In my last blog, I spoke about the Four Steps to Launching A Successful Mentoring Practice. The blog and the conversation in our WhatsApp community group created a fair bit of buzz and interest. In a poll, thirty-seven of you either were actively exploring, or found it “interesting” enough to want to explore the idea of mentoring. 

Remember, mentoring, as opposed to coaching, is sharing your expertise and contextualized experiences with a mentee, with an intent to help him gather expertise/competence in an area you are clearly good at. You could mentor him/her in a particular technology or subject matter, in a specific functional area, or even in general management. It starts off with the mentee recognizing his/her own knowledge/skill gap, acknowledging your expertise in that area, and seeking your help in closing that gap.

But how does one get started as a mentor? This is where your networks and your networking efforts come in handy.

Remember that for a mentor-mentee relationship to even begin, a critical and necessary ingredient is trust. The mentee should not only have this clear belief that you have the necessary skills and experience to be a good mentor to him/her, but more importantly, have this implicit trust in you and your intention to help the mentee succeed.

Correspondingly, as someone who is starting on the path of mentorship on a clean slate, your best bet at finding mentees is likely to be within your existing network. And so your search for mentees should necessarily begin within your existing network. 

As you very well know, not all members of your network are equal. So your search should begin by exploring those within your inner circle – the super network; draw up a list  junior colleagues who respect you for your knowledge and competence, old colleagues with whom you’ve bonded well, extended members of your family who know you and your calibre well, clients and vendors with whom you had special relationships for the value you’ve brought to the table,, and even close friends and neighbors.

Send out a small note expressing your interest in mentoring, and what value you bring to table. Seek their help in reaching out to prospective mentees within their circle – it could be they themselves, their family members and friends who may want to be mentored, or references to members of their trusted network. 

This super network is likely the fountainhead of your mentoring journey. . Your network is your asset. Grow them, nurture them, and it shall pay rich dividends in due course. Including helping you start and grow your mentoring practice as a second career.