Building your “Board of Mentors”

Photo Credit: https://thriveglobal.com/stories/top-7-qualities-of-the-best-mentors-in-a-business/

By: Tara Middlebrooks 

“In today’s complex business environment, one mentor is no longer sufficient. Executives and managers need an array of advisors, mentors and role models to provide critical information and support at defining moments.” – MIT Sloan Management Review, Yan Shen, Richard D. Cotton and Kathy E. Kram, March 16, 2015

I know I am not alone in saying that my Mentor-Mentee relationships have proven invaluable. Whether it was helping with a personal life decision, life-changing career move, job difficulties, resolving the inevitable “don’t know where to start” problems (you know that moment during Company Command where you just didn’t know what to do?), or simply providing a sounding board, mentors have helped me through some challenging times personally and professionally. The Mentor and Mentee relationship involves active participation and nurturing over time–meaning these relationships evolve. There may be a point in time where contact is reduced or ultimately no longer needed, but that also means new relationships will grow in its place. New experiences and defining moments change your landscape, and that means new mentors and relationships. Who should those mentors be? How do you know you’re covering all your bases (i.e. needs)? Is your “board” stacked with the right people at the right time? Let’s break it down how to check. 

The Board: Who is on it? 

MIT’s Sloan School of Management would call it a “Personal Board of Advisors,” the National Center for Faculty Development and Diversity would call it a “Mentorship Map,” and Forbes would call it a “Personal Board of Directors.” Regardless of the name, the point is this: surround yourself with a network of supporters that fits your career, timeline, and interests. It may look different by the profession, or even by the individual, but the days of a single mentor that “wears all the hats” is over–and there is no need to limit yourself to one or two people. 

Every board may look different. The “mentor” categories listed below are merely a starting place. Assess your goals, your career, your interests, and what gaps you have in your own skillset and experience. You do not want a clone of yourself–the more diversity the better. That includes every demographic metric, career path, interests, and possibly even the industry. 

Mentorship Map Categories Defined

The “Peer” Mentor. Seeking feedback from peers strengthens your professional and personal relationships. It will help you grow through thoughtful feedback from others with similar career timing and experience. Peers can provide guidance tailored to your experience level, ideas on what they are currently doing or wish they had done in a role similar to yours.  Examples from the Army: When you’re a Platoon Leader (or waiting to become one), link up with your senior Platoon Leaders, Company Executive Officers, or the senior Lieutenants on staff. When you’re a Company Commander, find those senior Commanders, the Battalion Staff Primaries, peers currently in command, or old bosses who were your Commander as a junior officer. 

The Accountability Mentor. We are all victim to prioritizing urgent tasks (trackers, training timelines, meetings) because those expectations of the job often have accountability baked right in. However, things important to your long-term success (mental wellness, physical wellness, spiritual wellness, intellectual pursuits) rarely have those baked in accountability measures. The accountability mentor helps you realign your approach and provides an immediate support system to accomplish your chosen goal. Examples could include: your fitness inspiration, a friend who excels in any of these areas, a leader or key person in a group you are a member of, or a local expert in your organization.  

The Advocate Mentor. A mentor often has a network that could be leveraged when appropriate—but you have to earn the right to request its use through your performance, reputation, and relationship with this mentor. An advocate is someone that will both share contacts when useful, but also advocate for you to those contacts. Examples where these would be useful: The AIM Marketplace (Army), job searches, exploring new personal or career paths. 

The SME (Subject Matter Expert) Mentor. These mentors are useful in specific contexts. These contexts could include branch or unit (organizational) experiences, roles or jobs, challenging or first-time tasks, navigating workplace or interpersonal dynamic, and skillsets. 

The Career Mentor. You may have received training in the technical elements of your job, but not many training programs stress the “how-to” approach in every-day tasks. It could be something as fundamental as time management in your chosen career or how to use the systems within the organization, or it could expand to their approach to job selection, broadening assignments, building their professional network. Think of this mentor as the “insider” to your chosen profession—they have been there, and while their interests may not perfectly align with yours, they can always provide helpful planning considerations. 

The “Junior” Mentor. The common model for a mentor-mentee relationship is an “older and wiser” mentor for each “younger and developing” mentee. That does not always need to be true. Junior employees provide fresh perspectives, the pulse of the organization, and new energy. There is a lot to learn from the junior members of the organization—insight into different experiences from your own, new habits, and unique takes on the organization (or even you!). While most reading this article may be used to being the “junior” members of the organization, your time has come to embrace those newer and more junior members. Pull them into your decision-making processes—you may be surprised and inspired by what they have to offer. 

The “Shepherd” Mentor. Your current immediate environment may be competitive, full of “office politics,” or simply a place where you may not have a “safe space” or someone to hear you out as a sounding board without judgement. This one can be a hard one to find. It is possible to find this person within the organization (sometimes it helps if they understand the environment you’re working in), but often they are someone outside your immediate environment and can give you the space you need to be heard and recharge before addressing whatever problem you went to discuss. 

Some mentors may be high in the personal application and low in the professional, and others vice versa. Additionally, it is possible that a mentor may fit more than one of the above definitions. However, the point is to know your own gaps and figure out how to complement them in your own mentor network. 

Breaking down the process: 

Begin the process of creating your board by:

1. Identifying the areas where you are currently getting the mentor support you need. 
2. Exploring the areas you wish you had the mentor support you need (but don’t).  
3. Creating a plan for building the new mentor relationships you need. 

STEP 1: Identify the areas where you are currently getting the mentor support you need. 

There are a couple resources to help with this. The links I provided above for sample “Boards” could help you visualize your mentor network, or you can choose your own method (some people are “list” people, some are “brain map” people, we get it. There is no one right way.) Whether it is on the computer, in a notebook, or on a dry erase board, visualizing your network can provide you the opportunity to see the distribution of your support system. Maybe you’re very heavy on the professional mentors but lack some that help you focus on personal goals. This is the first step in identifying what you are working with.  

STEP 2: Explore the areas you wish you had the mentor support you need (but don’t).

Now that you’ve made your own model (with your own categories), reflect on your values, your interests, and your goals (remember: both personal and professional). Can you identify areas that are lacking in support? What new categories do you need to create? Write those down—add them to your model. 

STEP 3: Create a plan for building the new mentor relationships you need. 

You have your model—but now there are a few more gaps and you are in need of a plan. Who do you think could fill in those gaps? Surprise: this may be a good time to enlist your “advocate” or “SME” mentor to get the ball rolling. As a personal example, I have had a personal goal of getting published in an educational journal—while my usual military mentors have some experience, I wanted an expert that had completed the process dozens of times and could walk me through the baby steps. I wanted a local person I see every day (or interact with regularly)—yes, a touch of the “accountability” mentor-vibe. To find this person, I narrowed down a list of who I was most comfortable with (but also who would challenge me) and someone who does not necessarily think like me (to prepare me for that rough peer-review process!). This process took a while, and it took developing my own strategy for how I wanted to approach this goal, setting clear expectations for myself, and articulating clear goals to my mentor. 

You will have your own criteria for a mentor, but you must materialize those needs and expectations in order to start actioning them. I am a firm believer that the mentee drives the relationship—so as you develop these new mentor relationships, keep in mind what is realistic. Do not take on more than you can handle—it may take longer but you owe it to the mentor to keep them updated, follow up on their advice or recommendations, and continue to seek input as things advance. The mentor may reach out proactively, but you should be the one shaping the conversation to your needs (or what may benefit your mentor). 

You have the model and your needs. Now the ball is in your court. What are you waiting for? 

Tara Middlebrooks is an active-duty Army Strategist serving as an Assistant Professor in the Behavioral Sciences and Leadership Department at the United States Military Academy at West Point.