Coaching Answer: Mentoring and coaching are not mutually exclusive Mentoring Answer: Mentoring is always a good idea I am in the process of preparing an information session titled “Mentoring 101” and confess that one of the first questions “How do you find a mentor?” has me stumped. One of the reasons I believe in mentoring is that I wished I’d known how important it can be, particularly early in my working life. On reflection the struggle appears to be how to answer something I’d wished I’d know rather than being an expert in finding a mentor. So far the top 3 things I’d wished I’d know about finding a mentor are; 1. I actually had mentors but as they developed organically I did not see them as that 2. The best mentors shared some common ground but helped with the gaps between where I was in my career and where I wanted to be 3. They were inspirational to me but approachable and open to learning themselves OK, so finding a mentor can have you stumped too, but taking the first step and asking an inspirational, approachable, open to learning person with some common ground for a quick 20 minute introduction chat, can be a starting point. My next challenge is to write about what happens after that.
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