Tips for Successfully Keeping a Mentor
Photo via Mashable
Ask any business leader about the key figures who helped shape their path to success, and many will gladly and openly sing the praises of the mentors who came before them. When paired with mentors who are generous with their time and experience, the relationship can prove to be invaluable. It’s why Square’s Jack Dorsey is quick to name philanthropist Ray Chambers as a pivotal figure in his professional life, and how the mentorship between Kevin Systrom of Instagram and Quora’s Adam D’Angelo evolved into an investment opportunity. It’s also why Fashion Tech Forum offers a mentorship program as part of its annual Founders of the Future Challenge.
Increasingly, mentors are also stressed as vital for not only those just starting out, but for executives and CEO’s who’ve reached the top already, as described in an April 2015 op-ed in the Harvard Business Review.
But of course, finding a mentor is one thing; maintaining that relationship is another matter altogether.
To that end, Mashable has gathered insight from two women – Julia Robinson of Twitter and Kathy Aaronson of Sales Athlete Executive Search – both of whom have enjoyed the mutual benefits of maintaining their mentorship for years on end. Here is their advice on the topic.
Honesty is paramount, above all else. “We have an agreement that we’ll tell each other the truth. There’s no such thing as bad news, just taking that and working with it. That’s the basis of our relationship,” Aaronson told Mashable.
Outline parameters and boundaries. From the cadence of communication to exactly what the mentee is hoping to gain from the partnership, setting ground rules from the beginning is key to managing expectations and maximizing satisfaction.
Benefits should go both ways. I think the most important thing to understand is that [a mentorship relationship] needs to be give and take,” Aaronson says. “There needs to be an understanding and respect for what is needed and what’s being given. It’s a very personal judgment.”
Demonstrate your appreciation and be open to the natural evolution of the mentor-mentee relationship. As a mentee, showing how appreciative you are of the time and thought a mentor devotes to you is one way to ensure the partnership remains strong. “Some mentorships are set up on an annual basis or they have a timing criteria. I believe that once you begin that type of relationship, it shouldn’t have an expiration date,” Aaronson adds.
