Sherri Petro, President and Chief Strategy Officer of VPI Strategies, represents VPI Strategies on the Expert Panel for Managing Americans. ManagingAmericans.com is a management blog with more than 300,000 monthly readers. Sherri contributes monthly to the Workplace Communication Skills Blog and is one of the most highly read columnists.
This month’s post is Mentor Me?
Here is a sneak peak:
Not to be confused with the great Bruno Mars’ song Marry Me, we do have an engagement of sorts when we ask for someone’s hand in helping to develop our career. Whether it be an informal or formal relationship, there are great ways of asking for — and making the most of — a mentor’s assistance.
For the mentee, how do you approach a potential mentor? How do you maximize the value of this burgeoning relationship? How do you best communicate your challenges without sounding like you don’t know what you are doing?
On the mentor’s side of the equation, committing to a mentoring relationship requires time and energy. What are the benefits to you? How do you communicate your expertise without sounding like a know-it-all or starting every sentence with “When I was in that situation …” or “Here’s how I would do it…?”