A mentor is an adviser or champion who helps you achieve your goals. For that purpose, how to ask your boss to be your mentor? Well, here’s the answer.
Your boss is your senior and a more experienced person in the corporate world. They can lead you in achieving your career goals.
How To Ask Your Boss To Be Your Mentor – 10 Steps
Mentor and protege relationships do not always happen spontaneously. Asking your boss to be your mentor isn’t always easy.
If you try to do so too early in your career, you might seem presumptuous or even desperate for a job. But there’s no need to play games! Here are ten things to remember when asking your boss to be your mentor:
1. Decide What Kind of Mentorship You Want:
Do you want your boss to be your champion for further career opportunities? Do you want them to offer advice or skills or be a role model?
An excellent way to determine the best type of mentor is to ask yourself what you need. At this point in your career, it will be essential.
2. How To Ask Your Boss To Be Your Mentor – Find Out If Your Boss Is Mentor Material:
A person with no patience or time on their hands will not give you what you want from mentorship.
To find out if your boss has the time and interest before asking her. Assess whether they:
– Have developed employees in the past
– Offer formal training sessions
– Give out compliments
– Set goals for their team members
– Provide feedback on performance, etc.
A good rule of thumb is to have all three-time, interest, and expertise.
3. Schedule A Meeting:
Schedule a meeting, such as lunch or after-work drinks, and ask your boss if she can spare her time for some advice.
It would help if you did not come across as demanding or needy. Be proactive in seeking out mentorship by asking them what they think you need to do to reach your goals.
Try to frame it in the form of questions that the mentor-in-question could answer quickly.
For example, “What are some skills I will need to progress into upper management?” is better than “Can you be my mentor?”
4. How To Ask Your Boss To Be Your Mentor – Clarify Their Role:
Discuss what role they would play in helping you achieve your goals. Mentors are usually external individuals:
– Managers from other departments
– Members of professional societies, etc.
Sometimes the CEO of your company could also fit into this role! Clearly, define how often you would meet and for what duration.
Suggest that you keep these meetings outside office hours or during lunch. It will reduce any extra stress they might face.
For example: “I want to discuss my career with you – can we grab lunch next Friday?”
5. Keep The Lines Of Communication Open:
Be sure to communicate with them on all aspects of your development. Provide regular updates about new tasks, projects, or achievements.
Ask for their input or feedback. Document areas that need growth; set goals together; make suggestions where necessary.
These are some ways to ensure they feel valued and respected as mentors.
6. How To Ask Your Boss To Be Your Mentor – Understand Their Limitations:
Sometimes even the best mentors cannot give you what you want. Try to be mindful of their limitations where necessary.
For example, suppose they cannot guide you in your communication skills. In that case, this is an area where you will need to find another source of advice.
Read some books on communication techniques. Your boss might be under stress or has no time for meetings with you.
It could be that they might not have the ability to help with further career opportunities. So, again, look elsewhere!
7. Make Mentorship A Two-way Street:
You will need something from them as well as give something back. This could include support, time, trust, information, etc.
For example, “I’ll make sure I help out with your workload whenever you need it.” Or “I’ll always give my honest opinion when asked for it.”
This is important in developing a stronger mentor-mentee bond. It is also crucial in helping to create a more effective working environment.
8. How To Ask Your Boss To Be Your Mentor – Donate To Their Success:
People who lack confidence or have low self-esteem are less open about asking for help. Despite their efforts to impart sage advice, some mentors might still feel unsuccessful.
Therefore, be mindful of this and encourage them to achieve their goals.
For example, “I can see you’re passionate about your work – how are you hoping to get more involved in the company?”
This makes them feel valued and also creates a sense of reciprocity.
9. Be Grateful:
Thank them for their time and effort, no matter how well, or badly your meeting went.
They have done you an excellent service by giving up their free time to help you.
At least sending a short email will do if you can offer to take your boss out for dinner or give them a small gift as a token of your gratitude (not money though!).
10. How To Ask Your Boss To Be Your Mentor – Make A Plan:
After meeting with your mentor:
-Schedule time alone to plan your next steps.
-Follow up on the action points discussed at your meeting.
-Aim to meet up with your mentor again in a few weeks or months for an update.
Before You Ask Your Boss To Be Your Mentor – 11 Things To Do
Here are ten things to do if you want your boss to say yes to you. Otherwise, they will say no to being your mentor.
1. Gain Their Trust:
To ask your boss to be your mentor, you must first establish a good working relationship. Please treat them with respect show your trustworthiness.
Likewise, give credit where it’s due. It is also essential that you develop a good rapport with them.
It can be through personal conversations and work-related activities. Avoiding office politics is also necessary to ensure that your boss sees you as a person to trust.
2. Build A Good Reputation:
To ask your boss to be your mentor, you need to gain their respect as an employee and person.
Therefore, you must maintain an excellent reputation within your department. You must ensure that everyone likes and trusts you.
If they don’t, then there’s no way that they’ll go ahead and recommend you to someone else!
3. Ask For Their Advice.
If possible, try asking for feedback on some of the decisions you made. They can be about at work or any changes that you can make to improve yourself in the future.
Do not take this request too personally. It could quickly come across as over-eager or nagging.
Remember, you aim to establish a safe environment where you can speak with each other. Ask for their advice respectfully, without pestering them or asking too frequently.
4. Be A Good Listener:
To ask your boss to be your mentor, you must listen to anything they have to say. It can be about you and the current state of affairs at work.
They might give you some excellent suggestions. For that, they should know what direction you want your career path to take next.
Being a good listener will also help improve the relationship that you share.
5. Show Your Appreciation And Gratitude:
If possible, show your gratitude by offering them a token of appreciation. A thank you note, a gift voucher, or even a cupcake can work!
Thanking your boss from time to time can help strengthen the relationship that you share.
6. Be Appreciative Of Their Time:
To ask your boss to be your mentor, you must understand their commitments. Once you do, prioritize accordingly.
When asking for advice or taking up their valuable time, you must only do so during convenient times.
You should also not take up too much of their time because they have work to do like everyone else in the company!
Your boss might want to meet with other employees who require extra attention as well.
7. Never Miss Office Meetings And Events:
To ask your boss to be your mentor, you must maintain a good rapport with all your colleagues. This includes:
– Going to the occasional office parties
– Attending meetings
– Generally being friendly towards everyone in the building.
You never know who might have a word or two to say about you!
8. Be Confident When Speaking To Him:
When asking them for advice, behave confidently but not arrogantly. One way of showing confidence is maintaining eye contact when speaking to them.
It also shows that you are serious about what you’re saying. It’s always better not to talk while looking away or staring at your feet!
Be careful while choosing words. Even the slightest slip-up could make all the difference.
9. Never Argue:
To ask your boss to be your mentor, you must not argue with them no matter the circumstances.
If they give you a suggestion, say ‘Thank You Sir/Ma’am.’ and keep things moving forward.
If an argument starts, it can lead to a loss of respect on both sides, which is never good for your career prospects!
The only time it’s okay to disagree is when it comes to constructive criticism. It can be for work or other company issues.
10. Never Badmouth Them Publicly Or Privately:
It always helps to take notes during meetings if you’re likely to forget something later.
Always acknowledge their feedback without making too much fuss about it. It could make them feel uncomfortable.
To ask your boss to be your mentor, you must understand their commitments and prioritize. When asking for advice or taking up their valuable time, you must only do so during convenient times.
You should also not take up too much of their time because they have work to do like everyone else in the company!
Your boss might want to meet with other employees who require extra attention as well.
Conclusion:
Mentorship is essential. It helps broaden your horizons and open up new opportunities. So, don’t be afraid to ask your boss if they would like to become your mentor – they might even enjoy it.
To do so, present yourself in a confident but not pushy way. Be clear about how much time you require. Likewise, understand their limitations, and make mentorship a two-way street.
Last Updated on 2 years by Shahzaib Arshad
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