mentoring - your experiences as a mentee
Discussion
to summarise, i'm just wondering if anyone here has had the benefit of having a mentor during their career and the benefits it brought about. for clarity, i am not talking about intern/graduate type mentoring. what goals did you set and how did your mentor assist in helping achieve them? were you successful and was there any tangible benefit that would not have been realised without the mentoring relationship?
now for the long version for those who wish to read it:
i am in a senior engineering role for a company that has doubled in size/profit/manpower in the last five years with the main profit base in dubai. because management is exclusively expatriate, we tend to have a lot of strong personalities and a 'go get it' attitude that results in there being very little support and development structure in place. even our directors believe if you want something, you have to make it happen yourself. i have had zero training despite having no prior exposure to this industry.
also, because we are a fast moving company with a high workload we tend not to get given much in the way of feedback on project completion, no congratulations or b
kings regardless. this does disappoint me sometimes when i've been in the arse end of nowhere for weeks on end sorting out a major fkup and not even a thankyou. however i do like the ability to do my own thing [i work in development and it is good to always get approval and budget for my pet projects] without close scrutiny.
my background in the uk was in large clunking engineering organisations. i believe [and my appraisal this week attests to it] that i am talented in what i do and am starting to have a fair impact on how we do things operationally as well. i am mindful that i need to establish a reputation amongst my peers in order to progress. i get on very well with my colleagues and managers and generally feel at home here. i just need to build on that and start moving up the ladder.
at the beginning of the year the company was reorganised to be more manageable and even up the % of personnel and revenue within each region. my department is now a global function and i was given a new role, effectively a promotion [no payrise yet, hmph!] with a decent, far ranging remit. the new company strategy calls for the business to be doubled again within 7 years and if i can prove myself in this role it is clear i will be setting myself up for very very good opportunities as we expand.
i am coming up to being here for 2 years and so have 14 mths until my 3 year review and the decision whether my contract, visa etc. will be renewed. from a combination of all these factors, i feel like this is a make or break year for me where i either prove myself worthy to be considered for plum roles or fail to have the neccesary impact and be one of many stood on the fringe.
to this end, i am thinking about asking one of our senior managers if he would mentor me over the next 12 months or so. this chap is very well respected in the company and has enjoyed a rapid rise up the ranks. he is my age, yet there is a fair gulf dividing our respective levels of influence and ability. i do not report to this chap directly. i am in engineering, he is in operations.
whilst i think he would agree and be very good at it [driven, motivated, influential etc.] i am having trouble spelling out exactly what i want to achieve via the relationship. the general gist would be "i'm here, but i want to be there - what do i need to do to get there?" but that doesn't translate easily into setting objectives and development goals.
any suggestions or tips? all comments most welcome.
now for the long version for those who wish to read it:
i am in a senior engineering role for a company that has doubled in size/profit/manpower in the last five years with the main profit base in dubai. because management is exclusively expatriate, we tend to have a lot of strong personalities and a 'go get it' attitude that results in there being very little support and development structure in place. even our directors believe if you want something, you have to make it happen yourself. i have had zero training despite having no prior exposure to this industry.
also, because we are a fast moving company with a high workload we tend not to get given much in the way of feedback on project completion, no congratulations or b
kings regardless. this does disappoint me sometimes when i've been in the arse end of nowhere for weeks on end sorting out a major fkup and not even a thankyou. however i do like the ability to do my own thing [i work in development and it is good to always get approval and budget for my pet projects] without close scrutiny. my background in the uk was in large clunking engineering organisations. i believe [and my appraisal this week attests to it] that i am talented in what i do and am starting to have a fair impact on how we do things operationally as well. i am mindful that i need to establish a reputation amongst my peers in order to progress. i get on very well with my colleagues and managers and generally feel at home here. i just need to build on that and start moving up the ladder.
at the beginning of the year the company was reorganised to be more manageable and even up the % of personnel and revenue within each region. my department is now a global function and i was given a new role, effectively a promotion [no payrise yet, hmph!] with a decent, far ranging remit. the new company strategy calls for the business to be doubled again within 7 years and if i can prove myself in this role it is clear i will be setting myself up for very very good opportunities as we expand.
i am coming up to being here for 2 years and so have 14 mths until my 3 year review and the decision whether my contract, visa etc. will be renewed. from a combination of all these factors, i feel like this is a make or break year for me where i either prove myself worthy to be considered for plum roles or fail to have the neccesary impact and be one of many stood on the fringe.
to this end, i am thinking about asking one of our senior managers if he would mentor me over the next 12 months or so. this chap is very well respected in the company and has enjoyed a rapid rise up the ranks. he is my age, yet there is a fair gulf dividing our respective levels of influence and ability. i do not report to this chap directly. i am in engineering, he is in operations.
whilst i think he would agree and be very good at it [driven, motivated, influential etc.] i am having trouble spelling out exactly what i want to achieve via the relationship. the general gist would be "i'm here, but i want to be there - what do i need to do to get there?" but that doesn't translate easily into setting objectives and development goals.
any suggestions or tips? all comments most welcome.
You need to first of all write down for yourself what you want to achieve and then all of the things that will help you get it. Then you need to work out who in the organisation is best placed to deliver that for you.
From what you are saying you do a good job but don't see the recognition. One of your thoughts maybe to get that recognition. If you believe that by doing a good job and someone taking a real interest in you and your results will help you then have that as a goal.
An objective for me would be that I wanted to be ready to manage a business of twice the size it is now. What does that mean for you? Look at your skills gap and work to fill it.
A mentor is someone that gives guidance, you need to set out what you want to achieve and get them to review your actions or ideas. You need to drive it and use them as a sounding board.
From what you are saying you do a good job but don't see the recognition. One of your thoughts maybe to get that recognition. If you believe that by doing a good job and someone taking a real interest in you and your results will help you then have that as a goal.
An objective for me would be that I wanted to be ready to manage a business of twice the size it is now. What does that mean for you? Look at your skills gap and work to fill it.
A mentor is someone that gives guidance, you need to set out what you want to achieve and get them to review your actions or ideas. You need to drive it and use them as a sounding board.
Mentoring can add real value - and it doesn't have to be done by someone in your organisation. An external mentor may have other perspectives that you haven't considered.
The key thing about a mentor is that they are not a friend - they should challenge you and your actions to help you make progress in the direction you want. They may also help you by opening doors for you with contacts etc.
The key thing about a mentor is that they are not a friend - they should challenge you and your actions to help you make progress in the direction you want. They may also help you by opening doors for you with contacts etc.
There is no way I would be in my position if it wasn't for my mentor. We never formalized the mentor relationship but that's what it was. The president of my company is the same. His mentor made it possible for him to succeed and helped guide him to become president. You will see many successful people have benefitted from learning from others.
So, I think is not only a good idea but one every motivated person should embrace no matter what level they currently have. Setting up the relationship can be challenging because you don't want to sound like a dick. I set mine up by just asking for advice on a situation and then giving feedback on the outcome. I did this a few times and the relationship was formed. With my mentors help I managed to get a position in my mid 20's that almost every other person in the same role was in their 40's and 50's. There was already a person lined up for the job as well and I convinced the VPs that they needed a new approach.
So, I think is not only a good idea but one every motivated person should embrace no matter what level they currently have. Setting up the relationship can be challenging because you don't want to sound like a dick. I set mine up by just asking for advice on a situation and then giving feedback on the outcome. I did this a few times and the relationship was formed. With my mentors help I managed to get a position in my mid 20's that almost every other person in the same role was in their 40's and 50's. There was already a person lined up for the job as well and I convinced the VPs that they needed a new approach.
Not really in direct answer to the OP, but thought I'd add my experiences:
I'm in a large company and have a mentor who works in a similar field, but in a different sector of the company.
He is 2 positions in the hierarchy above me, but thinks I could fit into his role pretty well. He is looking to move up the ladder in the next 12mths, so we are working to feed me into his role (saving me >6 years).
His manger is a stupidly competent high flyer, likely to be board material (in a global company with around a 6 figure head count). So I went down to HQ for a while to get to know the manager and get my face known, setting up the long game.
If it goes well, it will go very well.
This is all thanks to a great mentor, who has a big network and can open many doors.
It was refreshing to come from a dept where the mgmt had all worked their way up from the bottom (and therefore assumed everyone must do the same), a theory I disagreed with, then speak to one which was more 'can-do' and is planning to fit me to a role where he feels I'll work well (rather than what tenure/age dictates). This is something which couldn't be attained if I applied for the role 'cold' without knowing anyone in the dept.
In short, mentors are awesome.
I'm in a large company and have a mentor who works in a similar field, but in a different sector of the company.
He is 2 positions in the hierarchy above me, but thinks I could fit into his role pretty well. He is looking to move up the ladder in the next 12mths, so we are working to feed me into his role (saving me >6 years).
His manger is a stupidly competent high flyer, likely to be board material (in a global company with around a 6 figure head count). So I went down to HQ for a while to get to know the manager and get my face known, setting up the long game.
If it goes well, it will go very well.
This is all thanks to a great mentor, who has a big network and can open many doors.
It was refreshing to come from a dept where the mgmt had all worked their way up from the bottom (and therefore assumed everyone must do the same), a theory I disagreed with, then speak to one which was more 'can-do' and is planning to fit me to a role where he feels I'll work well (rather than what tenure/age dictates). This is something which couldn't be attained if I applied for the role 'cold' without knowing anyone in the dept.
In short, mentors are awesome.
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