Mentoring can be a powerful thing. Previously, all my “mentoring” opportunities were fairly informal – but mostly with people who have been in the same company. Those can be very useful but they are a bit constrained by their very nature. If you are in the same company – you can’t really tell them all the issues you may be having with coworkers or company policies.
With a mentor outside of your company, you can be fully engaged and be more honest about your goals or ambitions. It is easier to take advantage of the opportunity as much as possible – be open and admit your deeper concerns. With an outside person, you don’t have to guard your tongue against saying something which could hurt your standing in the company. You wouldn’t want to ask someone in your own organization “when is it time to jump ship?” or “how do I deal with my micro manager?”
In the last several months, my job has given some of us access to a service called Plato. They have software engineering, QA and product management mentors who they match up with mentees. The mentee is presented with a list of mentors and their attributes or specialties – subjects they focus on or have a lot of experience in. At the beginning – I really didn’t know what I was doing. I had a mentor who was great but after a few meetings I kind of ghosted. I let stress at work get to me and just let it slide. I still regret that -because I think she was awesome but didn’t suck it up and fix it.
For a second round or maybe it was a longer trial period – our company gained access to mentoring coaches. This was great – my coach helped me look through the available mentors and recommended a few. I was able to select two I thought might be a good fit. One is a software engineering manager, one is a product manager.
I really connected with one of them. I have been able to actually talk about things. She is kind of like a therapist light with a focus on managing my team and my career. I can tell she actually cares about people and we just talk about things. Sometimes I feel a bit whiny – but I have learned that I really am not the only one who is or has ever felt these feelings.
All the issues happening now – COVID-19, working from home, not seeing ANYONE, protests, presidential election – just add to the normal work pressures for me and for my team. My mentor and I have talked about everything from staying close to my team and how they are feeling to “when is it time to jump ship?” It is very liberating to get that out in a safe environment with someone whose only goal is to listen and give advice. And perhaps the answer is yes by needing to ask the question.
Any way – mentoring – 10/10 would recommend.