Professional growth requires hard work, determination, honesty, and patience. But above all, it requires a strong support system which is interested in your pursuit of growth. A system that has your best interests at heart and never hesitates to guide you.
Mentorship by senior-level colleagues is usually one way of getting guidance, assurance & support. But seniors generally don’t stay as long and then you are left hanging with your one trusted source out of the picture.
So, who do you turn to next?
Seeking support should be a constant endeavour.
We tell you how to attract genuine support.
Never stop asking questions: When you keep asking questions, you are letting them know that you are really interested in growing or doing better.
Ask them if they are willing to give their feedback about something you’ve done or even about your general behaviour during a meeting. You might agree or disagree with their opinion but it is important that you ask and they tell.
Be open to listening to what they have to say so that they too feel comfortable sharing. If you do this a considerable number of times, in future they will come and share feedback with you even when you don’t ask for it. You’ve made an ally out of this mentor.
Women generally hesitate to leverage such relationships, they are afraid of being a burden to their allies. But one of the biggest benefits of having such allies is that they believe in you and support your stand when you need them too. So women, don’t worry about them, people support you because they know you’ll help them when they need you-which might not happen right away but will certainly happen somewhere in the future. So there is a give & take in this relationship and it is not wrong if one makes use of this give & take, of course, backed by noble intentions.
The big question lies in finding the right mentor or ally. How do you know you’ll not be double-crossed or manipulated in any way? Choose your allies strategically but trust your insights too. You might consider yourself to be opportunistic but at the same time don’t seek friendship in people you dislike as that might boomerang in a bad way.
Make sure you choose people who can really be of help, instead of ending with a big bunch of random friends who are in no capacity to offer support.
