YOUR BUSINESS
Get mentors: Why, Who and How?
If you are an individual contributor, a middle manager, a big-shot executive, an independent consultant or a small business owner, and you don’t have a specific plan to use mentors, you should create one.
I credit mentors as the single thing (outside my own efforts) which had the biggest impact on my success.
Why? Mentors:- Help you with your business problems
- Help you with your network
- Provide air cover
- Get you access to the big jobs
- People who know things you want to know
- People who are in places you want to be
- People who have networks that can help you
- People who have relationships with influencers on your career
- The way to recruit a mentor that they can’t refuse
- How to "set it up"
- It's a personal 2-way relationship
Why:
Mentors help you with your business problems.
Never fail on your own.
If you are advancing in your career, by definition, you will be tasked with things you don’t know how to do.
If you’re not in over your head from time to time, you are not getting ahead.
Make sure your ego does not get in the way of getting help. I have seen many people over the years who put their ego first, suffer in silence and fail, and never progress above the position they struggled in.
Mentors provide an excellent source of “safe” help with your toughest business problems.
All you need to do is tell them you are working on a project and ask, “Do you know anyone who has done a similar thing? I’d like to get some ideas and best practices.” (By the way it’s OK to say this to your manager too).
But with a mentor you can say, “HELP! I’m stuck! I have no idea how to do this”… or more likely… “I’m really struggling with this, can you see what I’m missing, or do you have any thoughts about getting around this issue”, etc. Chances are they do, and you’ve got your problem solved!
You’ve just raced ahead of the person whose ego was too big to get help, and there is no cost to you.
I have never failed to get help when I’ve asked for it.
It has never gotten me into trouble, or damaged my credibility.
In fact I’ve been credited with doing certain tasks brand new to me, which in initially had no idea how to do, better than anyone in the company! (Because I got the lessons from the experts and didn’t try to fake it on my own.)
Nobody is as smart as everybody.
The more sources of learning and coaching you access, the more success you will build.
Mentors help you with your network
You are only as good as your network, and mentors provide a really solid connection to a new level of people you might not otherwise connect with.
When you ask them for a connection you’ll be amazed at what they come up with, and how willing they are to connect you with people that can help. A personal introduction from a mentor is a great way to build real value into your network.
Don’t forget to include your mentors in your general network upkeep. Always be on the lookout for them. More about how to recruit them as mentors follows below under “How?”
Mentors provide air cover
If you have a visible role in a large company, there are going to be times when you get really crappy assignments which have a sense of hopelessness about them.
No matter how well you do, the situation itself will have enough bad karma that people will talk, and they will associate you with the bad stuff.
Having someone “up there”, who knows you really well, has discussed this situation with you, and has a broader context can do wonders by saying, “that’s not quite the whole story, he was asked to take this on, and has actually done an admirable job at containing the bad stuff, and has made some real progress…", etc.
Whatever the comment, it is orders of magnitude better than having no one in those circles defending your honor.
Mentors can Get you access to the big jobs
This is something I discuss at length in my whitepaper: Getting the Big Job when you “don’t have enough experience”. I used that title because this has been a real question put to me with the implied subtitle: Because cleary YOU have figured a way around this!
Check out the whitepaper for specific things you can do to overcome the "experience gap, but for now I can tell you that mentors play an important role. Mentors (if you pick the right ones) can significantly impact your ability to get considered for the top jobs.
Having relationships established at the right levels and places in your company can give you a head start on all the official hiring processes. They provide back-channel references too, which are critical.
Mentors are also one of the keys to getting on “The List” for the top jobs. (There is always a list)
Now as a small business owner my current mentors are a very rich source of recommendations and referrals for new business!
Mentors invest in you. They know you and they care about you and they want to help.
Who:
The first thought here is: don’t be too selective. The more the merrier. You’ll want to establish significant relationships with a key few, but in general seek out lots of them for more informal relationships.
There are a few categories you’ll want to cover.
People who know things you want to know
As you build your development or business plan, consider what it is you want to learn about and build a targeted list of people who know those things.
This can be work related or can be things outside of work. Many people do inspiring things that are worth learning about. And building a relationship based on an inspiring topic is always a good start.
Look for people who are doing jobs you are interested in, or running businesses that inspire you, and set out to learn what they know.
People who are in places you want to be
Where do you want to be? Is it a particular job? A new business category? Is it to work in specific industry? Or geography?
Find people who are already there and get to know them.
What is their life like? What keeps them awake? What are their key decisions? What do they love and hate about their job?. What do they consider the keys to success? Who inspires them?
Getting to know what it’s really like to be “there”, will help you get there.
People who have networks that can help you
Decide what networks you want to connect to, and find mentors who are already in them.
This is not really any different than basic networking, only that getting a mentor in that network will get you someone very willing to help you get connected, as by definition, they are motivated to help you.
People who have relationships with influencers on your career.
I’ve talked about managing your stakeholders in many of my other writings. Really take some time to understand who all of the influencers are on your career.
You can refer to the April issue and the article: Do you know where your stakeholders are?: for more ideas.
If you can establish a mentoring relationship with someone in this circle, you will have much more luck getting recognized and rewarded for your work.
This is another topic covered at length in the: How to get the Big Job when you “don’t have enough experience” whitepaper.
How:
The way to ask for a mentor that they can’t refuse
I got a phone call once that went something like this…. “Hi Patty, I work in [another organization] I’m on the distribution list for your communications, and you have become the voice of this company for me. I am so inspired by you and what you have accomplished, and I know if I could spend even 20 minutes with you I would learn so much and would be so grateful…..”
You can’t say no to that. So after I said yes, I picked up the phone to call someone who inspired me and used the same line. It never fails.
How to “set it up”
You don’t need negotiate a big agreement or process. Simply telling someone that you would like to learn from them and offering them a coffee or a lunch can go a long way.
Then, when a relationship that sparks, you can simply say in your own way, "it would be wonderful if we could do this once a month or quarter." If you are up for it, having you as a mentor would be really valuable for me.
Some companies have formal mentoring programs which are great. I work with companies to get those set up, but you certainly don’t need a formal program to go get your own mentors. Just start reaching out.
It’s a personal 2-way relationship
The best mentoring relationships are the ones that become personal 2-way relationships with value moving in both directions. Even if you can’t imagine that you can be of service to your mentor who you are in awe of, you should offer anyway.
The other thing that you provide is a source of information that they wouldn’t have access to otherwise. You take for granted the things that you know, but there’s a good chance your mentor will find them interesting.
YOUR PEOPLE
Be a mentor
Yes, there is a part of mentoring that qualifies as “do good in the world”, but if that’s not enough for you, there are more mercenary, practical reasons to do it as well. It is really good for business.
YOUR PUBLICITY
Being known as a mentor:
Being known as a mentor is often a specific criterion that separates the “stars” from mere “top performers”, at pretty much any level in an organization...
YOUR LIFE
When you are over-busy, mentoring feels like a vacation!
This part of the column, the “Your Life” part, is always about the things that make life more enjoyable, and offers ideas for coping with being overwhelmed.
When I was an over-busy, over-scheduled, sleep-deprived top executive, every time I saw a mentoring appointment on my schedule it put a smile on my face.
About Patty
Patty Azzarello was the youngest general manager at HP ever at the age of 33. She ran a $1B software business at the age of 35 and was a CEO for the first time at the age of 38. Patty is known for her personal leadership qualities, her straightforward and practical manner, and her genuine interest in making a real connection with people to help them to advance their career and business, and to find ways to enjoy their life more.
Patty Azzarello is the CEO of Azzarello Group, www.AzzarelloGroup.com a unique services organization focused on helping business leaders actually get done what they want to do, and get a bigger payoff from their hard work. Azzarello Group delivers practical, experience-based tools to business leaders, through products and services including articles, e-books, mentoring programs, executive coaching, public speaking, small business retreats, and business execution workshops.
