The Value Of Having A Mentor

When we are preparing ourselves to meet the challenges of this corporate world, it is important that we find someone who will understand us better and who has been in our shoes before. There are many mentors who advertise themselves to be the best but not all of them deliver what they promise. Only a mentor who is genuinely interested in your success and in the uplifting of women will be able help you realize your full potential. Therefore, it is not just about the theoretical knowledge that is gained from books that will make a mentor an expert but it is their ability to put that knowledge to practical application guided by their own experience, which will make them an expert.

As long as the individual is willing to take on the task of examining themselves and being willing to face some of the areas in their life that need work, then the mentoring experience is well worth the time spent. Usually the relationship with a mentor is informal and ongoing. It can often lasts for years. An effective leader can benefit from both a mentor and a coach.

However, because of the transient nature of today’s workforce, the availability of mentors is not the same as twenty years ago when a person expected to stay at one place of employment from the days of fresh young new hire all the way through until retirement. It is very unfortunate, but the pool of experienced and willing mentors is shrinking and becoming very hard to find especially for women.

Having a mentor is a must if you are looking to move up in your career. The best place to look for a mentor is:

• Right in front of you
• Around you at work
• An individual you admire/respect
• Someone who has impressed you with
  
  • Insight
  • Perceptiveness

Women need to have leaders to whom they can ask questions, obtain advice about their careers, receive suggestions on career moves, training needs, and special project assignments, and obtain general information about the process of moving up the career ladder.

The problem seems to be because there are far fewer females in senior executive positions or as high ranking employees, the mentor pool is much smaller than that of men. With the male mentor pool being so large, it is often easier for men to become schooled and guided into the ranks of the upper career set. Thus men are often referred or recommended for higher positions while women are not simply because they do not have the luxury of getting under the wing of a female mentor as readily as men.

So the question is.what should be done? Perhaps incentives should be made available to senior managers to establish, endorse, and participate in a mentoring program. And.what about making the establishment and participation in a mentoring program a part of the manager/supervisor and the employee’s performance requirements. This could be a very good start. One thing for sure, it certainly couldn’t hurt.

Byline:

Dr. Madeline Ann Lewis is the President/CEO of the Deline Institute for Professional Development. She is a consultant, career coach, professional speaker, and co-author of several books such as Overcoming the Superwoman Syndrome. She is also the author of newly releasedFinding Your Best Inside. Contact her at Website: www.delineinstitute.net or Email: women@delineinstitute.net