As a business person, whether an employer or employee, you need someone to look up to and learn from both their successes and weaknesses. Have you ever read just one business book and got equipped with so much knowledge? Imagine how much more you can learn from someone who inspires you often. In order to be better at what you do, you require having someone to look up to, someone to run to for direction and guidance. A mentor is someone with experience and prepared to act as a guide. They offer instruction, guidance, and support to help you run and improve your business or career. Usually, mentors are more experienced than you and assist as reliable confidantes over a prolonged period of time. Experts emphasise that a mentor doesn’t need to have skills in your particular industry; however, it helps if they do, so that you’re exploiting your opportunities to influence important connections. Edwin Mukisa, an entrepreneur and a media expert says that you ought to have a mentor if you are enthusiastic to learn new skills. For him, mentors propose positive criticism intended to fortify areas of your life that require enhancement. According to him, wisdom imparted to you can directly, positively influence to grow your business or career with time. “Professional mentors assist you to keep learning and help you focus on setting goals and yet at the same time, offer you feedback to enable you to move forward,” he states. He carries on that some people have given up on jobs and businesses that they were once passionate about, due to hurdles and discouragement. But when you have a mentor, they provide you with encouragement, and offer you boost and cheer to keep you going, even when the situation doesn’t go as expected. Mukisa carries on that mentors have the ability to direct you into discovering yourself and what you want to be, and in the process, you learn from your experience. He adds that professional mentors help you stay focused on your career, improve confidence, achieve goals, magnify your networks, and offer you tips on what you should do to advance in your career. He also points out that mentors can help you develop and grow your goals by connecting you with individuals in their career circles, a thing that can open doors to new opportunities as you network with new people. This can push a mentee out of the comfort zone and also raise their confidence. According to Rosemary Mukabarange, a business expert in Kigali, professional mentors can support you find opportunities and solve problems, they provide you with advice on how to perform specific tasks or obtain useful skills as well. She further notes that mentors help you to be zealous about your achievements and grow your brand. According to her, passion raises efficiency and ensures employee commitment to your vision. Passion pushes you to think about something, work at it and be thrilled about it. Your passion inspires your daily choices and activities. In order to find a mentor, she urges participating in business events both at work and outside work, making connections through your networks, searching for people that are better than you career-wise, and getting someone who you think would help you reach your career goals, Mukabarange states. “Having more than one mentor is critical. Mentors have differing areas of expertise and can be called upon when you need their skills the most. First, find a mentor you identify with. This means finding someone who has a similar style, mannerisms, and approach to your own. Watching them navigate their own career will be enlightening for you, and is likely to resonate deeply and make sense intuitively. The growth opportunity they provide will be immense,” states Forbes.
