Have you got wrong idea about mentoring?

Is mentoring only reserved for the elite, rich and famous? Have people got the wrong idea about mentoring? And what does mentoring really look like?

I believe people have a pre-conceived idea about who is a mentor and who deserves to have one. Many people especially women; do not consider themselves to be mentors, and this is where I believe they have got it wrong.

Let’s consider the people who have been mentors in our own lives. What role did they play, and how have we got to where we are now?

I have personally had numerous mentors whom at the time, I may not have even considered them to be my mentors, but these people have added value and have guided me to where I am today.

As a child my mother, grandmother and aunt were not only amazing female role models, but without me even realizing it, they were mentoring me for my life to come.

You may not quite understand this, so let’s consider MasterChef. Are the “famous chefs”, the “amateurs” mentors, or their inspiration or both? Did a grandmother, mother, father or someone else teach, guide, motivate and help the “aspiring chef” to follow their passion and dreams, or was it those Chefs on MasterChef? Who were the “amateurs” mentors ……? Maybe everyone involved! And at times did those “famous chefs” learn something from the “amateurs”? So whom was mentoring whom?

My grandfather was an entrepreneur and inventor. These qualities have rubbed off onto me and have led me to where I am today. Did I know then, what role he would play in my life when he passed away when I was 12? Definitely not.

My father was an entrepreneur and business man. He was my mentor and I didn’t even realize it until two years ago, after he passed away.

Whilst I cannot remember having a teacher as a mentor, I know many people who say they were mentored by their teacher. I, on the other hand, had a great tennis teacher, who taught and encouraged me to play, and helped me to develop a passion for the game.

I had support and guidance from lecturers, fellow students, work colleagues, older people, younger people, even my own kids …….the list goes on and on.

Some have given me sound advice, some have listened and heard, some have motivated and inspired me, some have been a trigger to a life changing event. All have added value and helped me succeed, but ultimately it has been up to me to take the initiative, to ask for help, to seek those who can help me and to learn to put my fears aside.

My journey has not been an easy one and I wish to share some of the challenges I have faced, so you can understand why I believe it is important for you to have mentors, and to continue learning from others.

When I left South Africa and arrived in Australia almost 20 years ago, I had no support structure what so ever. I had left my family, friends and contacts all behind. I left a flourishing career to come to the unknown, and although I had come to another English speaking country, things worked differently here in Australia.

Over the course of my lifetime, I have changed careers a few times. I have also made changes to unrelated industries. Each time I have transitioned, it has not only felt like a backward move, but there have been numerous difficulties along the way.

One of these challenges was not knowing the difference between voluntary work and work place experience. That cost me a couple of years of no work.

I also came to realize that it is not easy to get connected if you are not actually working within that industry, and that any previous unrelated connections may not be of assistance either. It is rather like students who have no work experience and cannot get a job unless they have experience, so how are they supposed to get this experience in the first place?

So you are out there looking for a job and you have no connections within the industry. What do you do? Well, I suggest you find other ways to get connected, like attending networking meetings related to the industry, or be confident and keep asking everyone for introductions. Tools like LinkedIn really help; however you need to understand the correct protocols to networking here; because it involves building a relationship first.

From my own experience, I believe that it is much easier to find a job if you are well connected, but knowing a lot of people doesn’t mean you are well connected - it can however help.

I have mentored many people along the way. Most of the time, I didn’t even realize that the way in which I was helping them, was actually mentoring. I am sure that if many of you stop and think about it, you too will realize that you have mentored many people without even knowing it.

I am now on another journey and I know I will be guided by others, and as I learn from them, I hope I too will be able to help others on their entrepreneurial journey.

Because of my own experiences, I created Mentors Insync. A platform that helps you get connected to mentors and mentees, so you too can gain from these relationships.

The first step is to take the journey, because most people who succeed have mentors.

Written by Chantel Cleminson, Founder & CEO of Mentors Insync.