The Importance of Mentorship in our Professional Lives

To define a mentor, there are two aspects that need to be taken into consideration. One, they must be experienced in the field of work that you are in, or at least interested in, if you are a beginner at this stage. And, the second is that they need to be reliable and trustworthy.

The main reason the latter is taken into consideration is that you will be entrusting your thoughts, your interests, your goals, and your vision with another person, in complete hope that they will support and guide you.

I have personally benefited by associating with mentors in a great way. The mentorship program is successful only when there is a mutual interest between mentor and mentee and a pressing need from the mentee to get benefitted.

In our everyday life, we have a lot of mentors that we can emulate from and imbibe. Sometimes, it may be a trivial change that helps us create a total transformation in us. Oftentimes, we don’t realize how many people around us help us grow our passion. It is important that we pay close attention to those people that help us to bring about the small changes that are the building blocks for taking us to the next level of our growth journey. In order to be successful in our career and life at large & achieve greater heights, easy wins are possible with the help of a mentor(s).

And in order to leverage the mentor’s expertise to the maximum here are a few pointers:

• A well-articulated SMART (Simple, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic & Time-bound) objective
• Being receptive to feedback including critical ones that shape our personality
• Be an active listener without being judgemental
• Expressing our sincere gratitude every time we benefit from our mentor has been the key to nurturing this relationship, a truly rewarding one

These aspects help us to be a wonderful mentee that catalyzes the mentorship arrangement.

It is also to be noted that mentors can help boost the sentimental and emotional aspects that influence decision making. With the experience they possess, they will help prepare you for the field you are in, and help preview the expectations that come with. This sort of preparation will positively impact your confidence, your hard and soft skills, and your motivation towards your goals. The business environment is constantly changing, and with innovation comes opportunities. There is no better way to learn and grow than to have open conversations with trusted advisors who can offer tips and tricks to establish ourselves.

It is a common misconception that mentorship is only advised and the beginning of one’s career. However, I believe that in every stage of our lives, there is space to learn and grow, and having a mentor will only enhance our potential to succeed. It helps in fast-tracking our learning curve and hence, must not be considered as a dependency but rather support. It is also a misconception that there can only be a single designated mentor to guide us. We can have mentors in all aspects of our lives, to truly optimize our abilities.

If you are in need of a mentor, it is important that you understand why and the gaps that you need to fill to reach the level you envision. When you understand why you require guidance, you will be able to determine how and who. We have wellwishers around us every step of the way, but it is important to link with a mentor who fully understands who you are as an individual and who you can be as a professional.

Author: Vijayalakshmi Subramaniam