A mentor is “a trusted counselor or guide,” someone all entrepreneurs and small business owners need in their inner circle.
Different from a friend or personal acquaintance—even in a work context—a mentor can supercharge your career by introducing you to key people, helping you navigate tricky situations, or offering important career advice and wisdom.
Here we explore data that demonstrates the real impact of mentorship and discuss ways to find a mentor and foster the relationship.
Data Talks: The Real Impact of Mentorship
Years of research—alongside experiential and anecdotal evidence—show that mentorship is an essential way for professionals to grow and develop.
One 2019 study found that 90% of workers who have a career mentor are happy in their jobs and a 2020 survey of CEOs indicated that 86% of participants agreed that a mentor was critical to their career accomplishments.
But why is mentorship so impactful? It comes down to a few key reasons:
- Formal mentorship creates clear career paths: Research from the Gallup Center on Black Voices indicates the importance of formalized mentorship programs. They find that 75% of employees with formal mentors and 95% of employees with sponsors (someone who actively advocates for career advancement) strongly agree that their organization provides a clear plan for career development.
- Mentorship fosters employee retention: When employees are actively mentored, they’re more likely to stick around. A case study by Randstad found that employees in the mentoring program were 49% less likely to leave their positions. Increased retention is also good for employers, as it saves money on employee turnover.
- Mentorship increases employee engagement and success: Working with a mentor is a direct way to engage further in your work and role, it follows that there is more job satisfaction, engagement, and success. Interestingly, research also suggests that the mentor benefits from the relationships and has higher job satisfaction and career success.
Finding a mentor and investing in that relationship is a way to prioritize your career path. It can lead to better outcomes, more engagement and job satisfaction, and new opportunities.
5 Ways to Connect with a Mentor
The benefits of mentorship are many. How, then, can you connect with a good mentor who can help you reap these benefits?
Here are five strategies to try:
1. Explore Mentorship in Your Organization
If you work for a company or organization—start there. Join any formal mentorship program available to you. If you don’t have one, there are a couple of options:
- Approach colleagues or leaders you admire and ask if they’re willing to mentor you.
- Initiate a formal mentorship program for all team members to benefit from.
You might find other people in your workplace who are interested in mentorship and, together, ensure everyone has access to these meaningful relationships. There are even platforms like Ten Thousand Coffees to help set up and monitor a mentorship program.
2. Attend Networking Events
If you’re an entrepreneur or small business owner, you may not work within an organization with potential mentors. This means you have to expand your external network and meet new people to find a mentor.
Here’s where you can find networking opportunities:
- Coworking space.
- Industry events and conferences.
- City or county Chamber of Commerce.
- Entrepreneur mastermind groups.
- Small business development centers like the Small Business Administration or SCORE.
- Online event platforms like MeetUp or Eventbrite.
Once you start looking for networking opportunities, you’ll find them everywhere. Attend them to make meaningful connections with others. Once you’ve established a strong rapport, you can approach someone to start a mentorship opportunity.
3. Reach Out to Leaders Online
While some people prefer a mentorship relationship with someone local, others don’t mind meeting virtually. If that’s you, use the Internet to your advantage. You can reach out to leaders or professionals online to find a mentor.
Here are some online spaces to find potential mentors:
- LinkedIn, especially in industry-specific groups.
- Social media groups and via influencers and content creators.
- Online classes or coursework.
- Virtual coaching.
Before you reach out to anyone, make sure you follow and engage in their work. You want to first vet their online presence to ensure it’s a good fit and then respectfully reach out once you’ve built some rapport.
4. Join Formal Groups or Associations
Depending on your industry, you may be able to join a formal group or association that supports mentorship relationships. Some examples of this include:
- Trade Associations for industries like apparel, footwear, or retail.
- Alumni associations from your college or university.
- Professional associations for fields like law, architecture, or communications.
Some of these associations require paid memberships, others do not. Most offer free resources and information to help professionals succeed, along with formal or information networking and mentorship opportunities.
5. Leverage Your Workplace
The last key to finding a mentor is to ensure you’re working in a space that fosters connections and collaboration.
It’s hard to make organic, in-person connections if you’re always working independently at home. Instead, a shared workspace or coworking space like The Post allows you to build connections with other like-minded professionals. You can do this by:
- Attending organized events.
- Fostering organic conversations in shared workspaces.
- Collaborating with professionals on projects.
There are many coworking community benefits for solopreneurs or remote professionals because you are working alongside other people. You never know who you’ll meet—your next mentor might be sitting at the same table as you!
Fostering the Mentorship Relationship
Finding a mentor is just the first step of the process. It’s important to foster a positive ongoing relationship with them to get the most out of the relationship—for both of you. Here are some tips to help optimize your mentoring relationship:
- Discuss goals: Start by identifying what you want from meeting with a mentor. This could be increasing your professional contacts, support applying for a position, or general career advice. While your goals will likely change over time, it’s important to be upfront about them so you have some guidance in the relationship.
- Embrace feedback: To be successful in your career, be a teachable mentee who embraces feedback. Your mentor has skills, knowledge, and experience that you don’t have—that’s why they’re your mentor! Listen to what they have to say, embrace feedback, and make the necessary changes to meet your goals.
- Meet regularly: It’s important to prioritize mentorship in your schedule. Set up a regular cadence to meet together—every one to three months is a good guideline, along with conversation over text and phone in the meantime. You don’t have to be super strict about this, but it’s a good idea to set something regular up in your calendars so it remains a priority. Bookable meeting rooms in a coworking space are a great option for meeting together in person and having a productive mentor-mentee conversation.
- Practice gratitude: Your mentor is taking time from their busy schedule to support your career advancement. Keep that in mind throughout the relationship so you can be grateful for their support and respect their time. You can also “pay it forward” by taking on your own mentee and sharing everything you’ve learned.
- Be proactive: Don’t leave everything up to your mentor. Instead, reach out proactively if you want to discuss a new work scenario or job opportunity. Your career is your responsibility, so take control of it.
Each mentor-mentee relationship will look different and it’ll likely take some time to find the right cadence that works for you. Keep an open line of communication so you can make sure you’re on the same page with what’s working and what’s not.
Mentorship has the power to transform your professional life. So, what are you waiting for? Get out there and find one today!
And if you’re looking for a professional workplace where you can meet other people, you’ll find it at The Post. Book a tour today.