Why a mentor?

Because you don’t know everything. You can learn from someone else’s experience and mistakes ( or at least know what to look out for) and understand how things came to be the way they are now. One important things is mentors provide accountabilty; if you tell someone else that you are going to do something, you are much more likely to actually do it. In the end it is your career and your life. You are going to have to make the decisions using the best and complete information you have at the time.

Find a mentor! A mentor can loosely be defined as a wise and trusted counselor or teacher. While money is considered a valuable asset, an even more valuable asset you can have is the wisdom of someone with knowledge & experience. Whether you are in business or you are in a career, a mentor can provide advice, encouragement, and inspiration. I have been privileged to have mentors at each stage of my career from military to business.

When do you need a mentor?

Ideally, you will build your relationship with your mentor over time, starting with small issues and working up to more perspnal and difficult problems. You will have many mentors over the course of your career, some for a short time and some for many years- as you as you are respectful of their time, most people will continue to be willing to help.

Your mentor would most likely have a busy schedule but it is up to you to find time to fit into his/her schedule, this could be coffee time, lunch time etc. Anyone can be a mentor, but not everyone can be a good mentor in every situation. If you are in a career transition or looking to develop your career in a field, find a mentor in that field and reach out to them. Here are some of the benefits of a mentor: . Knowledge . Experience . Confidence . Caring . Inspiring . Opportunities

And finally be the right mentee, for many reasons, some people are just not ‘compatible’.

I am priviledged to have several mentors and trusted advisers, who have helped me during my careers, from government to military to business to working in the 3rd sector. They are someone who listen and provide an objective opinion; sometimes just having to distill and explain the problem to someone else allows you to see it clearly.