Back in January I published a blog post called ‘A mentor – should you have one?’ And wow – it really created quite a stir. I have had people asking me all sorts of questions, from how to engage a mentor to whether they should have a formal arrangement with their mentor, to how often they should meet their mentor.

The answer to all these questions is that there are no hard and fast rules. What might be right for one mentor-mentee team might be totally wrong for another. So be prepared to ‘play it by ear’. It might be all about the timing too. You never know – your perfect mentor might be looking for an opportunity to help the next generation right now!! Or you might need to hold off for a little while and wait until the time is right for your mentor. But the one thing I will guarantee is in line with an old proverb ‘when the student is ready the master appears.’

What I found to be a bit….erm…..almost disturbing really was the number of people out there who were seem to be looking for a mentor to….well……take on the responsibility of moving them forward. Let’s make it quite clear here…..

It is not the responsibility of a mentor to turn you into a superstar.

Ouch!! Did that sound a bit harsh? Well, it might be necessary to get to the real secret of making the most of your mentor. The truth is actually far more exciting. So here goes….

The person who is the right mentor for you will guide you see things inside you that you either didn’t know were there or had barriers to seeing were there. They will be able to see past your insecurities, fears and doubts and help you to tap into the potential that is there. So really, their role is to assist you in bringing out in you what will make you shine. And why do I think that this is so exciting? Because it’s already there. You have everything you need within you to achieve what you want in life. It’s just a matter of realizing it’s there and bringing it out.

Amanda :-)