The definition of "mentor" per the Merriam-Webster Dictionary is: a trusted counselor or guide; see also tutor or coach.
Seeking out mentorship in your chosen career field or path means you are seeking someone - or several someones - to help counsel and guide you along your chosen career path. Having a guide to light the way is a good thing, particularly when you come to a fork in the road and are unsure of which side to continue on. Having several mentors means you get different points of view, different facets of experience and knowledge to draw from.
A good mentor, like a good coach or counselor, gives you guidance but does not plot out your course for you. Your mentor should give you reasoned, honest input and feedback based on his or her own experiences and the experiences of those your mentor knows or has known personally and professionally.
A mentor can be someone further along on your chosen career path, perhaps someone in a position you might attain to, or someone who came up the ranks in a similar fashion - like the supervisor I shared about last week who advanced from being an administrative assistant to the chief of our contracting division over the course of her career.
Your mentor might also be a peer who is going through some of the same trials and tribulations along his or her path that you are.
Feedback and guidance can come from all levels, and mentorship is no different. Someone in a higher position might not see the pitfalls of his or her communication style or treatment of those around them clearly. Good leaders garner feedback from all levels - above, peer and below.
There is formal mentorship - where you build a relationship based on mentoring or being mentored, with scheduled meetings and such - and there there is informal mentorship - where you seek guidance from those around you in a less structured manner.
I recommend that you look outside your direct supervisory chain for formal mentoring both to avoid unnecessary conflict and to gather other points of view in order to broaden your horizons. I also recommend you offer to mentor others, particularly where you see potential in someone - helping others grow helps us grow too...and it builds good karma!
Next week begins a new month and a new topic - Relationships.
Until then, Namaste!
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