How can you benefit from having a mentor when starting a career in partnerships?

Mentors come in all shapes and sizes, and can sometimes just appear or be sought. They can provide direct or indirect resources, but always give you what you need in the form of guidance via their experiences. They allow you to make your own mistakes, and encourage you to carve out your own style, and show you where to look but never tell you what to see.

A mentor in partnerships provides invaluable guidance, sharing real-world experiences and insights. They accelerate your learning curve, helping you navigate challenges and avoid pitfalls. Their network becomes your network, opening doors and creating opportunities. They offer constructive feedback, fostering personal and professional growth. A mentor can provide a different perspective, challenging your assumptions and encouraging innovation. Ultimately, having a mentor in partnerships not only accelerates your career development but also enhances your ability to build successful and lasting professional relationships.

In my experience, the nuances of partnership dynamics are often learned through trial and error, which can be costly. Early in my career, a mentor taught me the importance of ‘partnership language’—the way we communicate and the terms we use—which varies significantly across industries. This insight was invaluable, as it helped me craft conversations and agreements that were both clear and considerate of each party's cultural and operational norms.

Love Stephanie's mention of the partnership language which is weird and wonderful. I've watched my son try to get involved with partnerships. Unless someone's willing to take you on, and take a chance on you, a mentor, the barrier to entry can be fairly high for folks trying to find their way into the space purposefully (rather than by accident which seems to be the case for many of us.)

One thing I’ve found helpful is attending industry networking events and actively participating in relevant discussions. During one such event, I connected with a leader who later became my mentor. I approached her not with a direct mentorship request, but with a genuine inquiry about a challenge I was facing. This sparked a conversation that organically evolved into a mentorship relationship. Being genuinely curious and seeking advice, rather than a formal mentorship, can sometimes open doors to valuable professional relationships.

Clarity is important. My mentor can help as much as he does because he has a strong grasp of the firm's mission, and he is aware of the short and mid-term goals set to advance the mission. So apart from seeking his support on opportunities I identify, he also actively sends potential partners my way because he had the toolkit to do an initial assessment.

Setting meeting cadence is key to the sustainability of the mentorship, but making sure a line of communication is always open to encourage transparency is vital. Make sure that you agree on a communication channel that is preferred by the mentor, and the goals you seek are clear and achievable. Be appreciative and demonstrate the value of their guidance by applying what you’ve you’ve learnt and sharing the results.

I measure the impact of mentorship qualitatively by reflecting on how my approach to partnerships has evolved. For example, I track the number of successful partnership agreements I’ve closed, the growth in my professional network, and feedback from peers and partners. Quantitatively, I assess specific goal achievements tied to our mentorship conversations, like increased revenue from partnerships or improved partner satisfaction scores.

I'm immensely thankful to my mentor, Gbenga Owolabi. He bridged crucial gaps for me, helping me make a lot of progress in a short time. Our mentorship evolved, and now I actively seek and introduce new opportunities to him while also keeping him abreast of my progress.

An often-overlooked aspect of mentorship is the emotional support mentors can provide. Starting a career in partnerships can be as daunting as it is exciting, and it's easy to feel overwhelmed. A mentor who has navigated similar emotional terrain can offer not just strategic guidance, but also empathy and moral support. They can be a sounding board for frustrations and a cheerleader for your successes, which is an invaluable source of motivation and resilience in a competitive field.