If there is one investment that you can make for yourself in the new year, let it be this one: find yourself a mentor or two...
I admit it is not easy to find a mentor. Are you looking for 'The One'? When it comes to mentoring, more than one is better. Don't be afraid to identify and select your mentors based on your needs and goals and the characteristics you admire in them.
If you are ready and willing to be mentored, here are some ways to find the right mentors:
1) Look in places outside your organization perhaps in formal or informal professional groups or associations or community and social settings such as voluntary organizations. You and your probable mentors already have things in common if you are a part of the same group.
2) Search for good mentors in your online personal learning network. Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook and Google+ are all wonderful resources to find the right mentor for your specific situation. Look for people who can guide and people who can inspire.
3) Family members in similar industries or even different industries can be mentors too. If you have someone in your family that you admire, ask them to be your mentor and create a structured process to interact with them.
4) Consider a mentor younger than you. I am a mentor for my parents who are keen to jump on the whole social media bandwagon but don't know where to start. Peers can be great mentors too.
5) Become a mentor to understand what it takes to find the 'right' one. If you know what it takes, you are more likely to find and interact with people that have the same values regarding mentoring.
Hope you are able to find your mentors in the new year and be a great one for someone else. It is a give and take after all.
The delicate balance of mentoring someone is not creating them in your own image, but giving them the opportunity to create themselves. ~Steven Spielberg
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