National Mentor Month!
Did you even know there was a National Mentor Month? I didn’t until I started researching how mentoring and leadership went hand in hand. So, The Harvard School of Public Health and MENTOR, first founded National Mentoring Month in 2002. It’s since been recognized in January every year, with January 17th celebrated as National Mentoring Day.
My Experience without A Mentor
During my last year of college, I had applied for an internship in my field and I was rejected! I was rejected because my application was so AWFUL that it didn’t warrant a second glance and to add insult to misery my lack of leadership experiences didn’t prepare me for the field.
Undoubtedly, I admit I was embarrassed I had made it through a BS degree and failed to complete the necessary steps to launch me into my career.
Consequently, I realized even though several of the professors were giving advice about what we needed as students to obtain an internship they didn’t mentor us, provide leadership or help us set goals. A mentor and mentorship was the missing link.
How I Made A Difference Mentoring As A Student
What I did after that was to help mentor other undergraduate students so they did not experience the shame and embarrassment as I did.
Along with a professor, I started an undergraduate mentoring program. She was equally interested in the development of a mentoring program as much as I. She taught me so much, such as how to implement a mentoring program that would live beyond our involvement. That was the key-developing a mentorship program that would continue to evolve with each class.
How I Made a Difference Mentoring In My Career
I realized one day the international company I work for did not have an advisory board for technicians. We have an advisory board for professionals but we didn’t have one for the men and women who worked the front line for us. Therefore, I worked with my leader and my peers to create our own advisory board for technicians. As a result, we now have an advisory board for North America. This is one of the 7 things I have learned by leading people, and how I made a difference.
How Do Leaders Benefit From Mentors?
If you were to ask leaders in any organization, they will tell you their mentors helped them along the way.
Mentors learn to expand their own professional resources by teaching others their skills, soft skills, and knowledge. Mentors provide different experiences at different levels, which builds strong credibility.
Mentors are typically someone who has experience in a similar field, however, it should be noted mentors can be a person who has a positive influence on a leader outside of work as well. Think about mentors in the form of a clergyman/woman, the wisdom of our elders, the leadership from family and friends.
Great leaders are shaped by all of the mentors around them.
Why Should You Mentor?
As stated above, mentorship can come from many types of people who have influence on us. Similarly we can use our influence and experience to support others. We need to pay our leadership experience forward to other women, more now than ever before.
For instance, I am becoming a better leader through this mentoring blog. I know I have life and work experience to help others. I am becoming more confident as a leader.
We are witnessing a time never seen before where women are breaking barriers in all aspects of the world. A post by Everwise in 2017, writes about 10 Reasons Leaders Should Mentor. Three of the reasons we should all consider are it helps us achieve our business goals, we make new connections and we enjoy the feeling of paying it forward.
When we pay it forward, we become better and stronger women.
A post by Everwise, in 2017, writes about 10 Reasons Leaders Should Mentor Others.
Mentors Come and Go
I have several wonderful mentors though out my career. I can happily remember them proudly telling me I was doing a great job and was a natural born leader.
I have also had those same mentors fall from grace.
One mentor of mine was upset with me when a business decision to eliminated a position her family member occupied. The loss of this mentor was very hurtful.
Therefore, it is important to remember you will have many mentors throughout your career, they are human, they aren’t infallible. They will help guide you in so many ways.