Giving Professional Career A Rapid Growth Through Successful Mentoring. Know-How

Most people think that they can achieve great success in their career with just an education from a good college, some on-the-job training and experience, and a little bit of hard work. All of these are necessary but not sufficient. In today’s highly competitive world that we live in, it is essential to know how to take your game to the next level and differentiate yourself from your peers.

How can you do that?

Take a look back at your life so far and consider all of your academic and professional achievements. Did you manage to complete everything on your own? Were there one or two, or perhaps more, people who seemed to have played a crucial role in your achievement and perhaps aided you in making critical decisions? Billionaire and mayor of New York City Michael Bloomberg said in an interview: “Throughout one’s life, there are a few people who have a major influence on the way you look at the world and define what is most important.” Bloomberg credits one such person in his life, the late managing partner of Salomon Brothers, William R. Salomon. Facebook Co-founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg credit the late Steve Jobs as one person he turned to for advice and guidance.

Bill Gates credits Warren Buffett as someone who had a tremendous personal influence on him. In the ancient Indian epic Mahabharata, Arjuna turned to Lord Krishna for wisdom and guidance. As you read this article, think about who plays the role of Steve Jobs or William Salomon or Warren Buffet, or Lord Krishna, in your life and career today? Having such rational and caring people in your life is a ‘luxury’ you cannot afford to miss out on.

In a recent talk addressing young entrepreneurs at Founders Floor in San Jose, California, I said that ‘being in the mind space of successful people is immensely important to accelerate your career.’ Isn’t it awesome when other awesome people think about making you successful, and what doors to open for you? That’s precisely the power of having mentors in your life. It will be a game-changer for you to have great people that you admire, think about you and your well-being, beyond just you thinking about your career (your spouse too if you are married!). MENTORS ACCELERATE YOUR LEARNING AND ACCOMPLISHMENTS! Mentoring is a trusted relationship between two good people – one having experience and wisdom from actually accomplishing something in a particular area, and another has a deep desire to achieve in that area.  

It is never about one being older than the other or one is wiser than the other. I call this ‘Wisdom Asymmetry,’ and mentoring helps to bridge that asymmetry. It is up to you to find specific areas you want to grow in and find knowledgeable and experienced people who can help you grow.

Even inside a corporation, employees need to help each other accomplish more. Corporations that encourage peer-to-peer learning and mentoring tend to be more productive, innovative, and agile and experience rapid growth.  

Also, even the employees are happier and find meaning with their work when they can positively impact others around them while growing in their career. The primary objective of every leader is to ensure that there is a successive generation of leaders. And one of the instruments for doing that is mentoring,” says N R Narayana Murthy, Co-founder and Chairman of Infosys, one of India’s largest IT companies. Be a leader today for yourself and those around you. Find one or more mentors for yourself to accelerate your learning and accomplishment. Be available to accelerate the learning and achievement of people around you.  

I explained many other nuances of mentoring in my recent book ‘The Art of Mentoring.’ In this book, I sought to dispel common mentoring myths and quickly shared implementable suggestions to make the most out of your mentoring relationships. Don’t drive your car without learning the art of driving. Don’t drive your career without learning the art of mentoring.