Do you remember who your mentors were? Do you currently have a mentor? Is there anyone in your organization who you really respect, anyone you look up to, anyone whose actions and words have a real effect on how you live your life, perform your job, and think about your future? If you do, whether you or they know it or not, they are mentoring you. Or, you may be mentoring them. Of course it is much more effective if mentoring is a conscious act and both of you acknowledge your independent obligations to the process.

Regardless, today mentoring is becoming more popular within organizations as an effective leadership tool for the mentor and the recipient.

Effect on lives

How much have mentors affected your life? How are they currently helping you; or how much are you currently helping others as a mentor? I remembered a former boss who was really nasty to me early on in my career. I clearly remember him screaming at me loudly in front of a bunch of other workers. I was just an inside sales person at the time but his words cut deeply: “You’ll never get promoted to outside sales until you learn to pull your head out of your ---!”

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