The importance of mentors for your career
by Karen Adamedes.
You probably want your career to keep developing even though you are working from home? There is no reason it should stagnate, and you can't work towards your goals just because you are not working out of someone else's office. And there's certainly no reason you can't work with a mentor.
Ongoing career development is important so that you have choices for your future. Choices about where you work, who you work for, and the kind of work you do.
Developing your career
Obviously, you need to be good at your job to advance your career. In fact, you need to be the very best at your job that you can. But that is unlikely to be enough in the madcap world of business targets, customer demands, and busy schedules. Nor is being dedicated, working long hours, or leaping over small buildings in a single bound! You need the skills to communicate who you are, what you do, and the contributions that you make. You need to be able to sell your ideas so others understand your contributions and appreciate the value you bring to your role.
You also need the skills to be effective in your work, build a professional reputation, and proactively manage your career so you can make the best choices and negotiate the best outcomes for yourself.
A mentor can help you develop all of these skills.
What is a mentor?
Originating in Greek mythology, the term mentor is used today in various contexts, including business, sports, and education. Whatever the circumstances, a mentor is someone knowledgeable, skilled, or experienced who can provide guidance to someone seeking to develop in the mentor’s field of expertise.
A mentor isn’t necessarily an older or more senior person in an organization’s hierarchy. For instance, when you change companies or careers, it’s very likely that people younger than you will have more expertise. Or if you are looking to master some new piece of technology, your best bet may be a teenage mentor who can quickly figure it out. (I confess I had to defer to my teenage nieces to help me with my Instagram account!)
Why are they essential?
Mentors are a secret weapon in career and personal development. They are absolutely essential to your career when you work from home.
They are important for helping you stay in touch with what is happening outside your own four walls and for benchmarking your skills and expertise. A mentor can provide you with a broader perspective on many aspects of your work, career, and options. A mentoring relationship can provide you with feedback, fresh ideas, approaches, knowledge, expertise, and advice. A mentor can provide you with:
knowledge
guidance on your career, an organization’s internal politics, the market and your skills or communication style (to name just a few areas)
a sounding board – to discuss how you handled a situation or how you should tackle something in the future
access to networks, and
honest, valuable feedback.
Where's the proof?
The benefits are numerous and invaluable to help you reach your potential, whatever your field or current level of achievement.
Oprah mentored ‘Dr. Phil’. Michael Jordan, Roger Federer, and David Beckham have all acknowledged their mentors as being important to their success. Any top achiever you can think of will have had a mentor or coach – someone to guide, counsel, and provide advice. Someone who can look at their performance, provide a different perspective, and advise strategies.
It’s the same in business. Leaders from all types of backgrounds credit one or several mentors for their guidance along the way. Entrepreneur Sir Richard Branson of Virgin brand fame acknowledges Sir Frederick Laker, a British airline entrepreneur, as his mentor, and the late Dave Thomas, the founder of Wendy’s hamburger chain, was mentored for many years by KFC’s Harland “Colonel” Sanders.
The fact that these famous, talented, and successful people made use of the skills and expertise of others illustrates that having a mentor is a legitimate, not to mention successful, strategy to develop your career.
A career asset
Mentors are a key asset in advancing your skills, knowledge, and career development. Unlike other opportunities that are not as readily accessible when you work from home, a mentor is only a phone call away.
Get one.