5 Top Lessons From Mentorship

I'm about ten years into my career. It's been shaped in large part by those I admire and have had the pleasure of being mentored by. As I sit here thinking of the new year, 2015; and all that it will likely bring I am compelled to share some of the most helpful pieces of advice that I've received. Reflecting on those philosophies now, mingled together as part of my cognitive mantra catalog, I know that mentorship has been the biggest professional advantage I've benefited from. Here are some concepts I hope others might gain from as well:

Pick The Right Elevator

A trusted friend once told me to think of my trajectory in life as you would a bank of elevators. If each elevator represented possible jobs with various leaders, bosses, employers, etc. in your life, which would take you where you wanted to go fastest? At the time I was considering a career change, and my friend encouraged me to look at the leadership for both possibilities. He counseled that I look for reference to a past colleague as an example on someone whose choice of elevator had contributed to a series of career successes. They had chosen one elevator in life, choosing to ally themselves with a mentor, who turned into a CEO, who led them to new opportunities time and time again. Over the course of that relationship, this colleague themselves turned into an executive as well. Today they are a C-Suite member of one of the fastest growing consumer goods companies in the world. If they'd picked a different elevator, how would things have turned out differently?

Order Your Priorities

It can be very difficult to ascertain what is most important to you outside of the vitals (i.e. loved ones, health, etc.). It can be especially challenging in career decisions. I.e. what is more important between money, influence, making an impact? They all sound good, right? This has been one of the most helpful and guiding exercises I've done in my professional life. The Priority Star. It's a process of picking the ten most important factors that matter to you in a decision. You then narrow that list down to five, understanding whether there is overlap between your original list of ten. Once you've settled on the five most important factors, you write them out in a clockwise order, as if each factor was located on a point of an invisible five point star. You start at the top and draw arrows to how each factor drives other factors being considered. Not every factor will influence something else. At the end, you assign a number to each factor, #1 being that which had the fewest number of arrows pointing at it, #5 having the most arrows. The results are your ordered list of top needs, which can then be used to guide your decision making process. If you know what is most important for you, it aids you in negotiating ideal terms or deciding your next best steps.

Be Open

What we see in life depends mainly on what we look for. If you aren't open to opportunity, you won't see it. Be a connector and know that those connections will benefit you simply through your participation. It feels good to connect with other smart people. If your eyes are open and you pay attention to your curiosities, you're bound to see many chances ripe for the taking.

Be An "A" Player, And Keep Your Head Down

One of my first mentors told me this, "Make yourself indispensable." You do this by doing good work, working for cause, not applause. Being an A player doesn't mean being the loudest voice in the room or showing off your good work. I think it was Steve Martin who said, "Be so good they can't ignore you." That starts with the decision to try, and the perseverance to know that there are no true failures- only lessons on how to do it differently next time. Every day work smarter, and give everything you can for that moment. Be smart about what you can really give, different periods in life will mean you have more or less to give. That's okay. If you're a rock-star, your company/boss/colleagues will just be grateful that you're doing your best at that time.

Get A Mentor!!!

A mentor is someone who has greater еntrерrеnеuriаl businеss еxреriеnсе thаn уоu and serves as a trusted advisor over an extended period of time. What's great about a mentee/mentor relationship is that it is mutually rewarding, with the mentee gaining invaluable advice during important stages of their career and mentors being challenged with new perspectives. Last year Forbes did a nice job of summarizing ways to find a mentor, quoting Sheryl Sandberg, who emphasizes that unless using a mentorship program you want to chose someone you already know, look up to, and whom you've already proven yourself to.

If you're looking to mentor someone and are in the Marketing/Research field, a fantastic organization that I'm involved with, Women in Research, is still accepting 2015 mentors! Click here to submit your bio and we’ll follow up with a call to figure out how to get you involved.

Cheers to 2015 and my sincere hopes that this list is helpful in shaping a rewarding year!