Where do you stand now?

About a year ago, I was feeling a little blah about my business. I had experienced 12 years of growth, but I knew it was time for something a little different. A business colleague shared with me that every 5 – 7 years, a business tends to pivot. When I looked back, I realized I had a big shift after 6 years of professional coaching – I went full time with my business. And now, I was at the 12 year mark. So, what did I need at this point?

What support are you getting?

Although I love my clients and working with them, I wondered what could I provide to take things to the next level for them and potential clients. I had ideas I was excited about executing, ways to implement them, and was creating plans to make it all happen. But, something still felt off. I didn’t have full clarity, so I knew I needed to keep exploring for answers and that it would benefit me to connect with others in a more intentional way to make the changes I desired. I went to my arsenal of coaches. And, I realized I wanted a “team” of people to get the support I needed. Beyond my coaches, I connected with my business partners Oak Street Social and Modus Marketing. They provided great guidance. I also brainstormed about who else I can reach out to when I realized I could use a mentor!

Often times, we spontaneously receive mentor-ship from someone we admire (hello family and friends:-). This time, I wanted to be more thoughtful about the relationship I was creating and not tax my partners, family and friends too much. So, finding a mentor felt like the best path to pursue. I learned a lot from the process of looking for and having a mentor in addition to what I gained from working with my mentor.

How can you get help from a mentor?

So, below I share five tips to choose a mentor and the benefits of my approach.

Consider your goal for having a mentor.

• • For example, is it to gain perspective, take action, or both.

Benefit: Being clear on what you plan to gain from the experience helps you find the best fit.

Decide if you want a mentor that is in your line of business or another.

• • In the book Medici Effect: What Elephants and Epidemics Can Teach Us About Innovation, it explains how the renaissance period had so much innovation because people were connecting across disciplines to create new advancements (artists were working with scientists to develop new discoveries).

Benefit: My mentor had a recruiting business and worked with top executives. He provided a wealth of information and ideas including writing a book. I thought about this before and others have suggested it to me, but hearing his (i.e., a different) perspective about it really inspired me to take action to do it.

Extra Benefit: Opportunities start to come up in a way that seems spontaneous and your mind is primed to take action. Soon after meeting with my mentor, I heard about a contest to write a book and get it published, so I submitted a proposal and won a 6 month coaching package plus a 3-day retreat to get it done!

Look for a mentor in a pool of like-minded people.

• • This one seems obvious, but it’s helpful to be with someone who “gets” you on some level so you can focus on getting the guidance you desire.

Benefit: I went to Northwestern University and they recently started a mentor program, so it was an ideal place to make some new connections that would feel familiar.

Become a mentor to understand a new perspective and gain even more from your experience.

• • I decided it’d be great to give back in a more formal way. So, I also became a mentor with Northwestern University.

Benefit: My meetings and the topics we discussed reminded me about my journey which has been great fodder for my book (unexpected benefit) plus she inspired me with her energy and excitement for all that was going on in her life.

Give it time for the relationship to develop.

• • I had an instant connection to my mentor and mentee. Like many powerful relationships, it takes some clarification and communication of expectations to really be clear on how you can best be served or serve as a mentor.

Benefit: After my mentor and I clarified the best way to work together, it seemed like he knew me my whole life. He intuitively suggested business activities that felt right for me as they were ideas I had in the past (but they don’t look like what a lot of coaches are doing these days). And with my mentee, our last conversation was so aligned we couldn’t stop laughing at the synchronicity.

Hope these tips inspire you to think a bit differently about how to access the resources you have for growth and provide an effective way to achieve more of what you desire.