On How to Find Your Next Mentor

1 Idea💡

When it comes to developing leadership skills in yourself and your team, few investments offer a better return than formal mentorship.

Establishing a trusting relationship with a more experienced leader can provide you with valuable knowledge, perspectives, resources and connections to dramatically accelerate your career.

It’s no surprise that 84% of Fortune 500 Companies have formal mentorship programs.

What is surprising is that 76% of people believe mentorship is important, while only 37% of people have a mentor

Why the gap?

In my experience, most mentor-less leaders simply don’t know where to start.

When I first considered finding a mentor early in my career, I got side-tracked by a laundry list of ‘what-if’s.

• What if I choose the wrong mentor?

• What if I ask someone and they say no?

• What if they’re too busy?

• What if I’m too busy?

• What if our meetings are awkward and we run out of things to discuss?

• What if they give me advice I disagree with?

The process of finding a mentor felt nebulous and overwhelming. But it only felt that way because I didn’t have a plan.

Whether you’re in-between mentors, or completely new to the idea, here’s a simple system for finding your next life-changing mentor, inspired by the work of Dorie Clark, a world-renowned career strategy consultant.

1. Make a List 📋

   Identify 10 people you admire and write down why.

2. Set Your Contact Frequency 📅

   Decide on a realistic meeting frequency for each person on your list (e.g., monthly coffee date, quarterly video call, etc.).

3. Request a Meeting📨

   Send a note asking if they’d be willing to connect so you can learn more about them and their career. Remember, the secret to building rapid rapport is to focus on being interested, not on being interesting.

4. Prepare Your Questions❓

   Think through what you hope to learn from them and prepare 5-7 open-ended questions. Preparing ahead of time demonstrates respect for their time and energy.

5. Offer Help🙋‍♂️

   It could be as simple as commenting on their blog posts, making an introduction to someone in your network, or sharing your perspective on a topic they want to learn more about. What would be most helpful to them? You won’t know until you ask. And whether they take you up on your offer or not, making the offer signals that you’re willing to invest in their success as well.

In sum, if you don’t have a mentor, you’re missing out on a golden opportunity to invest in your success and, by extension, the success of your team.

Rather than waiting for a mentor to tap you on the shoulder, take ownership of your career by intentionally designing a mentor-mentee relationship that works for you.

Did this week’s topic resonate with you? Hit ‘reply’ and let me know!

Want some help building a culture of mentorship in your organization? Book a free consultation and let’s talk about it!

See you next Wednesday,

Darin

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