Do we need mentors or champions?

Is it time for a shift in the way we inspire each other?

A successful mentoring relationship can offer life- and career-changing benefits to both parties with its exchange of advice, ideas and inspirations.

The key to finding a mentor is to identify the area you think you most need help in and reach out to that person in that field, being clear about what you need their assistance with from the outset. Why? Well mentors are not your friends because, as Megan points out, “you want them to exceed your expectations so that you appreciate the kind of advice that they give.” Where as a friend might say “you look great, you’re doing awesome”, a mentor will hold a mirror up in front of you and highlight all ways you could be doing things differently.

But on the broader subject of mentorship, Cindy feels there needs to be a much more radical shift in our current cultural dynamic so that women can experience tangible change in the workplace.

“Women don’t need mentors, women need champions.” She argues. “Women need people prepared to do what men get all the time — which is have other men go out on a limb for them. Women need the person who, behind closed boardroom doors, will slam their fist on the table and say: “If there’s only room in the budget for one pay rise in my department it’s going to Jane, not John”.

Whatever your personal take, one thing’s for sure: We need both mentors and role models available in workplaces and schools now, more than ever…

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