You’re Not Wonder Woman – Embrace a Mentor!!

Let’s be honest. As women, we think we can do it all, and we can do it all by ourselves. We are professionals, mothers, wives, best friends, daughters, sisters, and volunteers. We are genetically wired and evolutionarily equipped to perform a variety of roles with a variety of responsibilities on a daily basis.

And just like Wonder Woman, we think we can get everything done without a sidekick…and we never ask for help!

It’s not only completely unrealistic, but that super-human mindset is one of the fastest ways to sabotage your career. The evidence is overwhelming. It’s not only anecdotally true, it’s also statistically proven: having a mentor in your life is the key to success.

According to the American Society for Training and Development, training alone increases managerial productivity by 24%; the combination of mentoring and coaching increases productivity by 88%.

HR Magazine cited a study of professionals that indicated those who had mentors earned from $5,610 to $22,450 more annually than those who did not have mentors.

A recent study by LinkedIn found that 82% of professional women agree that having a mentor is important to their careers.

The list of statistics confirming the benefits of a mentoring relationship is endless, but the list of mentoring success stories is even longer. Indra Nooyi, CEO of PepsiCo, admitted in My Success Blog, “If I hadn’t had mentors, I wouldn’t be here today. I’m a product of great mentoring, great coaching…coaches or mentors are very important.”

I second that emotion.

While I was writing my book, and in a fit of frustration, I finally reached out to an informal mentor… she was a very successful author and speaker, and someone I greatly admired. She asked about my “working title”, and then proceeded to tear my ideas to shreds. In the next breath, she also gave me invaluable words of wisdom, brilliant brainstorming ideas, and long-term strategic marketing plans. That night Woman UP! was born, and I couldn’t be more grateful.

Trust must be established and confidentiality needs to be upheld. The mentor/mentee relationship and interaction must be a safe place to share secrets, ideas, and feedback. It lives by Vegas rules: “What happens in the mentoring relationship, stays in the mentoring relationship.”

Many organizations offer formal mentoring programs and are committed to matching the right mentor with the right mentee. If that’s not the case within your organization, don’t panic. If there is someone within your organization, industry, or profession who you admire, want to emulate, and yearn to learn from, let nothing stop you from approaching that individual and asking if he/she would be open to a possible mentoring opportunity.

Most people welcome the opportunity to share their wisdom and advice, and truly want to help others in their field or industry. All you need to do is get over that hurdle and ask. To further motivate you to find an inspiring and motivating mentor.

Here are the Top 10 Benefits of Having a Mentor:

A mentor identifies potential self-sabotaging and career-damaging behavior.
A mentor shortens your learning curve.
A mentor provides critical insight to office politics and personalities.
A mentor assists you with goal-setting and career decision-making.
A mentor holds you accountable.
A mentor is a trusted confidant, answers questions, and provides valuable feedback and advice.
A mentor opens doors and makes connections.
A mentor boosts your confidence.
A mentor serves as a cheerleader and champion.
A mentor models successful professional behavior, career mapping, and industry expertise.

My advice to anyone – but I think this is even more important for women – is to find mentors, whether inside or outside your company, that can be a sounding board for discussion about your career, help you navigate the curves in the road, and empower you to think bigger about what you can achieve than you might be able to visualize for yourself.
-In Forbes, Heather Bresch, CEO of Mylan, Inc.,

A deeply personal, long-term relationship with a mentor isn’t required for it to be effective. You can admire an “informal mentor” from afar, and if you pay close attention and take their words and actions to heart, you can gain invaluable intelligence from those role models.

Whether it’s a long-term, highly organized, and fully committed formal mentoring relationship, or a quick conversation with your CEO in an elevator, a keynote speaker you heard at a conference, an afternoon stroll with a key executive, or an industry leader you’ll never meet, the results are undeniable.

Let’s drop the façade as well as the golden lasso and magic bracelets. We are not Wonder Woman, and we can’t do it all alone. The key to skyrocketing your success is found when you embrace a mentor.

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