IT'S ALWAYS HELPFUL TO GET SOMEONE TO GUIDE YOU

This is really good advice! I was very fortunate when I started out as a colleague introduced me to a column called "Pete's Weekly" and from there I joined the Business Warriors (www.businesswarriors.co.za). You see in joining them, I was able to tap into more than 2000 mentors. If there was a question that needed an answer, someone there would have the answer. If I needed a pick me up, someone there would post a joke or a funny.

Over the years I have met several of the warrior's in person and as the forum has grown, so to has my business and my friendship with the people on the forum.

In the true spirit of "playing it forward", I now mentor someone from the site and it is on the condition that he too someday mentors someone else.

No-where is it written that you have to learn every from every mistake that you yourself have made. Learn from the wisdom and experiance of others.

It's always helpful to get someone to guide you
Mentors can explain the unwritten rules in a new workplace
Workplace staff
25 April 2007 at 06h00

Finding a mentor or a mentorship programme is one of the best investments one can make to advance in one's career. So says Natalie Rabson of Boston City Campus and Business College. "Mentoring has become a buzz word but the concept of mentorship has existed for centuries," she says. "Cases of where artists, philosophers and warriors, among others, took inexperienced candidates and trained them to follow in their footsteps are well documented." Modern mentorship is more sophisticated and better defined, but most important, she points out, is that mentoring is an ideal method of transferring skills and helping the less experienced to advance in their careers.

Mentorship refers to a developmental relationship between an experienced mentor and a less experienced partner called a mentee or protégé. Mentoring happens when the mentor shares knowledge with the person being mentored. There are formal and informal mentoring relationships. "Informal relationships develop spontaneously; many of our lecturers have acted as mentors to learners and remain in contact as they become employed, get married and start families. Formal mentoring refers to assigned relationships, often associated with organisational programmes designed to promote employee development."Through mentoring a newcomer can learn about a company and how it operates as well as about the unwritten rules. "You learn who to avoid and who to please in order to climb the corporate ladder," says Rabson. "While you join a company with skills acquired from a qualification, the right mentor will train you to work smarter."If you wish to be mentored, ask yourself the following:

Who would be a suitable mentor for me?

What sort of person could I respect and trust?

Who can listen without judgment and expand my ideas while guiding me in the right direction?

Why do I want a mentor? What do I want to achieve by assigning myself someone to mentor me?

Where do I find and connect with potential mentors?

In well-designed formal mentoring programmes, there are goals, schedules, training (for mentors and mentees) and evaluation. If the organisation you are joining as a new employee does not have a formal mentoring programme, you need to:

Evaluate the people around you.

Find a suitable immediate supervisor or boss.

Prepare in your mind, and on paper, what to say to the mentor.

Prepare a schedule to discuss with the mentor, which includes your long-term and short-term goals, current projects and how often you'd like to meet.

If the mentor agrees, set some formal rules and weekly meetings to assess progress."Be aware that a newly qualified and eager employee can easily be seen as a threat to the mentor," Rabson cautions. "You need to stress that your goal is to learn and better yourself." Never go behind your mentor's back with queries or problems - you will lose trust and harm the relationship. Discuss promotion possibilities with your mentor first; if your relationship is healthy, he or she will be happy for you. Raben believes the unemployed can also benefit from a mentor.

"Approach a family friend, a lecturer at your institution, or even a professional person with whom you have made contact such as your father's accountant. The mentor will be willing to guide you to employment opportunities as your success is a good reflection on him too. Even as an informal arrangement, you will benefit as you will have an ally in your workplace or industry."

For more information, contact Boston on 011-551-2000 or e-mail info@boston.co.za