Sean Glaze walks through finding a mentor: identify what you actually want help with, look in your network or professional groups, respect their time, offer something back, and act on their advice. The last part matters most—mentors stick with people who use what they learn.
So what is the surest way for you to unlock your leadership potential? Find and build a relationship with a worthy mentor. As an emerging leader, finding the right mentor is critical to your professional growth and success. So the steps you want to take are to first identify what are your specific goals and needs. What is it you want to be better at? And then identify who are some potential mentors. Look within your network, look within the association you may be a part of, and don't be afraid to reach out to the people that you admire who are doing well the thing that you want to end emulate. And then be clear about the goals that you have and how you believe that mentor could help you achieve them. And know that if they're successful, they're probably going to be busy, so you're going to need to make time to meet with them when they're available. And then think of something that you can do that would benefit them. No relationship should ever be all take and no give. And the most important thing you can do is to take action on the advice and ideas that they share. Invest your effort in strengthening the relationship, but also in demonstrating a commitment to grow and develop based upon their suggestions. I'm Sean Glaze. That's what effective leaders do.
