Is Mentorship For You?

What makes a mentor so valuable is they often tell us what we need to hear, not what we want to hear.

Whether we are ready for that feedback and can do something with it is up to us as individuals and our willingness to do the work that goes along with it.

What is that work?

It differs for everyone but there's some common themes in effective mentoring relationships.

• Make the space for learning

  Literally on the calendar and figuratively in our head. In doing a little research for this article, I came across an article on mentoring with this quote from Ryutan:
  "You are like this cup; you are full of ideas. You come and ask for teaching, but your cup is full; I can’t put anything in. Before I can teach you, you’ll have to empty your cup."

  We have a lot on our plates running a business, and it's easy to become overwhelmed with the stuff out of our control. Take some time to identify what isn't serving you and let it go. Sometimes, letting go might actually mean getting professional support to work through it and that's okay. Do what you need to do to clear the space to grow in your leadership. In addition to scheduling time to meet with your mentor, also schedule time to also reflect on the conversation and work on what you discussed.

• Get really honest with yourself and your mentor

  Of course, building trust to get to this point takes some time, but sometimes being honest with ourselves is harder than it is to be with others. Speaking what's in our gut to a mentor can help get it out and in the open and to begin dealing with it. Sometimes just answering the question, "where do I want to be in five years", ends up being a goal in itself that your mentor can help you sort out an answer too. 

• Get comfortable being uncomfortable

  Mentors ask hard questions and chances are, you won't always have an answer. If you're like me, that's a really uncomfortable place to be but that’s why we have mentors - to help uncover these blind spots. Be okay with not having an immediate answer. This is what it means to be vulnerable. Lean into that unknown and try to unpack the question more and see where it takes you.    

If you are able to make time for this work, you are ready to get the most out of mentorship.

Check out Catapult Grey Bruce and Grey County’s Business Mentorship Program. Learn More

• Posted by Jennifer Christie