Introduction

Welcome to International Mentoring Day on January 17!

As The Marketing Mentor, I’ve experienced the transformative power of both mentoring as a business mentor and being mentored. Today, I’m sharing my insights and encouraging you to embrace this journey, whether you’re seeking guidance or offering it.

Let’s explore how mentoring can intertwine your personal aspirations with your professional ambitions, and how simply asking can open doors to incredible mentorship opportunities.

How do you go about finding a mentor?

In a simple word – ASK!

Storytime: Let me tell you about the first time I asked for a mentor. There was a particular leader – Marketing Director at the time of a big telecommunications company in Australia. I’d been lucky enough to meet with this amazing individual by chance and was absolutely in awe of not only what she had achieved, but how she conducted herself.

At the time it wasn’t so easy to climb the corporate ladder for us girls and here was this incredible individual who was calm, intelligent and someone I could learn so much from for my career development.

So when we first met – well, we hit a vibe. We were chatting non-stop, drinking shots at the bar and at first, I wasn’t aware of who she was or her role. To some degree that was a good thing because I probably would have been intimidated and not been myself without the dutch courage.

We had a fantastic night and when I woke up the next day and found out her role and I thought to myself, this is someone that I could really learn from. Not only skills, but values and how to conduct myself as a woman in a leadership role.

Now, I’m going to be honest – I don’t really remember how I next saw her (I have a terrible memory!) but what I do remember is meeting her for a coffee/drink and I had decided to ask her if she would be my mentor.

I was TERRIFIED!

But alas, I was keen to learn and grow – so I put my fear aside and went for it.

And to my surprise (and delight) she said yes! At the time I was so honoured that someone of that calibre – a Marketing Director of a big telco would be willing to give me her time to help me grow.

I’m super grateful to her for those mentoring catch ups – they really did establish a foundation for me that I leaned into.

How to set up a mentoring relationship

Now back then – I’m pretty sure I literally Googled “how to set up the mentoring relationship”! And it gave me heaps of structure, to the point where I was overprepared when I met with her. In the end, we just ended up chatting and found that we had similar dynamics in the workplace that connected us with mutual respect and we provided support for each other.

Personally today – I take a much more structured approach, but it all depends on the nature of the mentoring.

I think it needs to be clear about what your goals are. What are you seeking to achieve? Where do you want to be personally and professionally? How can you learn from your mentor – would you like them to take the lead or would you like to ask questions. Is it casual or formal? Should you set out the parameters formally or just establish how often you meet for coffee?

These are just some of the questions you could ask as a starting point – but do remember to put check-ins in place so that you take a moment to make sure it is working for both of you or if you need to make some tweaks.

Formal Mentoring Programs: Professional Mentoring Program

In formal mentoring program – you can expect more structure, follow up and planning. This would be something you would do if you have some ambitious goals like retiring by 50 years old or developing an entirely new skill.

Mentoring can take on many forms – from structured training, motivation, advice, success planning, providing direction, coaching, or providing support. But no matter which form it takes – it is super important to be clear on your goal! Be sure to do this upfront as it keeps you all on track for why you’re really there.

Casual Mentoring Relationships

I would suggest that my first ever mentor relationship was like this. It was much more casual and we agreed to meet once a month over a drink. To be honest, it ended up being more about support than anything else, but in the process I was able to witness an individual who was excellent at her job, kind but strong and conducted herslef with honesty and class. So whilst it was an informal form of mentoring, it held a great dregree of impact for me.

My advice: Get a Mentor or Mentee when you run your own business

Nowadays I mentor people professionally both for leadership and marketing, and it brings me so much joy!

I love seeing people grow and evolve based on my humble advice. I’m lucky enough to have had a very broad career with some companies that provided me with formal training that set me up for success. What I have found is that not everyone has had that luxury, so it my pleasure to pass the baton of knowledge that I have built over the years.

I also recently started a shared mentor relationship with a friend of mine, and I cannot recommmend highly enough having an accountability partner like that where you are both the mentor – especially if you run your own business. It is so easy to leave your own work stuff to the side when you are servicing clients – their work always wins the priority game vs your own business.

So if you struggle with focusing on your own business and need to have someone hold you accountable (as well as inspire your own growth) – then seek out a mentor. You can just ask someone who is in a similar situation to you that is a non-commercial relationship – or ask for a professional. Either way – be clear on your goals, what the parameters are, how often you meet and how you will follow up.

Happy Mentoring and Happy International Mentoring Day