A Shared Growth Journey

If you’ve ever attended a “women in the workplace” conference or webinar, I’m sure you’ve heard this tip countless times: Find a mentor. If you haven’t, it’s only a matter of time: I’m positive you eventually will.

In this blog post, I’ll share my perspective on mentorship, why a mentor is key as you kick off and develop your professional track, how to find one, and best practices to take into account to drive a successful mentorship.

First, what is a mentor?

A mentor is someone who can help you, the mentee, develop professional skills or expertise, provide you with guidance and advice around your career management and help you manage the challenges and forks in the road. As defined by Diane Domeyer Kock, executive director of The Creative Group, “A mentor can serve as a sounding board at critical points throughout your career. They can provide guidance on career management you may not be able to get from other sources and an insider’s perspective on the business, as well as make introductions to key industry contacts.”

I admit- I was also a bit overwhelmed by the over-hyped “find a mentor” line. But, seriously, I find it to be a complete understatement now. It’s critical to have a mentor early on in your career- somebody who can provide you with fresh perspectives, insights and impulse to reach your professional and personal goals.

So, the question I want to help answer today is, “how do I find a mentor?” To answer this question, I want to share my personal path towards mentorship.

Finding a Mentor

Let it flow, you may already have one that you’re unaware of!

When I joined Bitso, I was working in the People team, and that enabled me to build a solid network within the company. When the VP of Engineering joined the company, I started working closely with him to help execute the organizational vision for his team through recruitment and other talent attraction initiatives. We were a great team! Not only did we work well together but we also formed a strong friendship.

Five months later, I was off to explore a new area, payments project management, but I was very mindful of keeping in touch with relationships like his. I valued his perspective since the day he joined Bitso, and I wanted to make sure he continued to play a part in my career development. I asked him for a monthly one on one to stay in touch and catch up on the latest. Naturally, it evolved into a mentorship. I came to him with updates and career advice, and he also shared things that were keeping him up.

In an interview, Melinda Gates once shared that “the most important mentoring I’ve had in my life hasn’t always been formal. There are rarely moments where you officially declare someone your mentor and go schedule advice-getting time in your calendar. It’s really just about developing relationships with individuals who you admire and can relate to.”

So, first, make sure you’re building strong relationships around you, and ask yourself: Even if it hasn’t been formalized, is there somebody who is indirectly acting as my mentor? And, once you have done so, you should plan to formalize it- to ensure that you’re working in a structured manner which ensures you both benefit from the relationship and can maximize the output.

Enrol in a mentorship program.

Last year, YPO, the Young President’s Organization, co-organized a mentorship program with YNG, YPO Next Generation. They would match a YPOer with a YNGer, who held similar career interests but who was only taking off. The program consisted of meeting on a monthly/bimonthly basis to go over personal and professional goals, hurdles and more.

There, I was paired with Gabriel Monterrubio, who is one of the people I most admire because, apart from being an incredible entrepreneur, he’s extremely human and has an invaluable perspective to bring to any conversation.

Most importantly, he has provided me with the foundations to enable myself to ask the important questions: Where am I going? Will that initiative propel me towards my goal or is it a deviator? Where do these insecurities come from? He’s helped me build self-awareness, expand my network, identify key actions and blind spots.

Search for and enrol in a public mentorship program. I know these can be more intimidating because it’s a bit of a blind date, but take this into account: The quality of the mentorship will be a product of your commitment, the time and effort you dedicate to it, and your drive to make every session better than the last. So it’s always up to you, and remember we all have something to learn from the person next to us.

Ask for help!

Do you have a dream mentor but need an introduction, or are you having a hard time identifying a mentor and want recommendations? Don’t be afraid to ask for help.

Ask friends, colleagues or your manager for a referral. Let them know you’re on a growth journey and want to connect with someone with x characteristics, or with y career path. There is so much power in enlisting allies into your change efforts. You’ll be surprised who you could end up connecting with.

Use this mentorship seeking opportunity to ask for help, enlist new allies, and solidify your relationships.

And, now that you’ve found a mentor, here are my best practices for a successful mentorship

Set clear objectives for the mentorship and each session. On one side, make sure you’re clear about what you want to achieve from the program. This is one of the most important tools your mentor will have to ask the right questions and keep you on track. On the other hand, arrive to each session with a clear objective. If you want to prepare next steps to ask for a promotion, be explicit about it with your mentor. This will keep you aligned and hyper-focused throughout the session, and ensure the time spent is generating value.

Set an agenda prior to each session. Be transparent with your mentor as to which topics you’ll be discussing throughout the session. The objective of an agenda is to provide transparency and give your mentor some time to prepare and not go into the session feeling blindsided. An agenda also enables you to carry out a structured discussion and ensure you follow-up on the action items covered during previous sessions. Make sure to include time for a general catch up, the previous sessions’ follow-up items, the session’s agenda and the key conclusions.

Come prepared with concrete asks for your mentor. Ensure that each discussion item on the agenda comes accompanied by an ask. For example, try asking: What is your opinion? What would you do if you were in that situation? I’d like to learn of how you managed a similar situation.

Make it two-sided. The mentor also has things going on in his/her life, and can also learn a lot from YOU! So make sure you’re adding time in the agenda for his/her general updates, follow-up items, and discussion points. This will ensure that the relationship you’re building is mutually beneficial and will build the foundations for a stronger relationship.

I will say it once more: find a mentor. You’ll find it’s a worthwhile shared growth journey.