Terri's Tuesday Tip of the Week - March 15, 2022

 A mentor is someone who allows you to see the hope inside yourself. — Oprah Winfrey

A mentor is someone who sees more talent and ability within you, than you see in yourself, and helps bring it out of you. — Bob Proctor

According to “The Three Types of Mentors Every Person Needs to Help Them Grow” by John Maxwell , a mentor “teaches, guides and lifts you up by virtue of his or her experience and insight”.  As the author thought about the many mentors in her life, she thought about the various men and women she had conversations with leading up to her move to DC and during her time there.  She talked with people that worked on Capitol Hill, different federal agencies, the military, businesses that interacted with The Hill, etc.  During those conversations, she would try to have one solid question to start the conversation and then would ask additional questions as the conversation proceeded.  Additionally, she had done her research on those individuals she specifically asked to meet with so that she would understand their background to make sure she asked questions relevant to them.  Moreover, the author would focus on topics that she was targeting to learn about.  Sometimes it would be research into how DC worked, other times she focused on leadership or how the individuals she was talking to pursued their goals even with the twist and turns of one’s career. 

 Many times, the author would be mentored in group conversations and other times mentoring occurred in an individual conversation with someone at coffee, lunch or dinner.  For the author, there is no “perfect” way to have a mentoring session.  The goal is to grow through experiences of other people. 

 

ACTION: In your professional life, review your acquaintances and contacts to determine who you would like to ask to have coffee with and make the request.  Once the meeting is on the calendar, prepare to talk with the person to ensure you are prepared and it is a good use of the mentor’s time. 

 

Resource 

·       https://www.pushfar.com/article/mentoring-vs-coaching-the-key-differences-and-benefits/#:~:text=The%20Differences%20Between%20Mentoring%20and%20Coaching%201%20Mentoring,a%20lot%20more%20directive.%20...%20More%20items...%20

·       https://www.td.org/insights/mentoring-versus-coaching-whats-the-difference

·       https://www.liveyourmark.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/1231.png

·       https://i.pinimg.com/originals/54/49/6c/54496c2295a270f35759dd56bddbb0ae.jpg

·       https://www.mentorresources.com/mentoring-blog/20-inspiring-mentoring-quotes

·       https://www.indeed.com/career-advice/career-development/reverse-mentoring#:~:text=What%20is%20reverse%20mentoring%3F%20Reverse%20mentoring%20is%20a,often%20focus%20on%20new%20technology%20and%20business%20practices.

·       https://johnmaxwellteam.com/2022-author/?c=jmax-em-np-bo&jmtc=mwm-word&jmta=mwm-word-cta

·       https://www.johnmaxwell.com/blog/the-three-types-of-mentors-every-person-needs-to-help-them-grow/

·       https://www.johnmaxwell.com/blog/smart-voices-in-your-ear/