The Importance of Mentorship
Mentoring allows a person with a lot of knowledge and experience to connect with someone who hasn’t gained the same knowledge or experience, ultimately providing a pathway for learning and guidance. Mentoring can be focused on providing support for careers, lifestyle, entrepreneurship – the opportunities are endless! Having a mentor can be crucial for continued growth and development, and can also provide key networking opportunities outside of your everyday social bubble.
When entering a mentorship collaboration, you would be considered a mentee, and the person guiding you would be your mentor. A great mentor is someone who offers insights and expertise to help you grow your skills, make better decisions, and gain new perspectives on your life and career. Your mentor can leverage their experience and expertise to guide you on your career path or life choices now and in the future.
Mentees: Get Past the Intimidation
As a mentee, you may feel like you have to open up about all your challenges and failures, which can certainly be intimidating. Mentorship is not a 1-way street; it’s a give and take relationship that allows for the building of trust and camaraderie. It’s important to remember that you are equally providing a benefit to your mentor, not just taking all their advice!
Mentors: Shine Your Light
Mentors become a role model to their mentees over time, while also building on their leadership skills and instilling confidence in their areas of expertise. For a mentor, having a mentee to impart their knowledge to is a wonderful opportunity to feel empowered and emboldened by their own knowledge; a chance to shine their light for others to see. Being a mentor also looks great on a resume, and demonstrates leadership qualities that are often sought after for high-level positions.
Questions to Ask During a Mentorship Session
If you are entering a mentorship relationship, it can be helpful to focus on specific questions from the outset, to help you set the tone and keep track of the conversational themes. Questions to consider include:
- Why did you decide to be a mentor // Why did you wish to find a mentor?
- What are your goals for being a mentor // What are you goals for having a mentor?
- What are some challenges you have experienced, and how did you overcome them?
- What skills do you see in other leaders // What skills could I work on to become more successful?
No matter how it all comes together, mentorship is an excellent tool to help you gain advice from others who have gained years of experience, in order to help you succeed in any area of your life. Ask in your networks of any Mentorship programs that may be available to you – and if you haven’t already, join our RevolutionHer™ Mentorship Program to get you started on a helpful path right away!