I have a Manager, but want a Mentor
I have a Manager, but want a Mentor
Q: I’m a young professional working at a company I highly respect. I’m interested in advancing my skills and knowledge and think mentoring would really help. What makes a good match in a mentor and how do I ask a senior-level colleague for help?A:
You are absolutely right; working with a mentor can be a really valuable work experience. The experience provides an opportunity for visibility within the organization that you might not otherwise gain. This is especially true if you’re partnered with a more senior person who can give you exposure and demonstrate what happens at a senior level. If your organization doesn’t already have a mentoring program in place, look around at your company. Identify someone you’d like to have as a mentor, and have a reason why. What do you think he or she can offer? What do you want to gain? What can you offer him or her? The best mentoring relationships are mutual. Even as a junior member of the company, you have valuable skills to offer. Perhaps you’re a technology or social media whiz or can offer writing expertise to a very technical person. The skill match in the relationship is an important component to consider, both for what you want to gain and what you have to offer.
Many mentoring relationships happen organically, where a senior person takes a junior person under his or her wing. But as our work lives get busier and more hectic, that organic mentorship development doesn’t happen as often and people no longer think that they have anything to offer by being a mentor. Sometimes, they just don’t want the added stress of taking someone on.
If you believe you’ve found a good person to be your mentor, start by having a conversation with your manager. Your manager may wonder why you haven’t selected him or her to be your mentor, so be prepared to detail the reasons why your selected person would be the best mentor for you instead. Your manager is able to offer you other important learning and performance development opportunities, but a mentor is really intended to provide information on a broader organizational level.
Next, develop a list of what you think the mentor relationship would look like, down to logistics. How much time would be involved? Will there be set, specific meetings or informal conversations over coffee? Would these be face-to-face meetings or email communication? When you approach the person, ask how his or her approach would match your ideal situation. Another critical part is determining if you think the person would be inclined to say yes. Do you feel like he or she knows and likes you? Do you think the person would like to spend more time with you? Does he or she perceive you as a high-potential person at the organization who can grow from investment? If so, set up a formal meeting, letting your mentor know what it is about his or her background that you respect and are interested in. Ask if he or she has ever served as a mentor before and if it is something he or she would be willing to do for you. Describe what your expectations are for the experience or knowledge you’d like to gain, and then gauge from there what the level of interest. Ask what he or she sees as an effective and comfortable level of commitment to a mentee and try to set something up.
Remember that your company gains from mentorships as well. Organizations often use mentoring for retention, to identify high potentials, or to learn about the breadth of employees’ skills that they can capitalize on. Mentors will also learn more about how their junior colleagues experience work, such as the company culture or challenges they see in the workplace. Without the mentor/mentee relationship, senior-level people might not become aware of critical issues. Younger workers also often have different perspectives and approaches to business problems that could yield better solutions. This adds to the senior person’s expertise in important ways.
Every organization benefits from having a more skilled and knowledgeable workforce. Even if it’s one person at a time, it is valuable to the company.
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