FINDING MENTORS

Finding Mentors is like finding gold. It seems very simple when you discuss it with others. But when you actually go out to do it, you will find that it is not simple. You are a smart person, you already know what a mentor is, you know you want one (or at least you think you do) but this is where most people come up against a brick wall.

Finding Mentors is not something the company you work for can do for you. Although some companies will state that they offer mentoring programs for their staff, nearly all corporate mentoring programs fail. The reason is simple – the companies may create a mentoring program (usually at a huge cost), but they do not allow any Time for either the mentor or protégé to participate in the program. Nearly every person I know working in a large company is chronically over worked and is worried about keeping their job. There are never enough hours in the day to do the tasks that must be done. Participating in a mentoring program falls to the end of the list of things to be done – so it does not get done.

Another reason Corporate programs fail is that they tend to match each mentor with more than one protégé.  In one very large oil company I am familiar with, they state "Every manager here is a Mentor." Any person with the slightest experience with mentoring knows that this statement (or others like it) is absolutely impossible. It is completely possible that a superior manager has no people skills. Indeed, in my more than 30 years in the oil and gas business, I have rarely met good managers that were able to sit for an hour with someone younger and less experienced and focus 100% on that young person.  To focus 100% on someone else's needs, questions, concerns, dreams and schemes is the #1 skill required of a mentor. It is not a skill required of a good manager.  Really good people persons usually hate management because they must focus on budgets, schedules and getting things done. A really good people person who is also a really good manager is so rare - that person is pure gold.  The magical people person manager is the guy who becomes the President of major corporations. They are superstars. You and I will seldom, if ever, have the opportunity to meet such a person. What you need is a people person for a mentor

In our changing world of work environments, more and more individuals are setting up their own companies. As these companies expand the last thing on the mind of the owner is finding mentors for the other workers in the company. Very few small business owners have the time to analyze even their own need of finding mentors – the ones that can help him or her grow their business.

Finding Mentors The First Step

Figure out why you want a mentor. I already said that you are smart enough to know that you want a mentor, but you need to be able to understand Why you need a mentor. What is your personality characteristic that you feel is the most in need of strengthening.  Do you need stronger sales skills? Are you weak at public speaking? Do you fail to stick up for yourself in a social context? Do you need someone to help you structure your small company so it can grow (without having to pay an expensive consultant to do it for you) The first step in finding mentors is knowing what you need. Until you can answer the question (What do I need?) you cannot begin looking for a mentor. Now I will tell you a little secret about Finding Mentors, that most people fail to recognize. The secret? – You can have as many mentors as you have weaknesses. You do not have to find a single individual who knows everything.