Wish someone told me this ten years ago. Wish I had not picked that fight at work, or handled that situation better and of course wish I had not left that company because of things which didn’t not concern me.
Wish I had a mentor then or wish I was not stupid enough to see a mentor right in front of me and reach out to them. Alas, regrets, regrets. To avoid these pesky regrets in the future, let me convince you how getting a mentor today can help you avoid regrets in the future.
Here are a couple of things that a mentor can do for you:
1. A Mentor will give you a perspective; except more why- didn’t- I -think –of- that -moments
I found a wonderful mentor in Marcella Tabares; Senior Vice President, Strategic Insights, Revenue at A+E Networks and on my question of managing a home and career, she candidly said that every night she and her husband would do a hi five that today the house didn’t burn down, the kids didn’t starve, we didn’t get a divorce so overall a day worth celebrating.
This was dumbfounding as in “I found myself to be an overly dumb person”. Man! she is right, why do we have to raise the bar so high to guarantee us falling on our face. Perspective is a phenomenal prize.
2. You can learn from your mentor’s mistakes
A lot of times we learn in life how to do things. Learning how not to do things is also important and that’s what a mentor can do for you.
There are no rule books on corporate politics or making yourself shine in any organization. This is where the experience of a mentor is priceless. The fact that a mentor can give you direction and tell you to approach a matter from a different angle will go a long way.
3. A mentor will also gain from this relationship
Madonna Badger famously says, be a mentor and get a mentor. What she is doing is actively telling us to seek such people who are like you and some who are not like you at all. If you are an introvert, you will gravitate towards another introvert but its also crucial to reach out to people who are different from you.
A mentor will get more out of this relationship as it will keep them updated on what’s happening at the grass root level and will also give them the most important thing of creating impact in someone’s career. No one will say no if you reach out to them saying hey I admire your work, would you be my mentor? Try it, what’s the harm?
4. Wisdom comes from pain, which doesn’t have to be your own
Thomas Jefferson said that honesty is the first chapter in the book of wisdom and in a mentee/mentor relationship honesty will be disarming and liberating for both. As a professional one might not favor showing weakness or vulnerability especially in front of a superior or colleague but with a mentor one can say stuff like, I don’t think I can take it anymore and I don’t know what to do.
The biggest job of the mentor is not to judge but to guide. Interestingly listening and not judging is the first step in healing as well.
Now the next question is who should you reach out to for mentoring. Ideally it should not be your own boss. Yes, you learn a lot from your boss but complaining to a boss might get you a reputation as a whiner. Reach out to people who are in other organizations, a former boss, a former teacher or even a friend’s parent makes an excellent mentor. There are lots of mentoring platform now available like Pond’s Miracle Journey, Cannes Lions See it Be it which is happening on the 17th of March in Karachi; register at www.seeitbeitpakistan.com or brilliant smaller and newer start ups like Next level will help you find the perfect mentor for you.
Pakistani Creative Head Atiya Zaidi Gets the Spotlight At Cannes 2017!
And my last two cents, don’t bow out too quickly from a career or an organization, may be you don’t need to update your profile on linkedin so quickly, what you do need to do is update your perspective on your current circumstances. Find the mentor like you seek a second opinion from a doctor and benefit from this beautiful relationship of mutual respect and support.
Contributed by: Atiya Zaidi