mentor

August 11, 2008 9:18 AM

What things you wish you knew or did when you got a mentor at work? Or any other advices that would maximize my opportunity with a mentor.

I'm still relatively new in the work force (>3 years) and I just got a new mentor at work! She's the head of an innovative department with bunch of managers under her whereas I am internal consultant who basically run around in meetings, researching, or implementing fixes.

I do have some ideas about what I want to be mentored in but I'm not sure how to measure those (required by company) or if there's areas that I should ask for help but currently am not seeing.

For example, how to deal with people and be sensitive to their needs while making sure we get things accomplished. Or how to deal with office politics, especially when I don't see the bigger pictures that my manager's manager is seeing. How can I measure these?

Another example would be that a year ago, I wasn't interested in managerial positions but now I'm coming to realize that I would like to manage people (which I have been unofficially doing for a while now). Are there other things I'm shutting myself out of that I don't realize right now?

Feel free to give any other advices that would maximize my opportunity with this mentor.

Other info:
* I have no clue what I want to do in the long run or what career path.
* As such, I would like to get a MBA one day but have no clue in what. Undergrad is in business/economics.
* Currently work is hybrid of research, business requirements, some technology development, and implementation of fixes.

posted by vocpanda to Work & Money (5 answers total)

This idea of being "assigned" a mentor comes up here every now and then, and it always puzzles me. I have never worked in a commercial business, always in nfp, so maybe things are different in a place like a bank or wherever. In nfp, mentors are thick on the ground (we're all a lot of warm-fuzzy-dogooders who like helping the newbies), but this idea that someone can be your official mentor just leaves me flat. It is not a relationship that you can shoehorn into some outline of "how do I get the most out of this." This idea that there is some sort of metric by which you can measure this is ridiculous, but if your job is making you do that, I would measure it by face time with this person, assignments completed, as well as anecdotally. Altought, frankly, you shouldn't actually realize you have a mentor until years later, when you go to this person's retirement party and can tell everyone "Susan was really my mentor when I was starting out."

You want to get the most out of mentoring? Don't force someone into this role. Look around you and see which more experienced and older people you already feel a strong personal connection with, as well as admiration. This attitude needs to run both ways. That person is your mentor. If this is also the one you've been assigned, that's great. You already have a clear idea, it seems, of the areas where you feel a more experienced person can guide you, so you need to just go to them with very specific scenarios-- "I have a meeting coming up with someone who intimidates me" "I need to dress down a team member who didn't come through with an important part of this project." You will get better input with more specific scenarios because you'll be able to put the advice into use immediately. Ask to sit in on meetings, especially in areas you are unfamiliar with or feel discomfort, much the way medical students sit in on consults and exams.

I hope this relationship works out, because having a professional mentor is an amazing experience, and should develop into a lifelong relationship. I have been very fortunate in having worked for 3 incredible women who filled this role for me; we still retain strong ties.
posted by nax at 10:04 AM on August 11, 2008

Response by poster: To clarify, this is not assigned. I asked for a mentor at corporation level, she volunteered. We had interacted before this so we do know about each other. The only requirement is for us to know how to measure it, however we see fit.

Nax, thanks for the advice.
posted by vocpanda at 10:19 AM on August 11, 2008

I have had mentors and I have been a mentor (all unofficial-like). One small pitfall that can arise (though nothing here suggests it) -- your mentor is just a person with professional experience and networks who can advise and support you. It's a relationship that should have (in my opinion) some boundaries and reality to it. For example, it's not a best friends relationship, or a fairy godparent relationship.
posted by ClaudiaCenter at 10:54 AM on August 11, 2008

I recently sought out my boss's boss (the CIO; I work in .edu IT) and asked if he'd be willing to talk things over once in a while and generally be a mentor, and he agreed. I'm a sysadmin who's moved up to head of a team of four other guys, so I'm now interested in people skills ["...dammit!"].

We've already met once outside the office and just BS'ed about what I'm expecting. Mind you, I've often approached him in the past about how to handle different situations and people, so this wasn't a new thing. And I've been here for seven years. :7) Next time I might be more specific about broken processes that bug me and how I can either learn to deal with it or start to fix it.

I certainly don't want technical information from him, but having an insight into where my department and the university as a whole are headed is cool. Really I want to ask about how to deal with intradepartmental rivalries, which groups are to be given preference over others [oh, come on, it's true], &c., &c.

This all came about after a two-hour bitchfest with someone in the office, who challenged me to find someone who I respected and talk to them about what I see being wrong with my employer. I surprised myself by actually doing it, and he surprised me by agreeing.

If you'll excuse me, I have to stop read MeFi at work, and go schedule a coffee break with my mentor.
posted by wenestvedt at 10:56 AM on August 11, 2008

I have been both a mentor and a mentee in various mentoring arrangements -- both formal and informal.

I believe it is up to the mentee to drive the relationship. I recommend you step back, look at your goals, and think about what one area you could significantly improve that would drive you closer to your career goal. Think about what you could do to improve in that area. Then, take that and discuss it with your mentor.

On an ongoing basis, when you meet with your mentor, pull out that improvement list and review how its going. When you decided you've made enough progress (in 6 to 12 months), pick another area.

I am a director/functional manager and my current mentor is a product line general manager with P&L responsibility. We meet 1x/month for 30-60 minutes. I usually have one or two topics to discuss with him and sometimes he has topics to discuss with me. I also use him as a sounding board in between meetings occasionally.

I have also gotten a lot of benefit out of having a mentor that was in my profession, but not part of my company. I worked for the same Fortune 500 company for 20 years -- my mentor was able to help me gain a broader perspective on the industry.
posted by elmay at 1:26 PM on August 11, 2008