The Importance of Having a Business Mentor

There are many advantages of having a mentor or a business coach. Working with someone that has more experience than you, or that offers an additional point-of-view, will help you to be more successful in life.

Most people underestimate the value of a mentor and sometimes feel as if it is showing you’re not successful as a business leader, or having the capability to work through challenges on your own. Having someone you trust as your sounding board when faced with a challenging business situation brings an added sense of confidence when making tough decisions because you are able to learn from their mistakes and successes.

At TEC, our business model revolves around a commitment to providing CEOs/top executives the opportunity to work together towards arriving at helpful, relevant and specific solutions with peers in groups and/or one-on-one with their knowledgeable Chair.

Here are some of the advantages we hear most often of finding a trustworthy person to be your life and business mentor:

1. Development of long-term relationships built on mutual trust and understanding from someone who has also “been there, done that.”
2. Strengthen your network of people who are genuinely interested in your professional and personal success.
3. Someone to give it to you straight in a world of “yes men and women.” Sometimes the truth hurts but sometimes that same truth can help prevent costly mistakes.
4. Expand your knowledge base to include valuable resources and opportunities outside your industry that you might not have found on your own.
5. Get (and stay!) motivated by someone else’s achievements to create greater success for your own company.

What would you add to this list? How has a mentor been helpful to you?