How do I select a mentor?
I know... I know I need a mentor for my career! But... How do I choose my mentor(s)?
Be it a formal and an informal mentor, if you are not sure how to go about choosing your mentors below are the tips to do!
1. Know the exacts of YOU - Identity area, where you are unclear/, need guidance to meet your goals? for eg. if you are trying to shift domain or shift role or shift company it can be anything but if you are thinking about one of this then it is good to talk to folks who have already done it.
2. The best way is to ASK! Some people never get what they want in life because they never ask for it. If you don't know this person but if you know they will be the right mentor, then reach out to them via email [if they are within your organization] or LinkedIn [if they are outside your organization] but when you reach out you need to be clear on 1. why they need to be your mentor? 2. what do you plan to learn from them? 3. what kind of time commitment you are expecting from the mentor?
3. It's always not take, take and take, you also GIVE. You should always build a good connection with your mentors - [it's a relationship] mostly it grows and in fact, they try to direct you to a different set of mentors after few sessions where you can learn more to grow your career. You should also think about how you can add value to their life/career.
4. Be CLEAR - A mentor is not a manager, coach, or a sponsor you need to be clear on this, they bring rich experience / help you to open your mind and see this world open which usually helps to take the right decision in your career as well as share their tips/recommendations which may or may not work for you. You should understand they’re only adding perspectives.
In summary, this is a relationship/connection you are building for the long term. Most of my mentors finally turned up as a good friend for me and now I can just pick up my phone and talk to them.
CIO ? Transformational Leader ? Private Equity ? Strategy to Execution ? Operations ? Business ? Products ? Customers
3 年Wonderful article Deepa Vijayaraghavan ! Absolutely agree it’s a two way relationship and I’ve enjoyed this from both a mentee and mentor position.
Senior Technical Program Manager at Amazon
3 年This helps Deepa ??
CEO & Cofounder @ Mind and Mom | Women's Healthcare
3 年Simple yet powerful tips Deepa! The one tip that really helped me in picking a mentor is finding someone who's a 2X better version of me. Someone whom I like to be in the next couple of years. When I was a junior Product Manager may be a senior Product Manager(a good one) types. This way I was able to give and take a lot of values from them.