The highest-ranking executive in your office or the coworker who is climbing the corporate ladder at top speed may not necessarily make a good mentor, according to a Chicago area consultant.
”A mentor can be a peer at work, someone outside your business or even a subordinate,” said Morgan Grant, owner of Fairchild Grant and Associates, Downers Grove, a 5-year-old firm specializing in mentoring. Her talk, ”How to Select a Mentor,” is set for noon Tuesday at Carson Pirie Scott & Co.`s Corporate Level.
”A mentor possesses qualities that help you overcome obstructions that stand in your way because your perceptions of what`s going on in your life or career are colored,” said Grant, who has worked in marketing product development and television production.
Acquiring a mentor isn`t easy, especially if you are a woman, according to the experts.
Many men are reluctant to become mentors because they fear the relationship will be misconstrued as a sexual one, said Lisa Hicks, a senior associate at Catalyst, a New York-based research and advisory organization that works with corporations to foster women`s careers and leadership skills. ”And women are uncomfortable initiating a mentoring relationship because of the potential for rumors. Men and women aren`t as comfortable socializing outside the office, which can foster mentoring relationships. Many mentoring relationships evolve informally,” according to Hicks.
Women who want a mentor should take the initiative and seek advice from colleagues they are comfortable with, she advises.
What to look for in a mentor? Grant suggests looking for these qualities in a mentor:
– Open-minded and nonjudgmental. ”Mentors have the ability to see without blinders and communicate with no-strings attached. They have insight into you. They see your uniqueness and praise it.”
– Sensitive and intelligent. ”They help you understand yourself and the world around you.”
– A good listener.
– Resourceful. A mentor is ”a guidepost” who can suggest different resources and point you in the right direction.
What happens if the mentor you select refuses the job?
Grant believes that ”anyone who is truly a mentor will help others and usually has earned a reputation as one.”
A person who says ”no” is either jealous, afraid or resents you, she says.
”How To Select a Mentor,” noon-1 p.m. Tuesday at Carsons` Corporate Level, 1 S. State St. Free. Reservations: 641-7100.
