As a leader, who do you go to with your questions? Who is the person that pushes you to be a better version of yourself? Who encourages you to learn, progress, and improve? No matter if it is your first day at a new company or you are the CEO, having a mentor can be one of your greatest tools to succeed.
A mentor is a co-worker, someone you network with, or even a friend who helps you build confidence and trust in yourself. They help you develop strong behaviors and habits to be successful in your organization. This is not someone who makes decisions for you or disciplines you due to certain choices or behaviors you make.
There are many benefits to working with a mentor and developing a strong professional relationship. Here are a few reasons why you should consider working with a mentor.
Helps You Identify Career Goals
What do you want out of your career? What are you working towards? Are you setting both short-term and long-term goals? A mentor can be one of your greatest resources to help you recognize your goals and establish plans to achieve these goals.
When working with a mentor, they can help you identify goals that are attainable and realistic. They can help you recognize goals that will help you progress personally and professionally. They can also hold you accountable as you work towards these goals and can motivate you when you want to give up.
Builds Your Confidence
If you make a poor decision, your company is struggling, or your self-esteem is wavering, a good mentor can help you build your confidence. They can remind you of your past achievements and the talents that you possess. Sometimes, you just need a little reminder of your strengths and a mentor is an excellent person to do this.
Helps You Recognize New Career Opportunities
New career opportunities may be right in front of you but are difficult to see. You may be blinded by tasks, people, responsibilities, etc. When working with a mentor, he or she can look at these opportunities from an outside perspective. They do not have the emotional attachment that you will have and they can offer you unbiased advice.
Pushes You Out of Your Comfort Zone
It is easy to become complacent in our careers. When we are successful in our current positions, we do not want to change that. However, the only way we can become better is if we are pushed outside of our comfort zones. Whether we take on new responsibilities, learn a new skill, or begin to use a new piece of technology, it is important that we are continually learning and progressing. Mentors can give us that push we need and help us avoid becoming complacent.
All individuals, including leaders, need mentors but sometimes these individuals are hard to find. At Diary of an Entrepreneur, we provide a community of powerful businesswomen, entrepreneurs, and leaders to support, encourage, and mentor one another. We also offer a large collection of resources to help you along the way. Check it out to learn more.
