3 Reasons Why You Should Become a Mentor or Mentee
As we head into the fall, learning becomes top of mind for many—a new season means it’s time to set new goals and find new solutions to support you to achieve these. For most, going back to school signals the start of a new year. Even though many of us are not going back to school this semester, it is a great opportunity to set some learning goals and to do a reset on career goals to make sure that we’re on track and have new aspirations to strive towards. For myself, I generally start this process with doing a career goals gap analysis. From there I make a plan on how to fill these gaps. For me, my mentors have been integral in determining how to implement this plan.
In a recent study by Heidrick & Struggles, 56% of professionals said they engaged in a primary mentoring relationship because they aspired to reach a similar point as their mentor in their own career. As a long distance run leader, I have seen the benefits of mentoring in supporting individuals to achieve goals that they never thought possible and the rewards on both sides as both a mentor and a mentee in order to work together to achieve a goal. Mentors not only facilitate knowledge transfer and leadership development but also contribute to increasing confidence. With the mentee driving the conversation, it allows mentors to take a leadership role in driving implementation of their own career journey, while having a “guide on the side” to support achieve these goals.
We talked to a few mentors and mentees who participated in the BWT Mentoring program last year and here are the top 3 values that they got from the experience
1. Promote personal and professional development
A mentor can help you identify the skills needed, set goals together, and help you stay focused and on track in your career. They can help you navigate various work situations based on their own experience in their organization.
As a mentor having a mentee can help you to work on several personal and professional
development goals. Mentees can teach their mentors a lot about what it means to be a
strong leader, to have courageous conversations and to have development conversations with
your mentee for them to navigate their daily challenges and big picture goals. The relationship
can also be a great reminder of lessons you need to remind yourself of.
2. Strengthen learning through different perspectives
Not only can you learn from the past experiences of the mentor, having a mentor working in a different company and industry means they can offer you a fresh and differing perspective. Hearing their experiences about how they handled a similar situation, will help strengthen the lessons you’ve learned already.
Likewise, mentees bring a unique perspective that a mentor may not always encounter. It makes
you think on your feet and may force you to pivot your thinking.
3. Expand your network
Having a mentor or mentee in a different company and industry provides the unique opportunity to expand your existing network of contacts – personal or professional. A strong professional network can introduce you to a many opportunities—perhaps a new potential employer, client or friend!
The BWT Mentoring Program unites women across companies and industries. It is a unique opportunity to expand your network and connect with other women, learn from each other, and support you in your development journey. So, what are you waiting for? Apply to our BWT Mentorship program! Act fast, we are taking mentors and mentees for the Winter 2019/2020 cohort!
Written by Ashley Chen and Tara Williams, BWT Mentorship Program Leads