Obi-Wan Kenobi to my Anakin
April 23, 2011 10:01 AM Subscribe
How do I make the most of a corporate mentor?
I have been recently been given new resposibilities at my job. My boss just informed me that, as the company feels I have potential for growth, I would benefit from a company appointed mentor. To my great surprise, a very senior executive has volunteered to become a mentor. I am very excited as I have worked hard and long to get to where I am.
However, I have never had a mentor before and am not quite what this entails and how I can make the most of it.
As a bit of a background, my job is managing a group of analysts to find business growth opportunities, recover lost revenue and measure marketing initiatives. I had been working in Canada for the last few years but have recently moved to the US for this new role.
My soon to be mentor leads corporate wide marketing planning and is the next in line for the Chief Marketing Officer position. I have spoken with her a few times and she seems to be a nice, smart and approachable lady.
How can I make the most of this opportunity?
How should I and how often should I communicate with her?
What can I learn from her?
What questions should I be asking?
I would appreciate any advice/guidance.
I have been recently been given new resposibilities at my job. My boss just informed me that, as the company feels I have potential for growth, I would benefit from a company appointed mentor. To my great surprise, a very senior executive has volunteered to become a mentor. I am very excited as I have worked hard and long to get to where I am.
However, I have never had a mentor before and am not quite what this entails and how I can make the most of it.
As a bit of a background, my job is managing a group of analysts to find business growth opportunities, recover lost revenue and measure marketing initiatives. I had been working in Canada for the last few years but have recently moved to the US for this new role.
My soon to be mentor leads corporate wide marketing planning and is the next in line for the Chief Marketing Officer position. I have spoken with her a few times and she seems to be a nice, smart and approachable lady.
How can I make the most of this opportunity?
How should I and how often should I communicate with her?
What can I learn from her?
What questions should I be asking?
I would appreciate any advice/guidance.
What coffeepot said.
I'm not really sure anybody external to the situation is going to be able to offer any meaningful answers to the middle two questions. On the other hand,
Now, those are potentially very good questions, depending on what you mean by "most" and who you have in mind for the asking.
Assuming you mean something more holistic than "most potential for career advancement", I would say the critical thing is not to diminish yourself to the role of corporate servitor, since your employer, not you, would make the most of the opportunity if you went that route. Grow your understanding of the opportunity beyond what constitutes success in your role. As your company continually reevaluates you, so must you continually reevaluate what you require of it.
Understand that you are being actively courted, and take great care to understand exactly what that means. Throughout the process, as you consider what you are being offered, be rigorously mindful, honest and self-reflective. Weigh each opportunity against what you must give up in order to accept it. Even if it is a foregone conclusion in your own mind that you will accept it, never fail to fully evaluate its cost to you. You don't want to reevaluate your life 20 years from now and find you've traded away something priceless for coin, or worse, for the authority to exercise power.
Understand in no uncertain terms that to the degree you give yourself to your suitor, you become its creature. Therefore, find within yourself that which you will never give to it, and keep that off the table. Don't discuss it; don't even mention it. It would avail you nothing. Those who have it would understand, and the subset among those who might try to negotiate it anyway are treacherous and pernicious. Let {Pearls} ∩ {Swine} = Ø.
Hopefully what I've written so far has some suggested some questions you might ask yourself, and perhaps some you might ask your mentor as well. As you ask her, no matter how friendly and approachable she is, never forget that she is a seasoned veteran with a long history of choices that have landed her where she is. Keep in mind how this might color her perspective.
In all likelihood I've construed your question rather more broadly than you intended, but in truth, in the immediate mentor/protege context, answers to your questions are probably pretty easy to come by - and you sound like you have pretty good instincts to have arrived where you are in the first place. On the other hand, it's less common and less simple, but at least as important to be mindful of the broader context in which the questions we ask and decisions we make take place - particularly when we're talking about those peculiar modern systems, made by humans and operated by humans, but that nevertheless have less-than-fully-human goals and motivations, which exert significant influence over the lives of humans.
My hope is that, in your original question, by "most" you actually meant "best" - and that you succeed wildly in bettering yourself and your company. Good luck!
posted by perspicio at 1:52 PM on April 23, 2011 [2 favorites]
I'm not really sure anybody external to the situation is going to be able to offer any meaningful answers to the middle two questions. On the other hand,
How can I make the most of this opportunity?
What questions should I be asking?
Now, those are potentially very good questions, depending on what you mean by "most" and who you have in mind for the asking.
Assuming you mean something more holistic than "most potential for career advancement", I would say the critical thing is not to diminish yourself to the role of corporate servitor, since your employer, not you, would make the most of the opportunity if you went that route. Grow your understanding of the opportunity beyond what constitutes success in your role. As your company continually reevaluates you, so must you continually reevaluate what you require of it.
Understand that you are being actively courted, and take great care to understand exactly what that means. Throughout the process, as you consider what you are being offered, be rigorously mindful, honest and self-reflective. Weigh each opportunity against what you must give up in order to accept it. Even if it is a foregone conclusion in your own mind that you will accept it, never fail to fully evaluate its cost to you. You don't want to reevaluate your life 20 years from now and find you've traded away something priceless for coin, or worse, for the authority to exercise power.
Understand in no uncertain terms that to the degree you give yourself to your suitor, you become its creature. Therefore, find within yourself that which you will never give to it, and keep that off the table. Don't discuss it; don't even mention it. It would avail you nothing. Those who have it would understand, and the subset among those who might try to negotiate it anyway are treacherous and pernicious. Let {Pearls} ∩ {Swine} = Ø.
Hopefully what I've written so far has some suggested some questions you might ask yourself, and perhaps some you might ask your mentor as well. As you ask her, no matter how friendly and approachable she is, never forget that she is a seasoned veteran with a long history of choices that have landed her where she is. Keep in mind how this might color her perspective.
In all likelihood I've construed your question rather more broadly than you intended, but in truth, in the immediate mentor/protege context, answers to your questions are probably pretty easy to come by - and you sound like you have pretty good instincts to have arrived where you are in the first place. On the other hand, it's less common and less simple, but at least as important to be mindful of the broader context in which the questions we ask and decisions we make take place - particularly when we're talking about those peculiar modern systems, made by humans and operated by humans, but that nevertheless have less-than-fully-human goals and motivations, which exert significant influence over the lives of humans.
My hope is that, in your original question, by "most" you actually meant "best" - and that you succeed wildly in bettering yourself and your company. Good luck!
posted by perspicio at 1:52 PM on April 23, 2011 [2 favorites]
I'm a (mid-level) manager that has mentored a number of recently-graduated engineers in their first few years of their employment with my organisation. So not quite the same level as yourself, but hopefully there are some similarities.
The first thing you need to do, even before you have your first meeting with your mentor, is to ask yourself what YOU want out of this relationship - coaching or mentoring.
Mentoring (as I apply it) is a relationship between an experienced and less experienced person that contains as little ego as possible - on the side of the mentor. Mentoring is all about a relationship, providing support, and responding to the needs of the protege, within pre-defined limits set by the situation and the professional acumen of the mentor (for example I don't mentor for situations outside of a work setting). Coaching is targeted, and takes the form of a teacher / student relationship.
To maybe paint a clearer picture, consider mountain climbing. If you're being shown where to place your hands and feet as you climb the mountain - that's coaching. If you are climbing the mountain by yourself, but know you have an experienced mountaineer right behind you to help if needed - that's mentoring.
(perspicio has coaching nailed by saying "that to the degree you give yourself to your suitor, you become its creature").
(I also note that mentoring is very hard from the mentor perspective, because no matter how hard you try not to, you will always bring influence to the relationship. If your mentor is any good, she will recognise in herself when to lead, when to be led, and when to recognise that she is doing that - and to share that honestly. This is especially hard for those in senior management positions as it's easy and natural for them to lead and make decisions on behalf of others).
So, sorry for the long preamble - to answering your questions. I've answered them as if you are entering a mentor relationship. If this is a coaching relationship, then you will get limited value.
How can I make the most of this opportunity? - The opportunity you have been given is access to a high-level person, with (hopefully) a huge amount of knowledge and history. Use that knowledge. How do you get round a difficult situation? How to improve in an area? etc. etc. - it's virtually limitless. If you have a true mentor / protege relationship, then it is ALL ABOUT YOU. Yes, you will talk about the mentor's experiences, but they should be tailored to your needs.
How should I and how often should I communicate with her? - Only you and her can answer that. But what I would recommend is making this the second topic of conversation in your first meeting (the first topic is of course 'is this coaching or mentoring'?). Establish a contract on when and where. Write it down, or set a recurring meeting in her calendar. Meet wherever suits you best. Where to meet? I find out of the office best (go for a coffee or lunch) - otherwise you may find yourself playing out a boss/employee role in her office. Don't feel snubbed if she can't make every meeting, or has to reschedule - managers tend to be very busy people with conflicting priorities, and you may slip on the priority list now and again.
What can I learn from her? - see answer to making the most of this opportunity. At risk of repeating myself - it's ALL ABOUT YOU. You will learn huge amounts if she opens up about her experiences of the situations you want to discuss.
What questions should I be asking? - what's troubling you right now, or what's got you excited, or what if I chose this career path etc. etc. Friendly (non-probing) questions about their family / dog / cat / Porsche (whatever) are a great icebreaker.
Above all - approach this as a friendship. And HAVE FUN!
posted by KirkpatrickMac at 11:03 PM on April 23, 2011
The first thing you need to do, even before you have your first meeting with your mentor, is to ask yourself what YOU want out of this relationship - coaching or mentoring.
Mentoring (as I apply it) is a relationship between an experienced and less experienced person that contains as little ego as possible - on the side of the mentor. Mentoring is all about a relationship, providing support, and responding to the needs of the protege, within pre-defined limits set by the situation and the professional acumen of the mentor (for example I don't mentor for situations outside of a work setting). Coaching is targeted, and takes the form of a teacher / student relationship.
To maybe paint a clearer picture, consider mountain climbing. If you're being shown where to place your hands and feet as you climb the mountain - that's coaching. If you are climbing the mountain by yourself, but know you have an experienced mountaineer right behind you to help if needed - that's mentoring.
(perspicio has coaching nailed by saying "that to the degree you give yourself to your suitor, you become its creature").
(I also note that mentoring is very hard from the mentor perspective, because no matter how hard you try not to, you will always bring influence to the relationship. If your mentor is any good, she will recognise in herself when to lead, when to be led, and when to recognise that she is doing that - and to share that honestly. This is especially hard for those in senior management positions as it's easy and natural for them to lead and make decisions on behalf of others).
So, sorry for the long preamble - to answering your questions. I've answered them as if you are entering a mentor relationship. If this is a coaching relationship, then you will get limited value.
How can I make the most of this opportunity? - The opportunity you have been given is access to a high-level person, with (hopefully) a huge amount of knowledge and history. Use that knowledge. How do you get round a difficult situation? How to improve in an area? etc. etc. - it's virtually limitless. If you have a true mentor / protege relationship, then it is ALL ABOUT YOU. Yes, you will talk about the mentor's experiences, but they should be tailored to your needs.
How should I and how often should I communicate with her? - Only you and her can answer that. But what I would recommend is making this the second topic of conversation in your first meeting (the first topic is of course 'is this coaching or mentoring'?). Establish a contract on when and where. Write it down, or set a recurring meeting in her calendar. Meet wherever suits you best. Where to meet? I find out of the office best (go for a coffee or lunch) - otherwise you may find yourself playing out a boss/employee role in her office. Don't feel snubbed if she can't make every meeting, or has to reschedule - managers tend to be very busy people with conflicting priorities, and you may slip on the priority list now and again.
What can I learn from her? - see answer to making the most of this opportunity. At risk of repeating myself - it's ALL ABOUT YOU. You will learn huge amounts if she opens up about her experiences of the situations you want to discuss.
What questions should I be asking? - what's troubling you right now, or what's got you excited, or what if I chose this career path etc. etc. Friendly (non-probing) questions about their family / dog / cat / Porsche (whatever) are a great icebreaker.
Above all - approach this as a friendship. And HAVE FUN!
posted by KirkpatrickMac at 11:03 PM on April 23, 2011
This thread is closed to new comments.
Also, congratulations.
posted by coffeepot at 10:58 AM on April 23, 2011