Mentorship: The Reason It Can Be Important For You To Have A Formal Mentor Relationship

“Our chief want in life is somebody who will make us do what we can.” — Ralph Waldo Emerson

Some weeks ago, I visited a friend with whom I used to play football with just before the Covid-19 pandemic lockdown regulations had come into place in 2020. Since the lockdown regulations in our city didn’t allow for outdoor gatherings or sporting activities during this period, it became physically impossible for us to engage in our common interest — playing football.

But as the Covid-19 incidence fell, restaurants, cinemas and theatres now slowly being allowed to re-open, as well as leisure, sports and households gatherings now allowed in limited capacities, we thought it would be a good time to meet and brainstorm on how to start playing football again.

On a Sunday afternoon, we met at his apartment, had lunch, and started talking about our favourite sport. No sooner, our discussions which initially was centred on football quickly evolved into a talk about career and how to achieve peak performance under challenging circumstances. It was during the course of our new career conversation, that my football comrade asked me;

Do you think it is important to have a career mentor? and if yes, why do you think so?

When I was asked the question, I had to pause for a while to reflect. Considering that mentorship can sometimes be confused with coaching and that they are both used interchangeably, I wanted to make sure I wasn’t impulsively providing a response that ends up misconstruing both concepts.

Definition of a Mentor from Oxford Languages

In this article, I do not only wish to share my opinion and belief on the concept of mentorship but also some insights on why I think it is important to have a mentor or mentorship relationship especially at the start of one´s career.

You have a mentor; you probably just don’t realize it — yet

“Mentoring is a brain to pick, an ear to listen, and a push in the right direction.” — John Crosby

Whether actively or passively, I believe you can always learn a lesson or two from someone who’s further along the line in a path that you are taking or planning to take. I recently conducted a poll on Twitter and LinkedIn to get some insights from my social media audience. I asked the question; Do you have a mentor(s)? As the result of the poll showed most people who responded said they did not have a mentor(s).

Although I was at first surprised by the result, I could still understand it. Not until about 2 years ago, I would admit that I never had anyone I would “formally” call my mentor, or was reaching out to on a regular basis to discuss topics that I felt their experience and knowledge would be of value to me.

For a long time, the concept of “mentorship” for me was largely virtual and came primarily from my social media and other informal activities. For example, I mostly used channels like LinkedIn to gain insights into the life of people I look up to and aspire to be like. I read interesting articles and books written by them or about them, as well as followed important industry news about their activities.

You can have virtual mentors, who can be people whose works you read or life you study.

By leveraging this form of mentorship, I have literally had people like Barrack Obama, Oprah Winfrey and Warren Buffet speak into my ears. In my opinion, one doesn’t necessarily need to have a formalized mentor and mentee relationship as a mentor can be anyone you look up to and might also not know personally.

Why I think it is important to have a formal mentor relationship

“Sometimes you need some constructive criticism or a reality check, while other times you need a high five or pat on the back. A well-chosen mentor can provide all of those things.”- Doug White

Do I necessarily need to make my own mistake if someone on a similar path has already done so, and willing to share their knowledge, experience and insight to help me through my journey? This is one question that a mentorship relationship could easily answer. Think about it, if companies and large corporations like Apple, Amazon, Microsoft, and Siemens have a board of directors that periodically review the strategic plans and review whether goals are being met, why can´t we do the same with our life or career?

Regardless of where you are in your career journey, a mentor or mentors can be valuable assets to any professional stepping into a new field or business area as the relationship will offer you a new perspective from seasoned professionals.

When you are a newbie, a mentor can always help shorten your learning curve.

As I said to my football comrade, “I believe it is important to have a career mentor as it can ALWAYS be useful to have a second opinion on whatever you are working on especially from someone who has been there and done that.”

What do you think?