The Impact of a Professional Mentor

As I look back on the beginning of my career as a young millennial, it would be fair to say I’ve grown in many ways in a short amount of time. Not unlike most people starting off in the professional space, I was naïve, inexperienced, and unsure of the path to follow. It was only with the help of a professional mentor, that most of these obstacles began to fade away.

I was fortunate to have someone take an interest in my career early in my tenure at my first job. I had only been with the company for about six months when my manager began to go above and beyond the coaching the relationship required. He started praising me when I did certain tasks well and coaching me to improve when I fell short of the expectations. He spent months working one-on-one to develop my skills, even setting goals that I didn’t expect to reach. Beyond his influence, he signed me up for training programs and online courses that helped enhance my skills in areas crucial for future roles.  My mentor focused on what I was good at to make me better and build my confidence. He gave me room to grow as he stood back and watched from afar. He would always, and I mean always, come back with something I could do better.

As this one-on-one coaching boosted my confidence and my executive presence, it’s no surprise my career took off. I received a promotion every six months for the rest of my time with the company. But it wasn’t this coaching alone that did that – it was his commitment to my development along with the time invested in me. We had breakfast every Friday morning to check-in and work on my long-term goals. I learned about different parts of the business so I would be ready for the next step. He even advised me on my personal life and changes to be more successful and stress-free. This went on for at least a year and instilled my respect for the knowledge colleagues, especially managers, can impart over time.

I excelled further in the company than I could have ever imagined and owe it all to my remarkable mentor. It is my firm belief that professional mentorship is the key to developing young professionals like myself, to excel in their careers. With more and more millennials in the workplace, professional mentorship has come to be an essential and critical tool for success. The guidance and exchange of information was crucial in helping me find the path towards reaching my full potential.