There will be many points in your career that self-doubt will creep in, or a feeling of distrust or worry. In times like these it’s best to reach out to your coworkers or boss for support, but depending on the organization, it might be hard to feel supported.
If your immediate supervisor doesn’t want to (or can’t) provide support, you need to make the opportunity happen for yourself. Finding a coach or someone to mentor you in your career doesn’t have to be difficult or formal, for that matter. It could be a weekly conversation with someone in your industry, or an informal lunch with a coworker.
The key is to have that person give you a new perspective on something you’re going through and discover new ways to solve problems, or communicate better. If your organization uses online chat rooms, you can easily send a message to someone else in the company that you would like to get to know better. Slack offers different avenues for career development through their application.
“Ask the prospective mentor about their role and duties, and see if they would be interested in a mentoring relationship,” says business advisor Scot Rourke. You want to make sure that you establish clear boundaries on what you’re looking for and what they can provide you. Who know, maybe you’ll both end up coaching each other!
For more business management tips and advice, check out Scot Rourke’s blog.
3 Qualities of A Great Mentor
Entrepreneur Scot Rourke understands the difficulty in finding a mentor in the workplace. Not only is it a challenge to find a good mentor, but it can be hard to know what qualities to look for in a mentor or traits that compliment your own…