Microsoft founder Bill Gates considered American investor and entrepreneur Warren Buffett his mentor, and Apple creator Steve Jobs considered ex-DuPont CEO Ed Woolard and former PepsiCo CEO John Scully his mentors. Obviously, mentors are people with extensive experience and achievements who are ready to share knowledge with mentees, or students. The latter do not have to be billionaires and members of the Forbes list. For example, today more than 70% of Fortune 500 companies have implemented and are developing mentoring programs. What is the benefit of mentoring for business, is it only novice entrepreneurs who need a mentor and what attracts the mentors themselves in the mentoring process? We discussed these issues with Alina Valencia, Ph.D., candidate of psychological sciences, business consultant and head of the A-LineYa consulting agency, expert and mentor of the Technological Entrepreneurship program at Innopolis University.
Find “your” person
– Alina, in your opinion, mentoring today is an exclusive practice for billionaires or are more and more entrepreneurs turning to this format? And how can you assess the level of interest in mentoring practices?
– In my opinion, interest in mentoring is growing confidently, moreover, the very concept of mentoring has significantly transformed, has become extensive and comprehensive. And it has long gone beyond a narrow circle of successful technology entrepreneurs. Of course, mentoring is most common and in demand in the IT sector. But interest is great in all industries, regardless of the scale and specialization of companies. In my experience, more and more people are aware of the importance of mentoring, ready to pay for the service. This means that they adhere to entrepreneurial thinking, proactively build their life path, want to develop and grow. After all, it is with these tasks that the mentor can help. In the era of digitalization, the phrase that a person needs a person is more accurate than ever. And such a really “your” person can just be found in mentoring.
– It turns out that not only companies, but also people have mentors?
– Yes, and today interest in mentoring from ordinary people, not necessarily owners or founders of business, is growing. This is the so-called personal mentoring, or tracking. People who have changed their profession, do not stop developing, striving to achieve new heights in work and life turn to it. I see this from personal practice. More and more entrepreneurs are striving to use coaching sessions not only for developing strategies and implementing systems, but for high-quality communication on different topics with developing feedback and professional support, as well as more and more specialists in different fields approach building their careers as a project for which you need a strong and reliable mentor. By the way, I myself, an expert with more than 20 years of experience in consulting, have mentors, people whom I sincerely admire and keep in touch with for years, and I am also lucky, my main mentors are members of my family. And this is not only a great opportunity to increase your potential, gain new knowledge and experience, but also a unique phenomenon of the philosophical concept “Teacher,” which existed and was in demand at all times.
– If we talk about the benefits of mentoring, what effects can mentee count on – companies, people?
– As for the benefits, efficiency, probably, the results achieved by people and companies resorting to mentoring on an ongoing basis will say it better and more clearly. Thus, people who have a mentor are five times more likely to receive an increase, and 67% of businesses with mentor programs record profit growth. But this does not mean that the mentor provides his mentees with instructions, a plan for achieving success. There is such an expression “to give a fishing rod, not a fish,” but, in my opinion, this fishing rod should be chosen by the person himself, then found, bought, and then used. In simple terms, the mentor does not give the entrepreneur a fishing rod, but tells in which stores it can be bought, what models exist and with what rod the catch will be more, and also why fishing is so exciting. But seriously, the mentor’s business is rather the formation of a concept, worldview, even business philosophy, together with the provision of useful and effective tools for achieving goals.
Not a prop, but inspiration
– Today mentoring is in demand not only among startups. But that notion of mentorship still exists…
startups. Some startup founders are under the illusion that the mentor should share his expertise with them simply upon the fact of his existence, performing the function of “service.” At the same time, the importance of the mentor itself is absolutely leveled, and the mutual exchange of expertise, values, experience does not occur at all. I will explain using networking as an example, as a more famous concept. Networking is not about keeping a notebook with contacts of useful people. This is the creation of a network of contacts, people who are not only useful, but also valuable to each other. That is, we move from looking at a person as a resource to his perception as capital, value. In mentoring, this works in the same way, and only in this format can interaction with the mentor be productive.
– It turns out that the mentor is not always equal to the assistant?
– Mentor is definitely not a “prop” for a business that you can rely on in any difficult situation. By the way, many people suffer from this perception, especially novice startups. Often they receive mentor services free of charge, under university entrepreneurship programs, in accelerators, as a result, an idea is formed that the mentor is simply obliged to contribute to the effective implementation of the project.
As a result, the founder’s / team’s ability to survive can atrophy, a sense of responsibility is poorly formed – albeit partially, this is shifted to another person, to the mentor.
– Does it mean that the mentor at the start should not exist at all?
– On the contrary! There must be a mentor, but no consulting or mentoring should become a prop that prevents an entrepreneur from learning survival. The tandem should work in the format of mutual enrichment and complement. Mentor and mentee should create mutual added value, synergistic effect. For example, being a project mentor at the Technological Entrepreneurship program at Innopolis University, I learn a lot from my fairly young mentees (for example, IT terminology, some modern “mems,” they inspire me a lot, and the effect of mutual enrichment is just happening). This is typical not only for young entrepreneurs, but also for people with extensive business experience.
– Where is this value for established companies?
– In my opinion, mentoring is especially important for this segment, and it takes on shades of psychological counseling. As a mentor, I have been working with many companies for over 15 years, and I see how much more they realize the importance of mentoring every year. The more they work, the more serious they are about this process. Indeed, in the era of total digitalization, a mentor is simply needed nearby – an expert, delicate, ethical, professional, strong-willed person. You can talk to him, share your thoughts, discuss problems. The psychological approach in mentoring is becoming increasingly important.
Mentor as partner
– What is the mentor’s interest in mentoring practices?
– Mentoring is a big and serious work, although it is not always a paid story for mentee. A large company, fund or government can pay the mentor when it comes to a wide mentor program. In my opinion, a more effective format is paying mentoring by the mentees themselves. The productivity of the interaction in this case is much greater. For the mentor, this is also an opportunity to enter the project you like at an early stage. For example, I work only with those startups that I believe in not only as an entrepreneur, but also as a potential investor. And I immediately openly warn about this. After all, like all mentors, I invest my time, strength, and connections in the project.
– But is it just about additional earnings?
– Of course not! It’s a unique opportunity to gain inspiration by touching the success of your mentee. At the same time, as a mentor, you have every opportunity to influence the final result, allow a new idea to come true, see the fruits of your participation in the process. This is an extraordinary drive, which is of great importance for many mentors. They get adrenaline or even, if you like, a portion of the happyness hormone, and this cannot be achieved by participating in conferences or communicating with business partners… Here, even the most experienced people can, even for a short time, feel like young startups, re-feel that enthusiasm, sincere joy from their first successes. Of course, they go to mentoring for inspiration. But not just for it. It is extremely important for a professional to share constantly his own experience, expertise, and knowledge. And for a good mentor, this is a real mission. You know, in acmeology – and I have been doing this science for a long time – there is the concept of “Acme,” personifying the peak of personality development, its flowering time. When a person reaches it, there is a great risk of stopping growing. This is an incorrect and even dangerous trajectory for a professional. If he wants not to stop developing, it is important to constantly give, sharing his experience. And one of the surest ways in this case is mentoring. After all, the most tragic thing is when amazing professionals in their field die without leaving an intellectual heritage and students.
– How important are communication and networking in mentoring?
– Indeed, it brings a lot of energy and joy – not only to mentee, but also to the mentor himself. Thanks to communication, you get a huge stream of interesting new information. It’s like a breath of fresh air! And of course, you share with them your knowledge, connections, contacts as well. Such a mutual exchange, human relations in the team are very inspiring, and they are very important. So mentoring is a chance to learn something new for yourself. For example, while studying in Barcelona, my mentor was Professor Carles Monereo, who guided and supported me in scientific work. Having already returned to Russia, I stayed in touch with him, organized his visit to our country with lectures. For him, as a scientist, it was a great value and good luck.
– It resembles the relationship of friends or relatives…
– Yes, you are right, if you coincide with the mentor, if a perfect match happens, you really become something like a family, like-minded people. And, as one of my mentees, an international technology entrepreneur, says, “a good mentor is forever”!