We’ve been talking a lot about mentoring over the last couple of weeks. As professionals committed to our ongoing development, we should always be looking for ways to fill both sides of the equation. We grow by being a mentor and by being a mentee. We grow in different ways depending on what side of the relationship we’re on.
Over the last few years, I’ve heavily invested in the mentor side of the relationship. I’ve mentored many professionals and so far know about 3 who I’ve helped find their first BA job. But I’ve also been a mentee. I have informal mentors, people like Adriana Beal, Doug Goldberg, Joan Davis, and Jake Calabrese to whom I go for advice on specific matters. I had a business mentor who I met with for six months in the beginning of 2010 about my plans for building a business from Bridging the Gap. I belong to two online collaboration programs where I receive valuable feedback from instructors and informal mentors in building an online business. And just this year I’ve started participating in a mastermind group with 3 other business owner/bloggers who are building platforms like I’ve done with My Business Analysis Career. We share stories and offer advice. Mostly we help each other see our own value as this road of building a small business can be ego-busting at times.
I’ve learned a bit, not just in how to be a good mentor, but how to be a good mentee, both through my own experiences and from the BA I meet from time-to-time who is just not ready for help from a mentor.
What can you do to be a good mentee?
- Have a clear goal for the relationship and a general direction for your career. Your goal might be to find the direction for your career, that’s OK. But if that’s it, be clear about it.
- Ask your mentor if they can help you achieve your career goals. Sometimes mentors do not have the skills or experiences you might assume they have and would rather help you find the right person than lead you astray. Be honest and up front about what support you need so they can best support you.
- Be open and willing to accept help. Oftentimes the advice that comes from my mastermind group is completely unexpected. I sometimes find myself thinking they didn’t get it. Then I roll over their input a few times and realize they saw a truth about me or my business that I wasn’t even aware of. When you work with a mentor, this happens. Be open to the unexpected.
- Share your progress. Whether it’s an “aha” moment based on the input from your mentor or a total disaster based on advice they gave you, share it. Your mentor will learn more about what works for you and what doesn’t and be able to improve their approach to your relationship. Good experiences especially, give your mentor the joy of knowing they helped you. It’s like mentor crack. Give it often and they will keep wanting to help you. Hold back input on your progress and you might find them distancing themselves from the relationship because they don’t think they are helping you.
- Own the relationship. Don’t expect your mentor, even a paid one like me, to drive your bus. As the mentee, you are in charge of your own career and will do most of the driving in the mentor-mentee relationship. This means you come to meetings with questions, feedback, and discussion topics and you do the work that comes from the meeting.
- Don’t expect instant results. From time to time, I receive panicked emails looking for short-term support. At its best, mentoring is a long-term relationship and the more the mentor knows about the entire context in which you work, the better advice they will be able to give. This doesn’t happen in a half hour conversation or a quick document review.
- Engage in a professional relationship. Your mentor is not your therapist, your spouse, or your best friend. Don’t treat them like one. They are a trusted professional advisor.
What are your experiences as a mentee? What have you found to be most beneficial?
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By Laura Brandenburg. Laura Brandenburg is passionate about business analysis. She's found her niche helping aspiring business analysts find transferable skills and position themselves in the BA job market. To stay up-to-date on the latest from Bridging the Gap be sure to sign-up for our free email course and weekly eNewsletter. View more blog posts by Laura Brandenburg |
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Laura, great insight and what I have experienced too. I believe in addition to your list you could add ‘understand the goals and background of your mentor’. The more you know about them, the more you understand if this is a good fit, if this person will be able to help you to reach your goals. If you take the time to learn about them then this further clarifies for me what I can learn from them.
Michelle, Great points all around and definitely a way to fully leverage what your mentor has to give you as well as keep their own perspective in mind too!