We live in a hyperconnected age, with thousands of LinkedIn connections at the tip of our fingers and virtual coffee chats made easier than ever before. Through a few clicks and emails, you can find yourself great mentors and mentees in your industry and/or your university. Regardless of whether you have a mentor/mentee figure in your life or not, let’s talk about how we can recognize the true value of the mentor-mentee relationship towards personal and professional development.
So, what is a mentor-mentee relationship?
A mentor teaches, guides, and shapes the growth of the mentee as a positive role model and through observation and assessment, and the mentee seeks this guidance and constructive feedback towards their goals. However, the mentee is not the only person benefiting. A mentor-mentee relationship is of synchronous and fulfilling growth and discovery.
What makes it successful?
- Developing trust: build a genuine relationship by getting to know the person on an individual basis. There is so much to learn simply from a person’s story and diverse background.
- Define roles and responsibilities: what is your mentee seeking? What is it that the mentor is looking for? This makes the mentor-mentee relationship effective.
- Establish Short-term and Long-term Goals: these mutually-agreed upon goals become the basis of mentoring activities.
- Collaborate to Solve Problems: this relationship is not a one-way conversation. A mentor is in it with you-they can offer ideas and brainstorm together, as well as celebrate the successes together.
Why is it valuable?
Don’t be fooled — even though the benefit is directly to the mentee, there is tremendous benefit for the mentor, as well. Cultivating a mentor-mentee relationship is so valuable because of:
- the chance to experiment with creative solutions to problems in a safe and supportive environment
- the ability to be more intentional with perspectives, thought, and providing/receiving guidance.
- growing leadership capacity (knowing how to follow is a key skill for leaders!)
- inspiration to be the best they can be and achieve goals
- the opportunity to build and expand a strong network
- two-way advice and learning from each other’s diverse experiences
- accountability to what you say or put your mind to
And how/where do I start to find one?
A great way to get involved is through The Loop — we recently launched Office Hours, an opportunity to connect with subject matter experts and experienced entrepreneurs one-on-one!
Office Hours are short, 20-minute meetings with experienced mentors. Here you can find founders, investors, and professionals coming from marketing, CPG, Silicon Valley, consulting, and much more and grab time on their calendar. You can discuss potential career paths, startup building, and general advice. These mentors are here to be your sounding board and will guide you through your journey as an entrepreneur.
Meet one of our Mentors, Jessica Li! Jessica is an early stage investor at Soma Capital and head of Content at Elpha. She is excited to chat with members of our community, so head on over to our website to schedule a chat with Jessica and many more of our mentors!
Or, want to join our network of mentors and give back to the community of womxn in tech and entrepreneurship? You can become one of mentors, too! Visit loopnetwork.org/officehours to view our Office Hours and airtable.com/shrAlZeG7cxsDPumC to sign up to become a mentor!
Written By: Michelle Fang
