Why You Should Have a Mentor (And How to Find One)

No matter who you are or what you do, it’s important to surround yourself with people who can speak into your life, especially if you are looking to grow. From business owners to employees to CEOs and consultants, there is a common need for insight and fresh perspective in order for us to better fully understand ourselves. I’ve spent 30+ years of my life empowering and building people through Masterclass events on communication, leadership, and growing big people.

We all have blind spots and room for improvement in our lives, and it often takes an objective outsider to help us see these things and manage them better. 

If you’re truly ready to take the next step in your personal growth journey, might I suggest looking into one-on-one mentoring? A great mentor can teach and help perceive emerging problems, share how to grow from them, and guide you towards becoming both a better person and leader. 

A mentor can often share in minutes what would take you years to figure out on your own. You can read countless leadership development books and listen to every new personal empowerment podcast, but one of the greatest things you can introduce into your life is mentorship. 

Successful Mentoring

Successful mentoring is a relational investment that will only continue to grow you in your personal and professional life if you decide to invest in yourself. 

If you’re serious about achieving results, you must be serious about the investment. You must tell yourself:

• There is value in having someone in my life to tell me I’m not crazy and neither are my ideas. 
• I deserve the support and encouragement of being told by others not to quit. 
• When it comes to my personal growth and development, I shouldn’t feel bad for wanting to invest in myself.

A great mentor is going to help you grow in your personal development and not merely professionally or performance-based. Mentoring is more concerned with you as a person and who you can become, and less with what you can do or perform. 

So how do you find a mentor?

Whether you’re looking to find a mentor or a mentoring program, you must first ask yourself if you are open to being vulnerable and honest with yourself and with others. Great mentors aim to be the teachers of the students who are ready to learn. 

Mentors appear when we’re ready for their voices in our lives. 

For some of you, there may already be someone you could ask to fill the role of mentor in your life. Others may prefer looking into online mentoring programs or leadership coaching. I’ve had the privilege of mentoring incredible groups of dedicated people who have made the decision to invest in themselves and join an online mentorship community. 

Whichever path you choose, consider the following:

• What are you aiming to learn?
  - It’s important to have a target in mind in order to set an understood expectation for both the mentor and the mentee.
  
• Who do you know or admire that you would want to learn from?
  - This could be someone in the same industry as you, a leader or influential person in your life, or even someone you may not know personally. 
• Why do you need a mentor now?
  - You can’t be successful in a mentoring relationship if you aren’t ready or don’t truly feel the need. 

I hope you’re beginning to see just how impactful and beneficial a mentoring relationship can be in your own life. 

It’s about helping you flourish, and guiding you as you become the best version of yourself. Mentoring is personal, relational, and all about investing in the person, you want to be. 

If you’re ready to commit to becoming the best version of yourself, mentoring will equip and empower you to thrive on your own and live out your potential.