Mentoring

Being mentored by the right person is an important and viable bridge to success. The mentor guides his or her protege or partner in developing skills, methods and work habits which the mentor developed painstakingly over her entire career. The mentor also becomes, in effect , the gateway to the business experts and resources his partner will need.

Mentoring can be a shortcut to career success because it provides a safe, protected environment in which one can learn. One benefits from the mentor's experience without having to go through the trial and error of learning those same lessons over the years; time is compressed, mistakes don't have to be repeated. Valuable lessons, knowledge, attitudes and recognition of opportunities are passed on.

The mentor guides his or her protege or partner in developing skills, methods and work habits which the mentor developed painstakingly over her entire career. Such subtleties as writing an effective letter, maintaining useful files and proper documentation, to the intricacies of approaching, managing and completing a multi-million dollar deal are all taught and encouraged in a non-threatening environment.

An equally important aspect of mentoring is teaching one's less experienced partner how to network and who to network with. The mentor becomes, in effect , the gateway to the business experts and resources his partner will need. Frequently the mentor provides the introduction, and by taking his partner under his tutelage and introducing her in this manner, his endorsement provides an entree and an acceptance by other experienced business people that the younger person might take years to achieve on her own. In fact, she might never achieve that acceptance on her own because business cliques can be quite closed and intolerant of newcomers, particularly women.

When major decisions or choices arise, the mentor can be an effective source of advice and encouragement, sizing up not only the business situation, but evaluating your skills , attributes and natural talents and bringing to bear seasoned judgement on where you would best fit and what are the right choices for you, not just as a business person, but as an individual.

Why do We Need a Mentor?

It seems perfectly clear that, although it is not fatal to lack a mentor, it certainly helps one a great deal to have one, both in technical and conceptual knowledge, learning from a broad base of experience and rapidly gaining a wealth of contacts. Being mentored by the right person is an important and viable bridge to success. The barrier that women face, however, is that for a variety of reasons, most men will not mentor women. So how does a woman get a mentor? Basically there are several routes:

Formal Mentoring Organizations

Women's Network for Entrepreneurial Training a mentoring and support group, sponsored by the Women's Business Office of the SBA, linking seasoned women business owners with women ready to grow their Business.

Informal Mentoring Networks

No doubt about it, finding a mentor can be a challenge. Mentoring demands a broad base of experience, a high level of skills, and an ability to teach and nourish. Generousity and openness are required of a mentor. A second obstacle is the fact that there are many women who want and need to be mentored and few mentors to help them. Those in a position to mentioned have reached a position where they have great demands on their time.

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