What I need from a mentor

Mentoring is a proven way of ramping up to a new task/ business very quickly. Haven’t we all been getting mentored ever since we were born? First, it was our parents who held our finger and taught us to walk, then our teachers who taught us all those subjects and imparted other life skills - the mentoring never ends!

Looking for guidance from a mentor does not mean that you are inept; it just means that you are smart and would like to learn fast! A quick learner, after all, is always considered to be an asset! So when you start to do something new professionally, a mentor can help you in many ways. He/she is someone who has more experience in the field where you have set out afresh and is willing to offer his/her experience to you for your growth and success.

However, what and how much you draw from this unique relationship depends on you – the mentee. Here are some key points that can help you:

1) Knowledge and skills: Your mentor can pass all his/her skills and tricks of the trade to you helping you to ramp up really fast. It’s like a simulated flight system where you can ‘imagine’ and experience how the actual flight will be, before the actual take-off!

2) Learn, learn and learn more: Show your willingness to learn more and more. Your inquisitiveness will reflect in a desire for your mentor to give you more information.

3) Learn the pitfalls: Mentors have ‘been there before you and done it all‘. Learn from their mistakes and make them the foundation of your success story.

4) Formulate a skill-building plan/roadmap: Discuss and make a broad plan for transfer of skills from your mentor to you. Jotting down the key skills that you need to acquire can be used as a roadmap and a checklist as well, to ensure that important knowledge is not left out.

5) Relationship building: Learn from your mentor how to reach out to people for your line of work, and build trust, relations and use them for promoting your business/profession.

6) Use his/her contact network: Having a mentor is likely to get you access to his/her network, which you can leverage to your advantage. If you are stuck with an issue, and your mentor does not have a solution for it, his/her connections may help you to reach out to someone else who does… You get the One plus One Mentor Benefit - multifold!!

7) Frank constructive feedback: Seek positive and constructive advice and feedback from your mentor. Ask for review on matters that you have planned and executed, before final delivery. Take his/her review comments in your stride.

8) Open communication: You should look for open communication where ideas are shared. It should be a two-way communication rather than just top-down guidance.

9) “Learning”, not “leaning”: Having a mentor does not mean that you stop doing your own work and start relying on him/her for all your problems – He/she is an advisor, but the real driver has to be you. Be specific and do your homework well, ask your questions well to get exact advice, rather than a whole sack of expertise that you would not know how to use in your present situation.

Finding the right mentor can help fastrack your way to success. Let your mentor’s experience become your success mantra!