If you trace all the way back to biblical days up until the 21st century, you will find that mentorship was the “secret sauce” for many who made extraordinary accomplishments and contributions. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was mentored by Benjamin E. Mays; Maya Angelouwas the mentor of Oprah. Steve Jobs mentoredMark Zuckerberg. It’s evident: Mentors matter.
Success coach and serial entrepreneur, Lenika Scott, out of Raleigh, North Carolina, discusses the value of having mentors and how the relationship can chart the course and shape the trajectory of your life and destiny.
5 REASONS WHY MENTORS MATTER
THEY CREATE ACCOUNTABILITY
Probably one of the most critical aspects of mentorship is that it provides a structure for accountability. Whenever a protégé has goals to achieve, they often subject themselves to their mentor to help them stay focused and on the path. However, it is not the mentor’s job to ensure that the protégé is working or meeting their goals. The mentor is there to ensure that accountability can take place and goals can be achieved.
THEY SAVE YOU TIME AND ENERGY
Having the right mentor in your life will help you to save time, and that translates to money. A mentor should be that person who already has the level of success that you desire and one who is eager to see you succeed and win. With their wisdom and guidance, you will end saving time by not reinventing the wheel. This doesn’t negate that you have to put in the same effort of work and energy, but the beauty is—you have information and strategies that can shorten the time it takes for you to get results. That’s a win-win!
THEY REDUCE LEARNING CURVES
Your learning curve is greatly reduced because you get to leverage the “knowledge” of your mentor. Imagine if someone took 10 years to accomplish something but it only took you two years to accomplish the same thing. You are afforded the advantage of learning the shortcuts and secrets to get to the end goal. What we can easily see is that knowledge transmission is definitely a major aspect of mentoring. We could maybe even say this is what mentoring is about—teaching what we have learned and learning what is yet to be experienced.
THEY HELP YOU AVOID COSTLY MISTAKES
This is a biggie. This helps the protégé to avoid mistakes, traps, and pitfalls. Why? Because someone has already gone before you and is keenly aware of where the hidden traps and pitfalls are. Imagine having a trailblazer who has already gone ahead of you in a deep, dense forest and created a clear path—all you have to do is follow the path, arriving safely without any casualties. It is still true that success leaves clues.
THEY FOLLOW A PROVEN BLUEPRINT:
The blueprint is what a mentor provides that takes you to your desired destination. Here is where the protégé can be put on a path of execution because a great mentor has no problem showing you and helping you to easily navigate where you’re trying to go. They want to see you succeed and have your best interest at heart. The strategies, insight, and wisdom they provide will potentially position you to take a quantum leap or as described in the business world, 3X, 5X or 10X your results.
With a mentor, you are privileged to have the gift of “access”—however that access is defined and on whatever level that looks like—it’s more than enough to be extremely grateful for and not taken for granted.
This post was written by Roz A. Gee, a writer at Black Enterprise, where it was originally published. It is published here with permission.
