As Steven Spielberg once said, “The delicate balance of mentoring someone is not creating them in your own image, but giving them the opportunity to create themselves.” This is the value of mentorship.
This, above anything else, is at the heart of what it means to …
- Give in a mentoring relationship
- Receive in a mentoring relationship
I’ve had many mentors in my life — people that I knew very well who guided me through tricky situations professionally, as well as people I’ve admired from afar. That second group served as guiding lights, helping me discover who I want to be professionally and how I want to show up in front of others. Both are valuable and both can have tremendous impact on our careers.
So let’s take a deeper look at mentorship. Here are five articles on how to make the most of mentoring.
1. What the best mentors do.
This article from Harvard Business Review explores the evolution of mentorship in a tech-enabled world and provides four guiding principles for making the most of a mentoring relationship while understanding the value of mentorship from this perspective.
2. How mentoring in the workplace can strengthen a company.
If you’ve ever considered implementing a mentor program at your company, this article by Robert Half provides five foundational elements for ensuring your program is a success.
3. Understanding the value of mentorship.
This article by The Balance Careers provides a great breakdown of how mentorship works, what it means to be a mentor and what to expect as a mentee.
4. How the value of mentorship equals a mutually beneficial partnership.
Yes! This article from Mind Tools explores the benefits of mutual mentoring, which includes engaging with someone who encourages you and challenges you to reach your goals.
5. The do’s and don’ts of mentoring.
This article from Forbes provides guidance on where a mentoring relationship can go off the rails. My favorite part: don’t be the hero.
I’m going to wrap this article up with another quote. As Winston Churchill said, “We make a living by what we get, we make a life by what we give.” So tell me, do you currently have a mentoring relationship? If so, ask yourself how you can show up differently to breathe new life into the relationship. If not, what’s holding you back? How can you redefine what mentorship looks like so you can open that path before the end of the year? Did you find the value of mentorship to be one-sided? How can you add more balance to that relationship to start 2020 strong?
Christina Holloway is an executive coach and business coach. She helps executives and entrepreneurs grow their companies faster, create results-driven teams, and increase profitability. She has been featured in Forbes, The Huffington Post, Addicted2Success and Fast Company. If you’re interested in working with Christina, take a look at her strategy sessions and contact her to get started.
