How to get a mentor

This is a guest post from Avil Beckford

Accomplished individuals often express gratitude to their mentors, and it’s often been said that anyone who wants to succeed should have a mentor.

And, many studies report the positive impact that mentoring has on both the mentor and mentee. The reality is that most people will never be in a traditional mentoring relationship. If you aren’t one of the privileged few who have had mentors to pave the way and open doors for you, do not be disheartened. Instead adopt a proactive attitude, and change the way you view mentoring relationships.

Because you cannot participate in a traditional mentoring relationship doesn’t mean that you cannot reap the rewards. First, be very clear about why you’d like to be mentored. Find others who would like to be mentored as well, and form a mentoring circle, a support network where you assist each other to achieve your goals. Conduct research to uncover people who have successfully traveled the path you are journeying on. Think about what you’d like to ask them if you ever got the opportunity to meet them.

Plan a Minute (Speed) Mentoring event and invite those who have traveled the path before you to your event so that they can share their experiences. Many people are not willing to commit the time necessary for a traditional mentoring relationship, but would be open to participating at an event. Have no more than 10 mentors and 10 mentees, where each mentee spends 10 minutes with each mentor.

After the speed mentoring, have a networking component where all can build community while eating. At the end of the evening, 10 accomplished individuals would have shared their wisdom and experiences with you.

Another mentoring idea is to use invisible mentors. As defined by Washington State University Professor, Karen L. Peterson in 2000, an invisible mentor is a unique leader you can learn things from by observing them from a distance. With advances in Internet and other online technologies, the definition can be expanded to include the dearly departed if you are not easily spooked. With the kind of access to information that we have today, you can easily find information on almost anyone. In your mentoring circle, as a group, identify about 10 people who you have always wanted to meet, and do not let a little thing as death be a barrier. Assign the names to everyone in the group, and conduct research on every name on the list. Look at books written by, and about the invisible mentors. What speeches and presentations have they given? What concepts and models have they developed? What are they known for? Which books influenced them? Who mentored them? Present findings to the group so that all may benefit. Immerse yourself in the information about these people, so that when you face a challenge on your journey, you can ask and answer the question, “What would Jane Good Mentor do in this situation?”

With a little bit of creativity and a pinch of open-mindedness, you can get almost anyone to mentor you, and the best part is that in some instances you do not need their permission.

You can find Avil blogging at The Invisible Mentor

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