Have you ever heard the saying, “if you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together.” This saying applies to road trips, relay races, and professional development. When it comes to growing in a career it’s undoubtedly important to have someone walk beside you to achieve goals, help troubleshoot career challenges, and inspire us to be the best version of ourselves. Mentorship in a professional setting is important for this accountability and encouragement.
What is a Mentor?
A business mentor is someone who has several years of experience in their career and can offer invaluable advice to someone with less experience. They have made mistakes and faced challenges, and thus can become a resource to someone professionally.
Why You Should Have a Mentor
There are a substantial amount of statistics to support that having a mentor will largely improve a workplace or an individual’s career. Statistics show that 76% of people think that mentoring is important and will push them professionally, however, only 37% have a mentor, according to Forbes. Those with a mentor are 5 times more likely to get a promotion than those without a mentor according to McCarthy Mentoring. Having a mentor, whether internal or external to your organization is a valuable asset to help you be more successful in your career.
Here are 4 ways that having a mentor will benefit you:
Networking:
A mentor will have connections to more people as they have been in their profession for longer. They will be able to make introductions for you and help you meet the right people for your professional advancement. In addition, having someone who endorses you for your skills is more likely to make others more apt to believe in you as well.
Encouragement:
A mentor can be a source of encouragement. Since they have more experience they can advise you on what the best career moves to take may look like. They likely have faced similar challenges and can encourage you to move forward to achieve goals.
Accountability:
When you share your goals and dreams with another person you are more likely to achieve your goals. A business mentor will help you align with your goals and assist you in making the goals to achieve them. They can also help you with areas of weakness and build off your strengths. Overall, they will help you stay focused on what you want to achieve and guide you on steps to take to get there.
Collaboration:
A professional mentor is going to be an invaluable resource to bounce off ideas as well as problem-solving any challenges along the way in your career.
While there are a few ways to find a mentor, here are some suggestions:
Try to look around in your organization for people who have a career or work ethic you aspire to have. Then ask that person if they would be interested in being a mentor for you. Or if there isn’t anyone you know who would be a good mentoring fit for you, try to ask people in your personal or professional circle for a connection.
Professional development can be overwhelming, hard to navigate, or competitive when faced alone. With a mentor, you are able to go farther and faster with someone who has your best interest in mind. If you are searching for a way to achieve your professional goals, a mentor will surely be one of the better ways to accomplish them.