Six reasons you want a Mentor

Here’s why you should consider getting a mentor:

1) You don’t know it all.

2) You don’t know what you don’t know.

3) A Mentor's experience can help you.

4) God didn’t design Lone Rangers.

5) A Mentor will hold you accountable.

6) A Mentor may save your marriage (and family too)

These are just some of the reasons why a getting a mentor might be a good idea.

Let's look a little more closely...

You don’t know it all.

In fact, you don’t even know what you don’t know. Bringing a mentor into your life gives you the advantage of an added perspective – on both your Christian walk as well as your career.

You don’t even know what you don’t know.

Like a toddler or a teenager who think they know everything already –no thanks for that advice mom or dad, I’ve got it under control – so it is with a young person starting their career or a middle-aged person taking on bigger responsibilities. You just don’t know what you don’t know until you’ve been there. Your mentor has been there. Already.

A Mentor has experience that can help you.

Your mentor has experience to help you make decisions about your life, your faith, your career and more. Senior executives and business owners may not have been through your specific situation, but they’ve been through enough situations to allow them to see the bigger picture and get out of the weeds to find the right path forward – a path that is honoring to God and maybe good for your career too.

God didn’t design us to be Lone Rangers.

God created each of us to be in community. Marriages. Families. And work groups too. From the beginning of time, God said it was not good to work alone and so Adam received Eve as a HELPER (Genesis 2:18). A mentor can come alongside you in a way that your boss, your coworkers or spouse cannot.

A Mentor will hold you accountable to what you really want.

As someone who is independent of your work results, performance review and pay package, a mentor can hold you accountable to the things that you see as most important in honoring God. Someone who can hold you accountable to your goals even when you might want to focus elsewhere so as not to see it.

A Mentor may save your marriage (and family too).

Having been through the high-intensity of business growth or startup situations, your mentor has been there and done that with regard to balancing work and family. Practical insights on what takes precedence and when may very well save your marriage without sacrificing your career, instead of the other way around.

Should you decide to get a mentor - shop like you would for a marriage counselor - start by finding one who holds the same beliefs and values as you do. This is especially important as Christians looking for guidance in their developing careers.

So find yourself a senior business manager or owner who is ALSO a solid and mature Christian.

Then you'll be in good stead to talk, plan and pray together so that God may bless your work for HIS GLORY!