I’ve struggled the last month or so to write a blog entry, trying to find that topic that “hits home”. I want to blog about things that are truly important and meaningful to me. This weekend, through my own personal journey of growth in my faith, I discovered a great correlation between my personal journey for knowledge and the journey of those I help in corporate America..
I’ve been on a mission to learn and grow spiritually. I’ve been completing all of the “normal” learning activities….listening to teachings, reading, etc. However, as I reflect on my journey for knowledge, I find what has provided the most value for me are the discussions and sharing I have with my personal mentor. So why is it that a mentor carries so much value in my spiritual growth and how can we correlate that with learning in Corporate America?
Here’s what I’ve found:
My mentor is someone….
- I trust won’t “think I’m stupid”, when I “ask the stupid question”
- I can bounce my ideas off of
- Who’s further along in their level of knowledge, so helps me to “stretch” to their level
- I can share the joy of my newfound learning with
- Who can encourage me when I feel like “I just can’t do it”
- Who helps me to personalize my learnings to my specific situation
Look at those! Wouldn’t it be great if we had a personal mentor in all aspects of our life?
Amazing – my thoughts exactly Sherry!
The workplace learning & performance field and its culture could use solid mentors and support systems to help us all improve. Acknowledging our collective need to learn from more experienced, trustworthy practitioners is a great first step.
Thanks for hitting home – more, please!
Nathan
What’s great about mentoring is that it doesn’t have to be something formal. Each of us as individuals can be accountable to seek that out ourselves! For example, for years, I’ve reached out to Karl Kapp as my mentor. It’s nothing formal, but I know when I need guidance in my work, he has great application and advice!
And thank you for the comment…and the “more please!”