On Mentors (part 1)

How great mentoring helped me accelerate my development

Before I get into this weeks piece, please check out Deel above- they have some great insights, which are only a click away.

One of the downsides to self development is that it can drive people inwards, thinking they have to do it for themselves. In fact, looking to others is the way we’ve always learned, and leadership isn’t any different. Ownership is one of my Leadership101 core behaviours; struggling to make progress on your own, and not asking for help, is antithetical to what I’m building here. 

A brief story. I joined a bank call centre when I was 19 years old. It was a bit of an accident, and a decent pay rise, but finance was never on my radar, at all, ever. I still thought I was going back to university the next year. 

After a year in the job, I applied for a management scheme that I found somewhere on our intranet, and no one realised until it was too late that I wasn’t eligible. The short version of the story is I was offered a role in a branch anyway, and moved on. The people I met during that selection process are in large part responsible for where I am today. 

One of those people was Jim. Jim had a huge impact on my career in terms of looking beyond the day to day job, and thinking about a career. 

Jim was an ordinary guy, non university educated, worked hard, progressed through the ranks and did well for himself. He took a shine to me, and acted informally as a mentor to me for years. When we spoke about a specific skill I wanted to develop, or an area I wanted exposure to, he would make introductions or suggestions, or kick ideas around with me. He helped me develop professionally, and gave me answers when no amount of self reflection or thinking could reveal what I was looking for. 

Having someone who can help, who can open doors, who can identify opportunities to explore and gaps to fill is a hugely important part of developing as a leader. They also help pass on knowledge that you can’t learn from a book or a conversation with someone at your own level.  

In today’s world of hybrid working, finding a mentor, or even having a relationship with someone senior who you can then approach is more difficult. It’s also why I can’t recommend highly enough spending time in the office, meeting people, asking questions and building up practical experience over taking the safe option of working from home, even if this is an easier option. 

So- who is someone you know, trust and respect as a leader, who might be able to help you? Go and ask them for some help. Seek out their opinion and ask them for their view on the challenges you’re facing. 

If you don’t have someone who think you can ask, how can you develop a relationship which might lead to mentoring later? It doesn’t have to be someone at work; maybe a parent or friend can recommend someone they know, or perhaps it’s worth seeking out a mentoring program and investing in yourself and your own development.   

Because at various times of my life, someone with a bucket load of experience helped me make a decision, including the decision to embark on a career in financial planning. People like Jim are the reason I am the owner / operator of a successful financial planning practice. People like Jim have mentored me since, and I’ll continue to seek out mentors to learn from, formally and informally. 

They are in part the reason I’m sat writing this newsletter, as part of a continued effort to pay it forward, in the way that they did for me. I’m really grateful to have met these people, and for the trajectory they put me on. 

Next week is part 2; how can we obtain mentorship from people we don’t know. If someone you know would enjoy this, please forward it on. If you got this from someone else, please subscribe so it’s delivered straight to your inbox next week. 

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