How business owners can benefit from mentoring
Mentoring, whilst widely recognised by large organisations as a fantastic way to help employees to develop and grow, is often overlooked by business owners and leaders, as an equally important development practice to participate in. Today, I’m going to explore just how vital mentoring can be and a few essential tips to ensure mentioning works in practice.
First and foremost, it’s important to understand exactly what mentoring is. With the rise of training schemes, life coaches, buddying systems and a range of additional support tools, mentoring is frequently confused. Simply put, mentoring is defined as the act of one individual sharing their knowledge, skills and experience to help another individual to progress. Typically, a mentoring relationship is led by the mentee and will go on for several months or even years, but it does not have to. Furthermore, whilst most mentors are more senior, they do not have to be. The rise of ‘reverse mentoring’ has led to organisations looking at more junior (and yet sometimes more experienced in certain elements of workplace tools – such as technology and diversity) to mentor senior managers and directors. Most notably though, a mentor is offering help and support from their own personal experience. And it is here, in this experience, that business owners can benefit so greatly.
1. Work out why you would like a mentor
It’s all very well having a mentor, but we’re often told we need one and seek one out, without really sitting down and reflecting upon why we would like or feel in need of a mentor. Set aside 15 minutes in your day to write down a list of the significant challenges you’ve faced over the last year and where you are struggling to progress and develop in yourself and in your business. You may think the list will be long, but the chances are that it will simply highlight 2-3 key areas in which you are consistently coming up against barriers and problems. Can’t think of any challenges you’ve faced in the last year? Think about areas in which you are looking at expanding more quickly, looking to save money or seeking better results. These may not seem like obvious challenges, but they are all things that can be helped with the right mentor. This will then put you in a perfect position to seek out the right mentor.
2. Find the right mentor
So, you’ve worked out why you would like a mentor and the key areas where you’re looking for support. Now it’s time to find a mentor. This part is not easy, by any stretch of the imagination, but if you know why you would like a mentor then it does get slightly easier. Look at those who are in a similar role to you with more experience. They may be older but don’t always have to be. Age is no guarantee of experience and with the rise of ‘reverse mentoring’ you may well find that a younger mentor can help you to navigate through challenges more effectively. So, using tools like LinkedIn and mentoring networks like PushFar, have a look at those who are in (or have been in) similar roles. It’s worth mentioning here too that their industry doesn’t necessarily have to align and in some instances having a mentor from an outside industry can offer additional insight of extreme value.
3. Set the expectations
So, you’ve found a mentor, asked them to be your mentor and you are now in an active mentoring relationship – congratulations! It’s now really important to set the expectations. This may involve discussing how often you meet; in what medium you meet (eg. Over a coffee or on a Skype call) and what objectives you have during the mentoring relationship. A good rule of thumb is to meet once a month for six months, initially. Try and work out how long the relationship should last for at the start – again, six months is a great starting point. It doesn’t have to end here but it’s better to start with a 6-month window upfront.
4. Don’t be afraid to be honest and open
It’s all very well having a mentor but if you’re going to hold back on the things you discuss, it’s probably not worth your time or theirs. This is why it is really important to find a mentor who you connect with but once you’ve found them to build a rapport so you can be honest and open about the challenges you face, revealing your potential weaknesses and therefore allowing your mentor to help you to improve on them and work through the challenges effectively. A mentor is only as good as the knowledge they have and if they don’t know you’re struggling, they cannot offer effective advice. So, be honest and upfront with your mentor as much as you can.
5. Give back and mentor others
This final tip to mentoring might seem like a bit of a curve ball but it really is valuable. As well as being mentored, consider mentoring someone else. You will be amazed at what you can benefit from being mentored and guiding someone else who is at the start of their business journey. Mentoring will teach you to think about things in a different way and often the advice you will provide your mentee with is advice that you used to begin with but haven’t implemented or actioned recently. As your business expands, being reminded (by providing advice) of what you should be doing, may well surprise you. What would you advise yourself to do that you aren’t currently doing?
So, there are just a few ways in which mentoring can benefit business owners of growing and developing businesses. Remember, mentoring is flexible and an extremely powerful tool to use, when used correctly. Start by finding the right mentor, scheduling an introductory meeting and setting a few goals over a 6-8-month period.
About the author
Ed Johnson is the CEO and co-founder of PushFar, the forward-thinking and innovative mentoring platform, helping individuals and organisations with mentoring, career progression and networking.