Why is having a Mentor so important?

If you've not had a mentor before I fully advocate getting one to help you learn both personally and professionally. I've had the privilege of having some great mentors previously on my NED training with?OnBoard Programme,?but if you haven't had a mentor before it can be quite daunting...

Here are my top tips on why having a mentor is important!

1. It'll teach you new skills: Mentors can help with hard skills, if there is something you don't know how to do they can physically show you, but more than that if you have ideas you want to bounce around or you want some advice on big decisions they can help guide you.

2. It'll keep you moving: There's nothing worse when you have a poor leader and you feel like all the energy and get up and go has been sucked out. Having another person who is Senior to you can help you process when things aren't going so well and help you face challenges and overcome them, even if your Manager is a douche and is limiting your learning and progression.

3. It'll open your network: Never have I yet had a mentor that hasn't opened up further connections for me. When I've been stuck on certain knowledge gaps every single time if a mentor can't help directly or they've thought I'd benefit from another perspective they have opened up their black books and given me even more opportunity to learn.

4. It'll make you more open-minded: Not only is having a mentor good for professional development but I always find it does wonders on personal development as well. It gives you access to people who have been on different journeys, perhaps from a different industry, walk of life or culture and makes it easier to understand different perspectives.

5. It'll keep you accountable on your own development: It's really easy to attend a course when your employer sends you or you decide it's time to upskill, but development and learning is an ongoing process. Having a regular mentor means you can set goals together and they can help you stay on track, rather than putting off your development and saying your too busy to invest in yourself.

So if you work in Events, I suggest heading over to?ELEVATE Mentoring?who have opened up their 6th season of mentoring and coaching, and if you work in Hospitality come over and join us at?Otolo?where you can meet global connections and mentors that can help you progress.