To be open about it, I’m a mentor. So I would think it’s a good idea, wouldn’t I? Go to enterprisenation.com and sign up to get mentoring support.
A mentor is someone who has no vested interest in your business; they are solely there to support you, and the relationship you have with them is completely confidential. They are not an employee, shareholder, supplier or customer and they probably don’t have a detailed knowledge of your business sector. But they have buckets of general business experience and may have faced the same hurdles that you are facing, but in a different industry.
A good mentor will listen carefully and ask questions to challenge your thinking. They shouldn’t offer you a solution or their own opinion, that’s the role of a coach or business advisor, but they should be able to make you think more laterally about the challenges you have. And that can often result in you finding your own solutions, which are going to be better anyway.
And you are a mentee, which is not a mint with a hard outer surface and a gooey middle, although you could characterise yourself in that way. Mentees are supposed to be open and honest. I generally ask my mentees what their fears are, as opposed to their problems, and off we go.
I had a mentor early in my career and he was very helpful. I worked in a small division of a large company and it worked just as well as when I was running my own business.
And don't forget to offer your team the opportunity to get a mentor - whether they are flying along or need a bit of support. It's a great way to encourage improvement in a non-threatening environment.
Go on, do it today. Oh, and it's usually free - at least for the first few sessions.
留言