Stikkord: Business Mentor

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How to find the right mentor

The topic is still very important, how do you find the right one. The question isn´t IF you should have a mentor or not, but how to find the right mentor.

But it is not that easy… 

Here is the crash course from Leslie Rapp the director of training and development at Menttium, a provider of corporate mentoring services and research metrics on business mentoring based in Minneapolis.

 

  • First, think about you. Exactly why do you need a mentor? What do you hope to learn? Then figure out the kind of person who can best inspire you. For example, if you’re starting from scratch, look for a mentor who did, too.
  • Do you actually need a mentor? If you have a specific problem to solve, you may want a consultant. If you’re stuck in a rut, a professional coach could be a better choice.
  • Start with small talk. You meet potential mentors every day, not that they go around introducing themselves that way. Ask them about their work and their life, and see where it leads. Rapp particularly likes to ask how they came to do the work they do: «I never get a straight-line answer, and the story tells me a lot.»
  • Then spell out what you want. Asking «Will you be my mentor?» is a pretty sure way to make potential mentors flee. Instead, say you want to learn more about what they do and that they would be a great resource. Suggest meeting every quarter, or having coffee once a month. Be specific.
  • The answer may be no, and that’s OK. Keep searching, and know that you’re a good judge of character: Great mentors don’t say yes to things they can’t commit to.

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    What is your experience, tell us here at www.mentorguru.info about how you will find the right mentor for you.

    Good luck!

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    Demystifying Mentoring

    Amy Gallo writes an long article in Harvard Business Journal about mentoring and she wants to demystifying mentoring for us all. The article is good and therefor I want to put some of it on my blog and also a link to the rest of the article.

    When people think of mentoring, they often think of an older executive counseling a young upstart. The senior leader advises the junior employee on his career, how to navigate the world of work, and what he needs to do to get ahead. But mentoring has changed a lot in the last few decades. Just as the notion of a 50-year linear career with a single company or in one industry is outdated, so is the idea that career advice must come from a wise old sage. The traditional mentor-mentee relationship is not necessarily a thing of the past, but it’s no longer the standard. Now, there are many ways to get the information and guidance you need.

    To read more, click here: http://blogs.hbr.org/hmu/2011/02/demystifying-mentoring.html

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    Business Mentoring Works . . . Ask Rose

    This is a very good example for a business mentors good work. For Entrepreneurs it should be an opportunity to get a mentor early in the business. They can help with a lot of things.

    With her mentor’s help, Rose built a successful business loan application and qualified for the loan she needed to open the doors of her new store.

    Read more here: www.micromentor.org