What types of mentors should you have?

There are three key categories of professionals who will help shape your career: 

1. Managers
2. Executive Mentors
3. Peer Mentors 

Looking at these categories, it’s important to first understand, what is a mentor?  

noun | an experienced and trusted adviser.

verb | to advise or train (someone, especially a younger colleague).

First, there is a difference between your manager and a mentor.

Your manager can (and should) advise, train and teach you. They should help you plan and achieve your next career advancement. In other words, your manager can mentor you (verb), but your manager should not be your formal mentor (noun).

The real value from mentors (noun) comes from the fact that they are removed from your reporting chain or your day-to-day. This allows them to provide an objective perspective on any situation. The mentor-mentee relationship should be honest and penalty-free.

You may need advice on how to talk to your management about something: a promotion, a job change, an HR concern. This may be something you are not comfortable talking to your manager about just yet. 

This is where your executive mentor(s) come in. 

Executive mentors have a wealth of knowledge and experience. They are much further along in their career, have achieved a role that you aspire to, and can provide immense value to you as an up-and-coming professional. Having two or three in different parts or levels of the organization can prove to be very valuable. They each will have different perspectives and backgrounds, connect you to different types of people, and help chart a path for you that you may not have considered.

The third role that will be critical to your career success are peer mentors. Peer mentors are closer in relation to your job function or level in the organization, and the relationship may be less formal.

• Some may be at your level but in a different job function or industry. 
• Some may be in your exact role and will be invaluable to you as you start a position you’ve never done before. Whether they’ve done the job for 2 years or 20, you can learn a lot from someone who has experience in the role.

Having peer mentors allows you to observe different styles and share ideas.

Finally, you don’t have to enter into a mentor-mentee relationship with everyone you meet. Just last week Sabrina Gill, IBM Director, said to me “a mentor has to fit both ways.” 

It’s OK to be selective; you won’t “click” with everyone. Some mentors come and go and are helpful for a particular time in your life or career. Some stick around for years or decades, and the relationship only continues to grow.

A 2019 Forbes article put it perfectly, “Many people make the mistake of looking for one perfect mentor that embodies everything they want to be. Finding that one person may not be possible. Instead, think about it as a search for an advisory board.” (Forbes)

Got the first meeting?

Next article: 6 questions to ask your mentor