to this day, I am still in contact with many of those people.
THINGS TO KEEP IN MIND
There are several aspects to keep in mind when looking for a mentor. Asking right away could be very overwhelming to someone, so keep that in mind. It is best to build a relationship with that person, first.
How to Find a Mentor by Jeff Goins is a great article to read when looking for a mentor. As you will note, there are important steps to seeking and finding a mentor.
It may not always be easy to find a mentor at first. However, as the video above stated, there are several companies that have mentoring programs. Therefore, talk with your boss or human resources to find out if your company has a program.
Are you on LinkedIn? By doing a search, you can find alum from your alma mater in your field. That could be a great place to start because you already have something in common – your school. If you didn’t attend or graduate from college, LinkedIn can still be a great place as you meet people in your field and build connections. As stated before, building relationships is key.
SEEKING ADVICE FROM YOUR MENTOR
Once you establish a relationship and find a mentor, remember, this person may not always tell you what you want to hear, but what you need to know – good or bad. If you have someone you can trust, they should be honest with you so you can stretch and grow in your career. Sometimes stretching and growing may mean doing something that is outside your normal “comfort zone” so excel in your career. While it is fine working within the confines of your comfort zone, remember this:
In an effort to grow in your career, you may need to do things you have not done before in order to get where you want to be….and that’s okay! For example, you may end up working on a project with unfamiliar people in a totally different department. Maybe your boss is trying to find out how collaborative you are. Or maybe you have been informed you are the lead on a new initiative within your group. Maybe your boss is trying to evaluate how creative you are. If you find yourself in these kinds of situations, that’s when a mentor can help you. By talking with that person, you may find out they worked on a similar project or initiative and can help give you some great advice.
BEING A GOOD MENTEE IS KEY
Just as finding a good mentor is crucial, being a good mentee is key! Some things to keep in mind is as follows:
1. Your Commitment
One important thing to keep in mind is that you need to be committed for the mentor/mentee relationship to be successful. Therefore, if you ask someone to meet with you, be respectful by making sure you arrive on time. If something unexpected happens and you are not able to keep your appointment, make sure to contact them as soon as possible to reschedule. Always be respectful of others’ time.
2. Your Responsibility
As your mentor is providing you with advice, it is up to you what you do with that advice. Therefore, you will need to take responsibility in this relationship to do what is being asked of you. If you have chosen someone to become your mentor, then it shows you have put trust in that person to advise you, so govern yourself accordingly and do your part.
3. Come Prepared
Because your mentor may be limited for time, come to each meeting prepared with an agenda. Being prepared beforehand will help the meeting be more productive and run smoothly.
4. Provide Honest Feedback
As you meet with your mentor, give honest feedback. He or she is not going to know exactly what is going on in your world if you don’t let them know. Maybe a plan you decided to implement did not work exactly as planned. Let your mentor know that so that you can come up with alternative ways to approach the situation/project at hand.
5. Be Grateful
Remember your mentor is doing this voluntarily. Therefore, take the time to show them how grateful you are for their time. Expressing your gratitude will go a long way.
For more information, watch the below video, “Why You Need a Mentor and How to Find One“:
FINAL THOUGHTS
Finding a mentor to advise you through your career can be critical. Having someone in your field or with similar interests can prove to be extremely helpful to you. Just as taking the steps to find a mentor is important, being a good mentee is just as important. Take the time to start building relationships now – your career may depend on it.
I like to hear from visitors. Was this article helpful to you?
22 thoughts on “Why Having a Mentor Is Important”
Thank you for posting this very important article especially for career-driven individuals like me. I hope you write another article that is related to this one, like how to maintain a good relationship with your mentor and/or list of things to do if your mentor suddenly barely makes time on his mentorship.
Thank you very much for stopping by my website and for the comment. I’m glad you have found my article important. I will keep the suggestion you have made about those additional mentoring topics in mind. In the meantime, I’d like to make some suggestions. If you have a mentor, the best thing to do is make a regular schedule to spend time with him/her. We are currently in times of uncertainty during this global pandemic. Therefore, having face-to-face meetings is a bit more challenging. In that case, having virtual meetings is important to keep up a schedule and not lose touch. Using Zoom, Skype, and phone video chats have quickly become regular modes of communication. If you are finding that your mentor doesn’t have time to work with you, it’s best to find out if they are too busy to take on that role. If so, consider finding a different mentor. Find someone who would have time to spend with you. However, keep in mind that creating a mentor/mentee relationship should not be rushed. It may be the kind of relationship that has to develop over a period of time. I hope the information is helpful to you. Please feel free to visit and ask more questions if you need to around this topic. Once again, thank you for stopping by. I wish you all the best in all your career endeavors.
You are 100% correct, whenever starting a new venture/business a mentor is definitely a must. Without a mentor you can get sucked into all the scams out there and waste a lot of time and money. With a mentor you can have guidance when you are stuck and take on board all the information that a mentor has gained through past experiences and mistakes which they have learned from, in my eyes that is the best way to learn something, by your mistakes.
Learning from someone who has become stronger and wiser from their mistakes is definitely beneficial, rather than you having to go through all the unnecessary scams and confusions, you will always have someone to guide and motivate you.
Thank you for this great article, it will help a lot of people. Have a great day, take care.
Dean.
Thank you, Dean, for visiting and for the comments. You made several great points about the benefits of having a mentor. You are so correct about the role of the mentor and helping the mentee not make the same mistakes. When mentors are transparent about what they’ve learned, that is very valuable. Dodging landmines is extremely important. Thank you, once again, for the comment. Have an awesome week.
Very exhaustive article about mentorship. Having a mentor, I think, is a better way to learn faster and learn more. Although you can learn on your own, the do’s and don’ts about doing something is better to be heard from your mentors. Rather than learning the hard way and committing the same mistakes, it is best to learn from the mentors who had experienced them before. As they say, we should not reinvent the wheel.
Dan, thank you for stopping by and for the comments. You certainly make some valid points. It is a great idea to have a mentor guide you, particularly when you may not know exactly what to do in certain situations. Having that person to help you can certainly make your journey much easier. Learning from your mentor’s experiences can certainly be extremely helpful and valuable. Reinventing the wheel can certainly be avoided that way. Thanks, again, for your comments. Have a wonderful rest of the week.
Mentorship is one of the essential ingredients of success.
In this video, he says that a mentor and a role model are two different things.
That is true.
However, it is not always possible to seek out and establish a direct two-way relationship with a mentor.
If your sphere of influence and your social circle does not include anyone who is worthy of being your mentor, and who is unwilling to “be” your mentor.
Does your mentor need to be someone who “knows” that they are your mentor?
Or can the mentor-mentee relationship be somewhat “informal” in nature… Someone can be your mentor without them ever even knowing it?
If I want to aspire to build a Hyperloop, I certainly cannot expect to establish a mentor-mentee relationship with Elon Musk, for example. I can maybe seek out a successful engineer, at best.
This is where a “role model” comes in at a close second.
I can be “influenced” by someone who inspires me.
But yes, it would be nice, in an ideal world, if everyone could have access to a mentor who is wiling to be your mentor.
Also: Can you *pay* someone to be your mentor?
Thank you for visiting my site and for the comments. You bring up many good points. In the mentoring role, you most certainly can have a more “informal” relationship with someone. If you have someone in your life that is your “go to” person for questions, advice, and guidance – particularly in your career field – then that is when the more informal relationship happens. You may or may not, at some point, formally ask that person if they’d be your mentor. I have actually been in that realm of life myself where I am someone’s “go to” person acting as a mentor and it just automatically happened that way because the person trusted me to give them good advice – but they never asked me to be in that particular role.
What the video was saying is a role model is different in that it is someone who has a vested interest in you (i.e. a parent, sibling, significant other, etc.) while a mentor is someone who is outside that realm of your life. A mentor, many times, is someone you work with or someone in your career field that you can trust to give you advice so that you may advance. Your role model may not necessarily have that shared interest or career aspiration as you.
As you travel through life and your career, keep in mind, everyone has a different set of circumstances. If you don’t feel you can find someone as a mentor, getting someone else to help you with your career aspirations is totally up to you. It all depends on how you and that person evolve in your relationship.
The kind of mentoring I am referring to in this article is not someone who is paid – it is strictly voluntary like someone at work in a mentoring program, etc. Once you start bringing finances into it, that takes on a different type of relationship and is more like a paid adviser. Thank you, once again, for stopping by and for the comments. I am wishing you all the best.
This article is unbelievable and full of great information! I have always wanted to obtain a mentor and have someone to get advice from. I just didn’t know where to start. Now that I have read this article, I know what I need to do. I can’t believe I found this post. Very timely! Thank you so much!
Frankie, thank you so much for stopping by and for your comments. I am so happy you found this article, too! At a time when finding a mentor was very important, I am glad to know I have provided some great information for you to refer to in your search. That is amazing! Take the time to read through link and watch the video I provided in the article. I believe you will find exactly what you need to obtain a great mentor. When you do, please come back and let me know how things are going. I wish you all the best in your future career endeavors!
THIS! I always thought I could do everything on my own but always failed. It wasn’t until I found a mentor to show me the right way of doing thing when things really happened. My mentor always takes an interest in what I’m doing and asks how my business is going. Then gives me tips and ways to increase my income. It’s great and definitely the secret to my success online. Thanks a lot!
Thank you so much, Brandon, for not only stopping by but sharing your own personal experience with having a mentor. Your mentor sounds truly amazing! When someone takes interest in what you’re doing and helps in every way possible to get there, it does make a difference in your success. Keep up the great work and relationship with your mentor – you will continue to have those successes. Thank you, once again, for stopping by and sharing your personal experience with us. I wish you all the best with your online business.
I would have a mentor in every area of my life if I could – cooking, exercise workouts, learning a specific topic, finance, etc. I feel having someone there to assist you in all aspects of your life will only equate to success. Bypassing expensive mistakes to attain more quickly the desired level of expertise really appeals to me. I think having a mentor is the way to attain what you want in life! Thank you for this great article.
Tina, thank you for your comments. I certainly agree with you about having mentors around you. I feel that it is the best way to be successful in all that you do because they take an interest in what you are trying to achieve. They can also help keep you on track when you start to veer off. That can be important so you don’t head off the path of your goals. I truly hope this article helps you in being able to choose and obtain a mentor in your life. Thanks again, for your comments.
I read your article with enthusiasm and fear. It scares me to put myself in someone else’s hands. Having always been a self sufficient individual, the thought of opening up to a mentor and taking the advice they offer is challenging to think about. My mind is saying “that is silly, you’ll only make yourself vulnerable to being hurt or let down”. You have opened my understanding to mentorship and I can see clearly how this can provide benefits. After watching the video you provided, and being in a job that I don’t like, I don’t think the people I work with would make very good mentors. I have no ambition in that career. I will keep my eyes open for potential mentors in the online business world. At this stage, in a small country town, I have not met anyone with the same interests heading in the same direction that could be a potential mentor., thanks to your article. Dave
Thank you, Dave, for your comments and honesty. I am so happy that my article helped you to understand mentoring a bit more. When you first started your comment, I can understand how obtaining a mentor could be a bit intimidating. But, remembering that your mentor is working WITH you toward YOUR goals is key. If you don’t have someone in your area or on your job that you feel you can build a relationship with to ask to become your mentor, by all means, try to find one in your online business. That way, your mentor will have the same interests as you and be able to give you advice in the area of business in which you want to excel. And that is what you want. After you have chosen a mentor, please come back one day to let me know how things are progressing in your business. I wish you all the best.
At least (thanks to your article) I am more open to the idea now. I will certainly let you know if I find a mentor in my journey. I do want to excel and it is great to know there are positive motivated people like yourself helping others. Keep up the good work. Dave
Dave, thank you for responding back to let me know if you find a mentor. Thank you, also, for the very kind words. I appreciate it. I have always had a passion to help others and in helping, sharing information with others is very important to me. Once again, thank you. I look forward to hearing back from you.
I love this article! Just the other day, a friend and I were talking about me getting a mentor – someone who can help push me out of my comfort zone. Unfortunately, I was unsuccessful in this. Yes, it’s hard because we need to keep in mind that those people need us to be committed and serious just as much as we need them to be.
I did inform her that I only have six hours a day to finish what needs to be done, but she wasn’t having it saying she doesn’t have the time or desire to do something like that just yet. Hence, the reason we need to keep in mind what the person we are asking to be our mentors are going through or what their current circumstances are before asking them. My mistake! Lol.
This article really helped me. It gave me something to think about. Thank you so much. May you have a lovely day.
Angel
Angel, thank you so much for visiting my site and leaving a comment on my article. It is amazing you are currently looking for a mentor. However, you are right about making sure the person you ask has the time to spend with you. That’s why it is a good idea to make sure you build the relationship. If you find someone to mentor you in the future, make sure you nurture the relationship before diving in and asking. I am so happy this article has helped you. I hope you have a lovely day as well.
Fantastic article and this is definitely, by far, a must read for everyone. I, myself, at 50 years old have numerous mentors that have guided my through my life’s journey from sports coaches to drum mentors. Today, I still have a mentor I became an online affiliate marketer a few months back and through my program I found a fantastic woman who mentors and guides me. Your whole life you need them you may not always like what they have say but in the long run they are just looking at your best interests and wanting to see you succeed.
Yvette, thank you for this very powerful message. One can learn a lot from you.
Keep rocking your success,
David
Thank you, David, for stopping by and for the kind words. You are right that no matter how old you are, you can still learn from others – including a mentor. I, too, have a mentor to this day. Mentors who advise us are valuable our whole lives through – in all types of ventures. I am glad you have found such a fantastic person to mentor you on your affiliate marketing journey. Thank you, once again, for stopping by and for such kind words. Have an awesome rest of the week.