When it comes to finding a mentor, what do you look for? In fact, the search goes deeper than that - in order to find an excellent mentor, it’s important to understand what you wish to gain from their mentorship in the first place.
In any scenario, a mentor can provide guidance, support, and the opportunity to accelerate your learning immensely. This can be in a professional scenario, such as a business mentor, or for a more focused form of study, such as learning to code. At Calmer, we focus on providing support to entrepreneurs, and professional teams, taking a more holistic approach when it comes to navigating towards business success in a healthy, happy way.
Whatever your motivations in finding a mentor, we hope this guide will prove useful in finding the perfect person to support you.
1. Set your goal
When it comes to finding a fitting mentor, it’s important to be clear on what you wish to achieve when seeking support. While there may be many mentors that make a good fit for you out there, if you are unclear on what you wish to get out of their guidance, you will find yourself feeling less than fulfilled with their support.
So, the first step is to set out your “mentoring mission” - do you wish to land a job at a specific business? Or perhaps you’d like to learn how to run your own business? Take a note of the overall goal, as well as any smaller aims that come under this. These can form conversational points to discuss when meeting with your chosen mentor.
2. Do your research
Now that you have your goal set, look for people who will be able to provide guidance around that, rather than simply following a big name, or someone that’s easy to reach out to. Role models are a brilliant source of inspiration, but a good mentor will be more closely linked to what you do.
Spending time researching the right people who can relate to your challenges, especially those who have navigated some of your obstacles already, can add true value to your business. And remember - there may not be a mentor cut out to support you with every challenge, but their advice may support in shared circumstances as well as those you are facing currently.
3. Grow your relationship over time
When it comes to meeting with your chosen mentor, let the relationship grow naturally. Some of the best mentor-mentee relationships come naturally, so on your initial meeting, see if you naturally get on, and over time introduce the idea of being mentored, or gaining insight into how they got to where they are now.
Of course, if you prefer a more formal relationship, you could approach your mentorship from a professional offering this as a service. As Calmer, we provide 1-2-1 support entrepreneur mentoring, or team support, or you could explore networks such as We Are The City to find appropriate support in your field.
4. Appreciate their time
When meeting with a mentor, the chances are their time is limited. This is especially true if you are approaching an entrepreneur or business leader, so make it clear that you appreciate their time by being punctual, prepared, and keeping to time. This kind of respect will also go a long way in their appreciation of you, and makes a good impression of how you operate in your professional role too.
5. Be open and listen
When it comes to making the most of your mentoring sessions, it’s crucial that you are open to new ideas, and can listen to any feedback or advice you are given by your mentor.
While the ultimate goal is to support you in your career path, your mentoring sessions are a give-and-take scenario, sometimes requiring you to talk more about your business, and at other times, requiring you to listen to advice and the experience of your mentor.
You will also benefit the most from your mentoring if you are up-front, open, and transparent about how you conduct yourself in business. By keeping back information, you may find their advice not as relevant or appropriate.
6. Reflect on your mentorship
Finally, just like your own journey, it’s important to reflect every once in a while. Each mentor offers something different, and some of their advice will work, some of it not so much. It’s important that you put their advice into action during your mentorship, and show if you have or have not benefitted from their guidance.
Be open with your mentor - they may suss out that their advice isn’t as supportive as you may need, or you may need to express this. Either way, it’s important to value their time and effort spent with you, and show how much you appreciate it. And for the mentors that truly do support you and your business - make this known! Gratitude goes a long way.
Looking for a place to find a mentor? Join the Calmer Community for valuable holistic advice and meet a group of likeminded professionals at our discounted events.