How do you align your goals with your mentor's expectations and expertise?

All successful professionals at some time in their career had a mentor or engaged a coach. It is a true gift to find a mentor or coach that has demonstrated success in their own chosen field, someone that was once where you are today and was able to reach the career heights you desire. Your mentor or coach should be respected, have high credibility and integrity, someone you can trust and emulate and is willing to mentor you in strategically mapping your career.

To identify the right mentor, you must first build your self-awareness. You must first figure out what leadership skills you don't know or have, then network to find a mentor that will you help build those skills. Your mentor must be respected, have high credibility and integrity, someone you can trust and emulate and is willing to mentor you in strategically mapping your career. I believe that a young executive that desires to become a future leader needs to have a vision of what they want to achieve in their career, and if being a leader is their ultimate goal...what kind of leader do they want to be? To do this, I believe one needs to develop their knowledge reservoir and finding the right mentor will be invaluable.

Psychological safety is extremely important. Don’t underestimate the importance of starting your mentoring sessions by letting the other person know what is said in a mentorship context is confidential.

Confidentially is absolutely necessary in all mentoring relationships, followed by being honest with yourself and your mentor. If you know your leadership challenges and areas for development, you must share that information with your mentor. Only then will you develop a strong, rewarding and meaningful relationship with your mentor.

All mentoring relationships must begin with a plan for expectations. It must include clearing defined goals. What is the Metrics for mentoring success. Can your leadership development goals be tracked?

The greatest tool or skill a mentee can develop from a mentoring relationship is the ability to know when and how to seek feedback, both from their mentor and colleagues. Learn the power of feedback to advance in your career. If you don't know what you need to work on, how do you know you are on the right path to leadership?

Understand, everyone wants to be appreciated. A mentor is no different than any other person and professional. Show your gratitude and be sure to give your mentor feedback. Even they have the ability to improve their mentoring skills. Don't ever forget, a mentor does what they do as a way to give back or pay it forward. They really don't need to mentor you, they do it because they care about you and truly want you to have a successful career.

Leaders do not just show up. They are not born! My experience tells me something profound happens along the way to becoming a leader and great leaders always had someone come into their life that saw something and helps develop and influence their leadership skills. I was fortunate, I had the wonderful experience to have a mentor early in my career and I have three memorable things my mentor told me; think and act like the company president and you will become the company president! If you're not the smartest person in the room... act like you are! And when you do become president, be humble and only hire people smarter than you...then get out of their way and let them do their job! Remember, you must be willing to work to lead!