We spend effort and time finding mentors, but somehow we forget to seek out and find mentees. Mentees are valuable. Your mentee can make you ‘stop and think’. You verbalize the basics for them and sometimes you find that the basics are exactly what you should be reviewing. You connect to them authentically, in a time when many of your work meetings and time spent in the organization isn’t always an authentic connection. It will allow you to slow down a bit to discuss the total facet of their needs and it will help you to think of others in the work setting from a ‘total person’ perspective.
Look around your organization. Is there someone that has impressed you? Reach out to them and ask them if they’d be interested in a mentor. After they pick themselves up off the floor from sheer joy and excitement, I think that they will have a positive reaction.
You can increase the value that you deliver to your organization by picking a mentee and meeting with them occasionally to ensure their success. I know, you get busy and you can’t find the time. Find the time. I get it, you haven’t thought about mentoring. In your mind there are structured programs and such for this kind of thing. Forget the structure. Forget the formalities. Consider reaching out and helping someone under you succeed. It will benefit you both. I dare say that you will benefit as much from the interaction as they will. You will learn from them as much as they will learn from you. You will gain insight and knowledge and they will more clearly see the path and where they should be heading. It shouldn’t matter if you are currently employed or not. Anyone with work experience can be a mentor.
Reach out and change a life. Before you know it, they will have changed yours.
Bethany Williams is an expert in business development, personal branding, and healthcare operations. She has held high level positions at PricewaterhouseCoopers, Perot Systems Corporation, GE Healthcare, and IDX Systems Corporation. Williams shares her stories and helpful tips on career success in her book, Winning Strategies for Women, and a popular motivational blog. She volunteers as a life coach and mentor for employees around the globe through her website and personal one-to-one visits. She currently works as an executive at a big four accounting firm, and speaks on branding, career planning, and women in business. She lives in Dallas with her husband, Michael, and her three children. You can find her on the web at www.bethanywilliams.org.
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It’s been my experience, too, that if you help someone to be a rising star, then:
* They certainly will remember what you’ve done for the rest of their life; and
* There’s a good chance that you’ll work for them in the future – or at least as a peer.
So even if you’re only looking at the value you receive personally, it’s an excellent deal. But I agree with you, Bethany, and I feel it would be a very shallow world if we didn’t want to give to others in this life. It can’t be just about what you get.