Selecting a Right Mentor...

“If you can tell me who your heroes are I can tell you how you are going to turn out in life?
-Warren Buffet

Relationship exists everywhere. At any given point, we’re one way or the other reciprocating relationship towards others. The relationship can be personal or professional. In our professional life, we carry multiple hats either like a, Trainee, Trainer, Manager, Coach, or Mentor, etc. Recently, I read in an article which says, “…..if you’re looking out for a mentor, first you mentor someone……”

The following article shares my thoughts on finding out a right mentor.

A mentor is a person who builds a relationship with us, helps us realize our fullest potential and guides us throughout our life. A mentor shares his knowledge and insights, thereby increasing our wisdom. Selecting the right mentor is an interesting, yet challenging task. Before we even try and identify our mentor, we must brainstorm and find answers the following questions:

1. Do I really need a mentor at this point in my life?...gives your clarity in thought
2. Where am I now and what do I want to becomee?...gives direction
3. Whom should I select as my mentor?...help in identifying the right person

Throwing greater insight into the above questions will trigger our mind in arriving at a sense of clarity in thought and to see for ourselves as where exactly we are navigating at present in our life, both at the professional and personal level.

Finding a mentor is a two way process, and each person needs to reciprocate the other through a common medium called TRUST. A mentor is any caring person, who develops an ongoing one-to-one relationship with us and provides the right direction to our life.

Considering the following while selecting a right mentor right:

Do SWOT analysis -Doing a SWOT (Strength, Weakness, Opportunity and Threat) analysis, will help in understanding your personal ‘performance metrics.’ It will help in prioritizing your goals.

Begin with the end -Visualize what you is your vision -be it in professional or personal.

Choose a mentor ahead of your PATH -Select someone who is already ahead of you in your career path or one who has already reached your desired destination.

More than One -Interview more than one potential mentors with whom you can build the right kind of relationship. Many times one individual may not have all the required skills that you are looking out for and more than one mentor is needed.

Approachable -Mentoring is a continuing process, hence, select a person who is more assimilating and can be easily accessible.

Do it Right Now -Action speak more than words. So start acting today and don’t be discouraged by the obstacles you experience in your PATH. No mentor is perfect. The great ones are more than likely not the first ones you obtain. So get started so that you can get to the right ones when they become accessible.

Mentorship is a cyclic process. Whether you’re a Mentor or Mentee, approach the whole process with Commitment to reap Success.

Happy Weekend!

A Child's play - Worth Observing!

Last week, I was travelling to my hometown, Salem, from Bangalore in a local Passenger train. As it was festival season, the crowd was full and packed. In my compartment, I saw a group chatting, smiling and laughing. This attracted my attention, and curiosity to know what was happening amongst the people. To my surprise! I saw a beautiful, cute toddler towing out from a ribbon tied shawl with a smiling face. Her name was Swetha (name changed). She must be around 3 years old and was just enjoying the long train journey.

I started observing her behavior which inspired me to write this post. Space constraint is only for us not for that child. She was just moving around the compartment cabin and going to individuals having fun. Her high energy made everyone puzzled. When her mother called, she doesn’t even respond as she was busy buying chocolate from a small seller who came there. Her harmless activity made everyone smile…..Her sudden Goddess smile provoked my childhood days which twinkled around my head. I was thinking what if I had given a chance to go back to my school days! Keeping away my thoughts I at once become conscious and thought….

……..We spend so many $’s of money in buying and reading good management, self improvement, motivational books, etc. (I’ m not against this philosophy, as I too have a separate library of my own!), to improve our personality and achieve success. But, if we can spend few minutes observing on the events happening around us, sure we can learn more from it. Here is a list of my quick learning from Swetha, during my journey. You can add to it too.

When we are child, we always used to:

1. Keep smiling at others.
2. Make others smile.
3. Appreciate and embrace different people around us, irrespective of religion, education, gender, etc.
4. Be very creative, but at the same time naughty.
5. Experiment new things and try to achieve new heights.
6. Have control over our environment rather than the environment control on us.
7. “Enjoy Thy Fear”. Ready to take risks without bothering things around.
8. Able to get things done at the right time and from right people.

…. The above list is continuous and few more could be added to it.

Here is my few pencil thought to make a mark in our life journey.

As a child we all were able to remain optimistic and confident, but as we grow and transform form childhood to an adolescent stage, we invariably become more reactive to the outside environment. We lose our natural childishness and start wearing a mask in our face. We dissolve our originality at every single interaction with others. We behave like a puppet allowing our actions to be controlled by others. More than 50% of our time we see and approach pessimistically losing our self-confident. Even while interaction, we think and speak of what others would like to hear, rather than what we wanted to say. All together we continuously start losing our originality and novelty thinking. (Note: Not applicable to all people)

Change is always good and welcoming. But, when we’re changing let’s try and keep our originality. Let’s not forgot our childhood days when each of us had a cherishing moments. Whether we’re working or studying, from tomorrow let’s try and start exhibiting our genuine childhood reactions, which will help us to create a difference within ourselves. Let’s go back to school J and see what is there for us!

Your thoughts are welcome!