Mentorship Matters: 5 Tips for Approaching Mentorship
Humans are fundamentally social creatures. Our reliance on social interaction is deeply rooted in aspects like sharing resources and building communities for the sake of health and cognitive growth. Not surprisingly, these same fundamental concepts exist in the modern-day workplace because it is advantageous to build on each other’s strengths, and work with a symbiotic approach for us to all be successful alongside each other. This is a strong reason why working with others through mentorship can not only enhance our career growth but also allow us to build a strong network and expand our skill sets.
My name is Lisa Berry, and I am a Principal GIS Engineer and Evangelist for the ArcGIS Living Atlas team at Esri. In this blog I will share with you 5 tips on how to approach mentorship within your GIS career so that you can boost your interpersonal network.
Career and Mentorship
As soon as I found GIS during a random college course, I knew I wanted to dive into mapping and analytics with all of my energy, but I didn’t know where to start or where to go next. But thanks to the mentors I found along the way, I have been able to navigate an every-growing industry of technology and changes and found my place within it, described in the graphic below:
I have now been at Esri for 12 years, and huge part of my personal and career growth has been a direct result of the mentorship I’ve received over the years. Without the advice, knowledge, and insight that others have brought to me, I wouldn’t have known how to approach the changes and obstacles I’ve faced over the years. I have been grateful to have found successful, inspiring GIS professionals who have shared their wisdom with me over the years.
In my early career, I was only seeking mentorship, but over the years I have also begun to mentor others using the things I have learned. HOWEVER, I will always continue to seek out my existing mentors and find new mentors, because life is unpredictable and always brings new challenges. Just because I now mentor others, doesn’t mean that I suddenly know everything. The technology within the field of GIS is always changing/growing, so we as GIS professionals often need to do the same to keep up. This is yet another reason mentorship is so critical.
Anywhere along your career path or schooling, you can run into challenges, big or small. A few examples of some of my own challenges that you might relate to:
- How can I find a job?
- I need help with a difficult situation/person
- I don’t know how to achieve a goal I have, or how to acquire the skills I need
Explore the 5 Tips
To help you as you consider your own place within the mentorship cycle, I offer these 5 tips for navigating your journey:
Let’s dive into these a bit. Explore each tip and some extra thoughts for approaching each one:
1. Find the right mentor(s)
- Don’t be afraid to ask! People are usually honored when asked to mentor, but be aware that sometimes people might just be too busy.
- Cast a wide net when looking for mentors
- Connect with people inside of your immediate circle like your teachers, teammates, manager, or fellow students.
- Connect with people outside of your team. Even if their path is different than yours, you can still learn new skills or perspectives.
- Ask potential mentors what motivates them. Find someone with your shared level of passion.
- Be clear about expectations/commitment (are you looking for a lot of their time or just casual monthly meetups to chat and talk about career path and ask advice?)
- Find multiple mentors
2. Create consistency
- Set up regular meetups/chats to stay on the same page
- Show initiative by following up and thanking them for their time
- Touch base often – don’t go a year without reaching out
- Conversations don’t have to be formal every time. Sometimes a casual chat over coffee can go a long way to build a relationship
- Show up to your conversations with at least one question about career path or advice you’re looking for
- Be respectful of their time. People are busy! Don’t bombard someone with constant messages or expect immediate responses.
3. Establish interdependence
- Ask questions:
- Have you faced a similar situation?
- What was your personal experience?
- Can you share any advice on XYZ topic?
- While communicating your situation and goals is important, make sure to spend a majority of the time listening. Evaluate how their advice or experience can help you with your path
- Build trust through shared vulnerability. Share what you’re comfortable sharing, but provide enough context for them to help truly understand where you’re coming from.
- Learn and grow from critique. Don’t take criticism personally, but as a chance to grow from the advice. It is coming from a place of experience, not an attack.
4. Build your network
- Find people with related skills outside of your expertise and offer to help others on projects. And don’t be afraid to ask them for help in the future.
- When working with mentors (or anyone!), build rapport. Do so by meeting deadlines, showing up with a positive attitude, and do good work that speaks for itself.
- Say yes! Join projects and initiatives that are outside of your comfort zone but teach you new skills. You will meet new people that may be critical to your career path down the line.
- Expand your influence. Participate on LinkedIn, publish articles or blogs, try giving presentations about your subject matter, keep your resume up to date, and join communities that resonate with you.
5. Become a mentor!
- The best way to learn, is to teach!
- Once you find yourself being asked questions by someone, ask if you can help them in any other ways. This can be a great way to start a mentorship.
- Use your own experiences but learn how to listen. Identify what they need in their situation and align this with what you’ve learned without making the conversation about yourself. As Esri’s CEO Jack Dangermond suggests: “be interested, not interesting”
Note: bonus tip # 6 – repeat the process! Think of this as a cyclical process, since we are always gaining new skills, meeting new people with different experiences, and changing our daily lives. Part of the fun is that just because you become a mentor doesn’t mean you stop learning!
To help us wrap up, this graphic helps summarize the entire process a cycle:
Final Thoughts
To summarize, remember that your network is your strength. Your image is self-created, self-established, and self-built. Every project, every interaction (no matter how big or small) could make the difference between stalled progress and a jumpstart to your career. And ultimately, never stop learning and looking for mentorship.
Use Your Resources
There are many ways to find mentors and build your network! Check out these resources to kickstart your journey today:
