National Mentoring Month
It is always okay to reach out for guidance. Whether it be about organic chemistry, internships or how to find a balanced lifestyle, there are others that can help by sharing their experience. Whenever I am feeling a bit stuck, I reach out to a mentor. A mentor is someone that can assist with career development, personal or any skill you desire to get better at. A mentor could be anyone that can provide experienced advice, such an upper-year student or a friend. You should just make sure it is someone trustworthy, honest and well-versed in the subject would like to learn more about.
There are various benefits that can arise from forming a mentor-mentee relationship. The mentee would be granted access to resources, feedback and connections. Mentoring can increase the mentee’s ability to resolve challenges while improving their self confidence. If this sounds like something you want to do, you should strive to be a mentor as well! A mentor is an extremely rewarding role, as you are helping others to succeed. There are different forms of mentorship as well, such as one-on-one or group mentoring. As the name suggests, the two methods are very different. One-on-one allows for a more intimate approach, whereas the group mentoring would be interactive and perhaps less intimidating. Neither of the mentorships are better than the other, as it all depends on your comfortability.
I realize that it might be tough to reach out or even find any mentors at this time. Social distancing definitely took a toll on our ability to foster new relationships and maintain old ones. However, there is a solution! You can approach your mentor virtually by sending out an email or a Linkedin request with a personalized message as the first step. Also, I don’t believe you have to personally know your mentor to be inspired by them. Couple of my mentors are public figures! Some great examples are Martin Luther King, Elon Musk and Liz Murrary. Yes, it sucks that I can’t ask these individuals any personal questions or have a one-on-one session. But, I have still learned from their journey to success and incorporated into my life. By reading a person’s autobiography or watching documentaries, you will discover the challenges they had to overcome to achieve their goal and importantly how they did it. You might not want to build an electric car, however their everlasting resilience and grit to build that car will be your takeaway.
Many successful companies are living proof of how amazing the benefits of mentoring are. For example, McGraw-Hill developed mentoring programs for their employees. The statistics were that 73% of the participants stated that the mentorship program helped boost their confidence, 97% would recommend the program and 80% had accomplished the goals they set in the beginning of the program (2019)! Another example is General Electric. This multinational, high-tech industrial company has been using reverse mentoring for about 20 years. This method is unique, whereas the younger employees would aid the senior employees in skill development. The mentorship would sharpen the senior worker’s technology skills, while attracting and maintaining younger employees (2019).
“Mentoring is a brain to pick, an ear to listen and a push in the right direction” was stated by John C. Crosby. As this quote emphasizes, there is no harm in seeking for mentorship. You will be shocked with how much a little nudge or guidance can change your life.
Sources:
Examples of successful mentoring programs: Together Mentoring Software. (2019, November 1). Retrieved January 25, 2021, from https://www.togetherplatform.com/blog/examples-of-successful-mentoring-programs
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