Why Every Aspiring Company Director Should Consider a Business Mentor

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If you’re an aspiring company director, you can benefit greatly from the support of a business mentor, developing confidence in your role and gaining insights that might otherwise take years to acquire.

A mentor will have in-depth experience and relevant knowledge to pass on to you as their mentee and can make a significant difference to your success as a director. The fact that a business mentor uses his or her own experiences and learning to help others underpins the relationship as the fundamental intention is to guide and support.

This might involve avoiding mistakes that the mentor has made earlier in their career, for example, or bouncing ideas off a trusted person who is advocating for you. So what exactly is a business mentor and how could this relationship benefit you?

What Is a Business Mentor?

A business mentor is a source of trustworthy advice and support for a range of people, from those embarking on a new career to entrepreneurs and company directors looking for ongoing guidance and feedback.

They typically have many years of experience in business that they can pass on, helping their mentees to make important commercial decisions and more quickly overcome the inevitable setbacks of business.

What Are the Benefits of a Business Mentor?

1. A broader perspective on business

Their experience offers you a more rounded picture of your industry and a better understanding of how it works. This allows you to make and implement strategic plans with more confidence.

2. Constructive feedback

As your business mentor gets to know you, they can offer constructive criticism and feedback that helps you to develop on a personal and a professional level. Part of their role is to challenge you to find your own solutions to problems, whilst also being a supportive presence.

3. Professional networking

Mentors tend to develop a strong network of contacts over the years and can share this with you, promoting your strengths to their peers and associates and opening up opportunities for further growth and development.

How to Find the Right Mentor

Here are just three ways in which you could find your perfect mentor:

1. LinkedIn

This professional networking platform offers access to key individuals in your industry and can be a great way to find the right mentor. Slowly developing a professional relationship is key, but you can search for people based on a variety of parameters, including their skills and experience, industry, and location.

2. Specialist online mentoring platforms

A specialist platform such as PushFar that focuses on matching mentors with mentees offers a fast and easy way to find the right person. Typically consisting of thousands of professionals who have registered specifically to become a mentor, this type of platform can quickly help you find the perfect match.

3. Professional in-person networking

In a similar way to connecting with professionals online, in-person networking should be approached with a view to helping others first. It’s often a ‘slow burn’ of building relationships based on trust and previous experiences in your industry, whilst also letting people know that ultimately you’re looking for a business mentor.

How to Work with a Mentor

Once you’ve found your mentor it’s important to build a productive relationship and commit to being proactive before, during, and after meetings. This might include preparing an agenda for each meeting with questions or issues that you’d like to discuss or reporting back on your successes or challenges.

Showing respect and appreciation helps to nurture the relationship and can encourage you to pass on your own developing knowledge and experience to other aspiring directors as time goes on.

Author Bio

Chris Bristow is a business debt expert at Real Business Rescue, company rescue, restructuring and liquidation specialists with a wealth of experience in supporting company directors in financial difficulty.