Have you ever been working on something and found that you just can't see it any more? Or found yourself thinking about a challenging situation, and can't see the right path? No matter which way you look at things, what is right and wrong isn't standing out any more.
I do it all the time. This blog will have been left to settle at least once before I edit it again and release it into the world. I find taking time to do something else then come back to it with a fresh pair of eyes is usually the way to get passed that block. And that could be waiting an hour or even a day or two. It all depends on how much clarity is required.
Waiting Isn't The Only Way
Mentoring can help play that role for you. Through properly listening to what a mentee shares, a mentor can help reinforce positive points (more on that in a future blog), another major benefit of mentoring. But they can also offer a fresh take on something when you are perhaps too close to it, or provide an alternative action that you weren't aware of.
Remember in the cartoons when a character would have an angel on one side telling a character what to do to be good, and an angel on the other offering the bad? Well mentors are the angel, but armed with a few challenging questions pinched from the devil to make sure the truth outs.
I've done a fair bit of mentoring in the last few weeks. When I ask how they feel mentoring is going, that fresh perspective is the thing that people have highlighted as the most useful and surprising outcome of their sessions. They didn't expect the way in which someone else's thoughts can open up theirs, leading to analysis in a different way.
It could be something as simple as discussing how a meeting went. Or perhaps it is focusing on something you've created, like an article or your CV. Or it could be relationship based, helping to identify how to improve things with a colleague or manager.
Take A Step Back
It seems such a simple thing to offer a fresh perspective. The more we have of that around us, the more we can make rounded decisions. We will often talk to our family and friends to get their opinion, before we decide what to do next.
The difference a mentor offers is a more objective view. While the views of our loved ones are great help, they are often skewed by their love for us, or by knowing previous information about the situation. A mentor doesn't have that. Even when we've met with someone several times, it is our job to be as objective as we can, to make sure we are doing the best for our mentee. Our role is to take a step back and view the situation without prejudice.
Whether it is your first job or you have been working for a few years but want to progress, being a young person in work throws up a number of challenges to navigate. And having a mentor to help you see things slightly differently can not only play a huge part in supporting a young person to navigate them well, but arm them with confidence to do so even better when faced with other challenges.
This is the first part in a series of blogs which will look at the benefit of mentoring. I spent some time trying to decide which one to publish first. In the end I went for fresh perspective because I genuinely believe it is not only one of the most valuable, but also at the heart of mentoring. The other benefits are important, but mentoring wouldn't exist without fresh perspective.
Want to hear more about how mentoring can support your young staff? Get in touch by emailing martin@staybrightdigital.com or calling 07884016083.