Mentor - Yoda to your Luke Skywalker
Getting a good mentor can help you find the express route to your destination
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Getting a good mentor can help you find the express route to your destination
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Life comes with no user guide, but you can get hold of some great cheat codes if you have mentors. Bill Gates, Mother Teresa, and Oprah Winfrey had mentors.
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Why do you need a mentor?
A mentor can help you with your career planning and address specific questions. You can learn from your mistakes but with a mentor, you can learn from their mistakes too. It is one thing to read about the Eisenhowers matrix to prioritization, and another to hear how your mentor delegated a specific task.
How to choose your mentor?
You can look for mentors anywhere. Your current company, personal network, and family. Two ways to go about finding your mentor.
Get mentored by someone who is in your target position. For example, if you want to be an engineering manager, get an engineering manager as your mentor.
Get mentored by someone who has your target skillset. For example, if you want to be a skilled communicator, get a skilled communicator as your mentor.
What to discuss with your mentor?
The mentor relationship does not have to be formal. If you need help, there is always the internet. The Internet is full of wisdom from leaders across industries. Your mentor is there for you to get personalized feedback that helps you in your unique circumstances.
Respect your mentor’s time. You may have heard about how asking the right question will get you to half the solution. Prepare for your conversation with your mentor and many times the preparation itself will get you halfway to solving your problem.
Be a mentor yourselves
Mentors also benefit from having mentees. It offers you an opportunity for self-reflection and exposes you to alternative perspectives among other things. Offer your time and expertise to interested mentees.
As Yoda would say - Great mentor, find you must. And be one, you can.
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