WHY HAVE A MENTOR?
In a world where experience is vital, and some lessons can only be learnt by doing, the use of a mentor can be priceless in gaining experience, coaching and invaluable knowledge. Mentoring itself has existed in many forms. Consider the captain leading his army on a field of battle, having trained up his soldiers in war craft and sword fighting. In a modern world, it may be the CEO of several companies, coaching a young entrepreneur through his first deal, highlighting areas of his own past where he learnt valuable information, by doing.
Having a mentor is not just about taking advice from those who know what they’re doing. It’s also about having a form of support and understanding from someone who has not only been in your shoes but has walked miles in them. It is a unique journey and partnership where many people not only find a coach or an advisor, but a friend for life.
Keep reading for 5 more reasons on why you should have a mentor;
1. Get valuable opinions and advice
Mentors have essentially been there, done that and are ready to offer their advice based on their own experiences and knowledge of their industry. Allow them to guide you through, and you may find that you develop new and improved methods and practices, based on your mentor's advice and tailored to you.
2. Stimulate your personal and professional growth
Mentors are a wealth of information and expertise, and they often are able to identify that in others and help them to succeed. Many mentors are often managers or leaders of their own team, so working with others and pushing them to develop and grow is one of their top skills. On top of this, they are also teachers – they can help you learn what you need to know or do or point you in the direction of learning.
3. Expand your network
You may have heard it time and time again, but networking is KEY. Developing your own personal network can go a long way, based on the contacts you make both personally and professionally. Once you partner up with a mentor, you have the opportunity to expand your own network with their personal and professional connections.
Doing this also helps to develop your communication skills, potentially delving further into the big players in your industry and getting to know the people that are valuable to you. As well as this, communicating regularly with your mentor will help you to develop your own communication skills.
4. Advance your career
A mentor could help you enormously when you are establishing yourself and developing your career. They can keep you motived, help you stay focused and also highlight and help you in the areas you could improve in. The combination of networking, skills development, communication and advice overall provides enormous benefits for all types of advancements, depending on what your focus is and where you apply them.
5. Learn new perspectives
One of the most important things you can learn from your mentor is perspective – new ways of thinking and doing things. This could be the change between success and failure, and gaining a new perspective from someone who's is based on experience could work out to be invaluable to shaping yourself or your career.