Let us understand and manage our expectations of what exactly a mentor’s role is in our professional journeys and be realistic.
It is of utmost importance to bear in mind that Mentors are not your parents nor are they your best friends.
They are no way responsible for the entire trajectory of your professional career or career transition you may wish to undergo.
They are not in control of your well-being or your state of mind.
It is YOU and only YOU can control that.
Some other fundamentals that we need to keep in mind about Mentors:
- Generally, Mentors find you, not the other way around.
Mentors enter into your life when they are least expected but often most needed.
- Mentors are not life coaches. Mentors do have their own careers and lives and hence learn to respect their time and energy. They can guide you in new directions and/or provide key insights and support on one or two aspects of professional growth and development, not provide a map for your entire professional journey.
- Forced or implied Mentorship doesn’t work.
Most mentorship programs at the organizational level often fail because they are forced, and not giving consideration to the natural behavioral patterns of the people under consideration which might have a limited impact on long term goals.
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