There are a number of benefits to having a mentor that has the expertise and knowledge of your industry or job role to help you progress your career, open doors and help you think about things you may or may not have considered previously.
Here are our top 10 reasons for having a business mentor in this day and age.
A Fountain of Knowledge
Having a mentor is a valuable source of knowledge and information. Whatever your reason for having a mentor, whether it is starting a new business, changing direction in your career, developing a business idea further or simply to progress your business, mentors have experienced similar situations and can helpfully guide you through the process using first hand knowledge.
Honest and Constructive Criticism
A mentor can provide helpful and honest criticism that your family and friends just simply won’t provide. They’ll be able to see from the outside and provide a view of the bigger picture, helping to bring your focus to areas that may need improvement or tweaking in order to work. This insight is incredibly valuable and can help improve your business strategy, model and process. This means you will be quicker to see results, and skip the trial and error process you’d otherwise take without their insight and comments.
Motivation, Encouragement and Positivity
A mentor can provide much needed support when it comes to overcoming challenges and hurdles. Imposter syndrome and self-doubt can creep in, so having a mentor that has been there and done it can be incredibly helpful when combatting negative thoughts.
Promoting a healthy work/life balance
A mentor will be able to lead the way when it comes to promoting a healthy way of working and a work/life balance. They’ll be able to identify when you’re on the brink of digital burnout and be able to point out when you should be taking time out to relax and step back from your business/career.
Personal Growth
A good mentor can promote and encourage personal growth, seeing you flourish and succeed under their guidance. In some cases they are able to identify your strengths and weaknesses, setting you challenges and tasks to help improve the areas that you may be lacking. It’s a healthy learning opportunity that can add value to your experience.
Eliminating Bias
A mentor is neutral and therefore can help eliminate bias when it comes to things that matter to you or that you particularly care about. They can detach emotion from business logic, helping to navigate those areas of business and make sure you stay on a straight path towards your goal. They are also able to provide an insight into different options and choices along the way, helping you to choose the correct option for you and your circumstances.
Building Trust
Having a mentor means that together you’ll learn to trust each other. You’ll trust their judgement and business advice, and they will trust and put faith in your ability and skills. Having a mentor benefits both parties, and building trust can lead to an excellent business connection that you can nurture for life.
Setting and Achieving Goals
A mentor can help you set the goals you want to achieve and help you strive to achieve them. Where they can’t do the work for you, they can assist you in putting together a checklist of items to show how you can get there. Checking in on your progress will keep you on a good path, meaning that it’s easier to commit to what you have said you will do. Keeping you and your goals in check!
Providing a New Perspective
Your mentor can introduce to you new ways of thinking, and provide a completely new perspective to the one you previously held. This links in well with your personal growth, continuously developing your business skills and assisting you in becoming more receptive to different viewpoints and ways of doing things.
Opening Doors
And finally, in the long run a mentor can open many doors for you. Whether that’s having networking connections that will be beneficial to you and your business, having the knowledge to help you grow your business and take it to new heights or whether it’s providing you with new improved confidence and motivation… it’s a win win!