Discover Why Mentorship Is Important
by Tahano Pierre
I get it you’ve been promoted, or you just started a new job, maybe right out of college, or just switched career paths. Whatever part of the journey you are in right now, you won’t get far without a mentor behind you.
The first step to mentorship is actually finding a mentor. A digital mentor you will never meet or a person you will get to speak to live. Check your local school, social media, and people in your network. You will be surprised who is ready to pour into you.
Learning from a mentor’s mistakes means you’re less likely to make those same mistakes yourself. Mentors have been there and done that. Have you ever watched one of your favorite bloggers or favorite YouTubers talk about their life and their journey? Well, that’s how a mentor can be but more specific on what you need help with. Back when I was in college, I was figuring out how I could leverage my passion into a full-time career. Thankfully I reached out to a few mentors who were able to help me better see my natural skills so that I can apply them. Not only did this lead me to more internships in college, but it landed me to secure a job offer before graduating. It would’ve not happened if I didn’t have a mentor to guide me and follow the blueprint, they had for me. Because funny enough, mentors have been in the same position you have been. Why try to repeat all the mistakes? Let them guide you.
A mentor can improve the performance of your job. Starting my career in tech right out of college was a great way to start my career journey. I didn’t have the tools and necessity to truly perform to the best. Due to lack of training and being part of a huge corporate environment. This is what my mentor did to guide me to improve my performance. She first taught me the importance of coaching, leadership styles, organization tools, documentation, email professionalism, standing up for myself, setting boundaries, you name it! She taught me the ins and outs of how to survive corporate and how to master the environment that I was in. With this, I got a promotion within the first year starting at the company, which usually takes two years. Not only did my performance improve overall, but I was able to leverage my mentor’s skills and knowledge of many years to get to my destination faster. Now I’m not saying rush the journey, but whenever you’re in traffic, Siri suggests saving you ten minutes by taking another route. So why not save a few months or even years from reaching your goals. Leverage the power of mentorship to get ahead.
Creates an opportunity to help with your personal development. Many people in the workplace are alive, but they aren’t living. Sometimes that can be due to a lack of discouragement and motivation and having a mentor can help. Backstory, I struggled to get up and do my job well because I did not like it or care about it. So, I leaned onto my digital mentors. People such as Gary Vaynerchuk, Tony Robbins, and Jesus, you name It! I would constantly feed my mind with their word and videos. It helped me to work on my personal development by reading books by Tony Robbins. Taking his course allowed me to be more confident in my workplace. It allowed me to be more disciplined, and work on myself, such as waking up early, reading more, being more diligent, and working on myself, not just focusing on work but on me outside of work. Which was truly rewarding. The moral of the story is that you can know your mentor, but they may not know you, and that’s okay! Because it provides a support system and encourages growth and overall continuing growth within yourself.
Key takeaways are that having a mentor is great for avoiding many mistakes and growing and advancing in your career field; it allows you to build a network and work on your personal development.
Take it for me I was in high school. My counselor told me. I would never go to college due to my grades. Without the support system and mentors I had throughout my lifetime, I wouldn’t be where I am now. Of course, I had a little bit of self-motivation within me, but don’t try to get through this life without people behind you. It’s just not worth it.
Five years from now, you will wish that you had a mentor and had built relationships with people.
