Having A Mentor - The Fastest Way to Success
Ever agonised for days over how to handle a difficult situation in your work? When eventually you took action you were anxious and worried about whether you had done the right thing.
Now, if you had a mentor, you could have contacted him or her and your mentor would have shared his or her experience with you in handling those situations. You would have been able to bounce your feelings and reactions off your mentor until you felt clear about how you needed to act. You would have then responded confidently feeling very supported. When I ask successful people to list how they have become successful, 99% of the time they will say that having a mentor was one of the most important ingredients of their success. I want to motivate you this week to get a mentor. Your mentor is someone you admire, someone who has achieved already what you want to achieve. It may be someone who has highly developed skills that you would like to have - is a very good networker, or who handles conflict well, or is a very good negotiator, for example. It may be someone who has reached a level of leadership that you aspire to and you'd like to be guided there. For women, it may be a woman who is also a mother but has reached the top of her profession and you'd like her mentoring with managing the challenges of motherhood and career. Mentors walk the road with you. They "hold" your hand. They are a guide on the side, rather than a sage on the stage. They don't tell you what to do, rather they share their experience and encourage, support and empower you to make your own decisions. Having a mentor means you don't have to re-invent the wheel every time you have to make a decision. So think about mentors within your organisation or mentors outside it. Draw up a short list and begin to approach them.
Don't hesitate! You won't regret it.
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