On Mentorship
One of the fun things about gaining professional experience is getting a chance to work with folks who are keen to learn and who respond well to being coached.
What makes a person easy to be coached? The ability to seek out feedback, listen intently and ask questions, then use the learnings to improve one’s skills and performance.
This is especially rewarding when working in a team setting - where, as a Product Manager, I find myself working with a mix of senior and junior folks (devs, UX, design, QA) on a variety of products and features. I’ve had the pleasure of being on teams with that makeup comprised of some very high performing people, but where I was the weakest link in the chain of skills. In those situations, I pushed myself to learn, to understand why decisions were being made a certain way, and basically ask tons of questions. I was lucky to have people who were also kind, and who noticed my effort, and thanks to their approach, I gained confidence over time.
Those people could have dismissed me, pushed me aside, or gone to my boss to complain about me behind my back… but instead, they took the time to show me what good looks like, which took me from being an eager participant, to becoming a contributing value driver for the team.
That took time, empathy, and additional effort on their behalf. That’s mentorship.
What is the rewards for the mentor? Some people say that the act is its own reward. While true, I think the following says it better:
The feeling of pride to see someone you’ve invested in get some meaningful wins, and move ever closer towards achieving their true potential.
Seeing your team benefit from the continuous growth of individual members, which also contributes to your company by adding value in the form of the development of skillsets and expertise.
Knowing you’re doing right by someone who is earnest and willing to put in the time and the work.
If you’ve read this and you’re looking for a Sr. Product person to talk to, reach out to me on Linkedin, or directly through my contact page on this site. Clearly state what it is that you’d like to talk about ahead of time (what problem you’re facing, what questions you might have), and we can find some time to talk.