Different Types of Mentors

You need 3 mentors: one that's done it, one that's doing it, and one that will do it. The classic definition of a mentor is someone who is a senior leader who acts as an advisor to someone that is a junior. Mentors guide mentees, and mentees eventually grow up to fill similar roles. This is critical for bestowing knowledge and experience to future leaders. But more recently, a new mentorship category has emerged: the peer mentor. This is someone who is either at the same place or slightly ahead. A lot of the time this can be a work friend or a colleague but the key aspect of having a peer mentor is that it's a mutual relationship where you're kind of figuring it out together and learning from each other's mistakes. While I think it's important to have a classic mentor and a peer mentor, there's an underappreciated mentorship class: The 'up-and-coming' mentor. This is someone who is much younger or earlier in their career. They do things that you might characterize as unconventional or even stupid, but they attack problems in a wildly different way than either your classic mentor or your peer mentor. This is important because the approaches that you think are crazy today, could end up being the new norm tomorrow! It's always good to have the flexibility to learn new tricks. So, my suggestion is: Seek out these three types of mentors. And try to be all of these types of mentors to others!

There are three types of mentors that every ambitious professional should seek to surround themselves with, regardless of age or stage in their career: 1️⃣ The Peer Mentor: This is someone who walks a parallel path to yours, engaged in similar ventures but with a slight edge in experience or skill. Their proximity to your field allows for a deep mutual understanding and invaluable shared learnings. 2️⃣ The Visionary Mentor: This mentor is the embodiment of your future ambitions. They have already achieved what you're striving for, offering a roadmap and the wisdom of hindsight to guide you towards your goals with fewer missteps. 3️⃣ The Prodigy Mentor: Often overlooked, this mentor is someone who is perhaps newer to your field but is advancing at an impressive pace and achieving at levels beyond what you did at their stage. Their fresh perspectives and innovative approaches can inspire and challenge you to elevate your own strategies. Early in my entrepreneurial journey, I was fortunate to find my three mentors. They've been instrumental in shaping my success, teaching me that true progress often requires humility, an open mind, and the readiness to learn from anyone who has wisdom to share. And remember, the journey is as much about the people you learn from as it is about the goals you achieve. Who are your mentors and how have they helped you? #Entrepreneurship #Mentorship #Leadership

Most of us think of the 1-1 mentor/mentee relationship between the experienced and the novice, but there are actually many different varieties when it comes to mentoring: peer to peer, in person, online, groups, reverse mentoring, and so on—or combinations thereof. I came across a literature review of almost 40 years of research in mentoring and they named 9 different types. I believe that there’s room for new configurations to be discovered when it comes to mentoring. We just have to challenge ourselves to continually rethink the experience and to be flexible. So maybe if one type of mentoring doesn’t work for you-–there’s no need to give up. Try a different flavor. #NationalMentoringMonth #LeadershipDevelopment #CareerDevelopment #Mentoring Citation: Mullen, C. A., & Klimaitis, C. C. (2021). Defining mentoring: a literature review of issues, types, and applications. Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences, 1483(1), 19-35.