Part one of this series looked at making sure you are ready to do the work – in taking action, and implementing the decisions made and advice given – but also on building and maintaining the relationship.
Part two looks at getting clarity about exactly what it is you want to achieve from your relationship with the mentor, and what kind of mentor you are looking for.
Make the right choice
For example, you may be expecting a mentor to teach you veterinary business principles so that, one day, you can open your own hospital. But that person:
- may not actually know how to do that, despite appearing on the outside that he or she does
- may not be able to teach it to you, as it was set up before him or her by someone else and he or she bought the business with all the systems and processes in place
- may not want to share that private knowledge until you have gained his or her trust and demonstrated loyalty
- may appear successful on the outside, but, perhaps, are struggling, too
Knowing what you want and getting the right mentor is critical – otherwise, it could be a fast track to destruction, rather than success.
Be clear about what you want
What is it you want to achieve?
It is so important you determine this before searching for your mentor. Why? Because without clearly defining that for yourself, how do you know you have found the right person?
Each mentor will have different experiences and skills to bring to the relationship.
What kind of mentor do you want?
Now you have determined what you are wanting to achieve, what kind of mentor are you looking for?
When considering this, don’t just look for the most successful people – look for those who demonstrate qualities you want to demonstrate one day yourself.
It is best to steer away from potential mentor figures who are popular and do not demonstrate all you are looking for.
When looking for potential mentors, watch and follow them for a while then think whether he or she is the kind of person you would like to be.
What is it that you are expecting from him or her?
What does the standard mentee and mentoring relationship actually look like to you. Most relationships involve a formal or informal discussion for one to two hours once a month; some follow-up emails or texts may be exchanged to update progress.
Does this meet your expectation? If not, then what you are looking for may not be a traditional mentoring relationship. If you work with your mentor, informal interactions may occur at work, but a more formal meeting may also be scheduled once a month.
- Part three will look at how to approach a potential mentor.
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