Why look for a Mentor

I am always feel honoured to be a trusted part of my mentees journey. I feel even more blessed to receive words like this. I feel this includes key points on how to know why and when you may be looking for a mentor – note this has been kept anonymous due to his role.

So why look for a mentor?

There are many reasons why you might be asking yourself this question. It might be that you want a business mentor to help improve how your business is conducted, it might be that you are looking for a personal development mentor. Everyone has their own reasons specific to them. Mine was that I had recently changed direction in my career. I had been a manager for many years, which was a role I enjoyed, but I found that through job drift, I was a manager in the wrong role, in the wrong career. I wasn’t doing what made me happy, what I had enjoyed doing previously in my career. A step change was required, and so after much thought and discussions with those closest to me I decided to change careers. 

Being in a new role with new challenges was refreshing and reignited my fire for professional development and self-improvement, but it was like going back to school. I was starting virtually from scratch with only my wits and limited previous experience in the subject matter to carry me through. I was also the only person in my organisation with any previous experience in my role, and so I had no one to relate to, or bounce ideas off of. I was feeling a little lost and required some help to guide and nudge me in the right direction and also to provide support so that I didn’t feel completely lost at sea. What I needed was a mentor, a compass to guide me, someone who wouldn’t force a direction, but someone who would help to steady my hand on the tiller. And this is where Angela came in.

What it was like working with Angela

Angela is a calm, reflective person who listens carefully before using her extensive knowledge and experience to guide you along your mentee journey. The most interesting aspect I found in the beginning was that Angela wasn’t telling me what I should do, she was asking me what I wanted, and how did I want to get there. She was getting me to look closely at myself, to discover what made me tick and to look at what my aims truly were. From here, I had a solid starting point with a destination, somewhere and something I could aim for, all the while having Angela there to provide support and guidance throughout. All of a sudden, I felt less lost, and immediately felt happier having structure and a framework for my future.

 Everyone’s journey will be different, but mine was full of “wow” moments. Angela would listen to me talk, pick up on something I had said and then offer a suggestion. It was often very subtle, but enough for me to stop and think, then bring my palm to my forehead whilst wondering why I had not thought of such a good idea myself. But it was enough, a small spark provided by Angela that then sent me down a specific direction with enthusiasm that could turn it into a flame. And so, this is how the partnership between Angela and me progressed. I continued to work towards my aim whilst Angela gave me those “wow” moments along the way.

How do you know how long you need to work with your mentor?

There comes a time when you no longer need someone else to guide you, a time when you can go off by yourself, but know that you always have someone to go to if you just need a little nudge in the right direction. And this is how a good mentor/mentee partnership should be. It was the same for Angela and me. I felt ready to leave the mentor programme and go my own way, but with a purpose and direction that I didn’t have before the mentor programme started. All this thanks to Angela. I can honestly say that choosing Angela as my mentor was one of the best decisions I had made in my professional career. 

So why look for a mentor?

So why look for a mentor? There are many reasons why you might be asking yourself this question, but if direction, purpose, guidance, empowerment, enlightenment and self-belief form part of the answers that you are looking for, then Angela is most definitely the person you should be going to.