Mentorship plays a crucial role in the growth of any entrepreneur, but it is especially important for women entrepreneurs. Mentors have the power to change your viewpoint and expand your horizons, showing you a world you never knew existed. During the Symposium, the importance of mentors was discussed at length during a lunch panel on mentorship.
Where Do You Find Mentors?
Panelists shared personal stories about their mentorship experiences, making it clear that there are several ways to find mentors. Some found mentors in structured mentorship programs offered through schools, organizations, websites, and workplaces. Others gained mentors informally - through work or internships where coworkers or managers become mentors, through large networking events or smaller networking groups, or by creating their own mentors by establishing a board of advisors.
Challenges to Finding Mentors
Although mentors are all around us, the panelists also talked about the challenge of forming a mentor relationship. The main issue is that you need to be proactive, willing to reach out and ask for help. A secondary issue, once you do find a mentor, is making the relationship work. Some challenges include:
-
Not feeling comfortable enough to ask for help from a mentor or being afraid of rejection.
-
Not enough formal mentorship programs available.
-
Poor structuring of formal mentorship programs.
-
Lack of clear expectations about the relationship, including the time commitment, what you are supposed to do, and what you are supposed to get out of it.
-
Mentor or mentee not having enough time to nurture the mentoring relationship.
How to Make a Mentorship Work
Mentors provide a sounding board for ideas, they help you make connections, and they keep you moving forward so you can progress faster. For the relationship to work, panelists mentioned several characteristics that make a good mentor or mentee:
-
The mentee needs to be willing to ask for help and be direct and specific with what they need from the mentor.
-
The mentor needs to be open to providing lessons and advice while sharing connections and experiences.
-
Both need to be committed to the relationship, including regular check-ins.
-
Both need to add value to the relationship.
A good mentor/mentee relationship is reciprocal. If both parties are committed and willing to add value, the relationship will flourish – as will the individuals and their businesses.