Layered Mentorship
Mentorship these days has been viewed through the lens of sending a text to check on someone now and then, asking how they are doing. The term mentorship has been diluted from the real meaning and goal. To help create a better understanding of the goal of mentorship, I call it Layered Mentorship.
Layered Mentorship
Google definition of mentorship
As mentorship is defined, the expectation is that guidance is provided by a mentor or experienced person. This definition neglects that mentorship can come from more than experienced individuals. An experienced member can learn a new way of looking at a problem set from a lesser experienced team member. A senior executive can receive mentorship from junior members of a team. Mentorship, in definition, expects only senior members to guide; however, in practice, mentorship happens at all levels. Layered mentorship breaks the standard expectation of only allowing senior or experienced members to mentor younger or less experienced members.
It’s all about Perspective
As someone receiving mentorship, it is essential to understand that guidance or expertise can come from any direction. A company CEO can and should receive guidance or understanding from their team. A junior member can receive guidance or mentorship from their friends or even their spouse. Though they may not be an expert in your field, they can still guide your current understanding of how you perceive the world. Perspective is essential when it comes to perfecting your craft. Your perspective of your craft is vital whether you are a leader, program manager, skilled worker, etc.
A large part of layered mentorship is Ego. Allowing yourself to accept that you may not have the most precise point of view or the most proficient way of accomplishing a task will open the doors for you to see more than what is right in front of your face. To receive mentorship, like an experience or senior individual, you must be willing to receive feedback or guidance from someone with less experience. In addition to this perspective, you must also learn to receive the information, listen, and apply it. Will all guidance from someone with less experience be useful? Potentially not. However, listening to and understanding the perspectives of those that work around you will help you open your aperture or point of view.
Receiving Feedback
As you receive different points of view or even positive/negative feedback, the information you receive is EXTREMELY valuable. There are many career fields where feedback or even an opinion on your work/product can cost money. If you receive feedback (even if it's negative or malicious!), there is value in others’ opinions. Take time to reflect on their words and try to determine the intent. What is the cause of their negative or positive opinion? If you can take your time and look at the root cause of the opinion, you can nail down how to apply the feedback.
