Make the Most of Your Mentor
Richard Branson said, “If you ask any successful business person, they will always have had a great mentor at some point along the road.” Oprah Winfrey said, “No one makes it alone. Nobody has made it alone.”
We can all benefit from the wisdom of others, especially those who have walked before us. They can help us from making similar mistakes and support taking greater leaps in our own development. There have been many famous mentoring mentee relationships including:
Steve Jobs mentoring Mark Zuckerberg
Maya Angelou mentoring Oprah Winfrey
Christian Dior mentoring Yves Saint-Laurent
Warren Buffett mentoring Bill Gates
Steven Spielberg mentoring J.J. Abrams
Socrates mentoring Plato – Plato mentoring Aristotle
Audrey Hepburn mentoring Elizabeth Taylor
When we ask to meet with someone to benefit from their experience, we need to make the most of ours and their time. One Minute Mentoring by Ken Blanchard outlines what a good mentoring relationship looks like. Could you use this as your own checklist when you before approaching someone?
Mission:
Action: Create a vision and purpose for your mentoring relationship to set direction and intention
To consider: Important that they share your key values. Remember that mentoring adds value from both sides., mentees have knowledge to offer as well.
Engagement:
Action: Agree ways to engage for your personalities and schedules
To consider: Always thank them for their time. Make a commitment to regularly connect. Determine if in person or virtual and leverage all communication channels (digital, phone, in person). Set a schedule in advance or closer to the time?
Networking:
Action: Leverage each other’s connections to expand your network of contacts.
To consider: Ask “who would be worth connecting with about this?” These connections can go both ways. Make them aware you are connecting with others, so they know.
Trust:
Action: Build and maintain trust by telling the truth, staying connected and being dependable
To consider: Building trust takes time and can be lost in an instant. Honest, clear and frequent communication can deepen trust. If there is any miscommunication/misunderstanding, talk about it and deal with this as quickly as possible.
Opportunity:
Action: Create opportunities for each other to grow
To consider: To determine clear actions from each conversation, projects, initiatives. Something to follow up on.
Review and Renewal:
Action: Schedule a regular time to review progress and renew your mentoring relationship.
To consider: You’ll never know you have arrived if you don’t do regular reviews. Schedule a review once a year and do this at the time you agree the purpose of your mentoring relationship. This ensures things stay on track.