Wanted: Seeking Meaningful Mentorships

Are classified ads dead? Asking for a friend.

OK, that friend is me. A little bit about myself: I have spent more than 17 years in the channel, the first 12+ years at ScanSource, a hardware/software technology distributor, and the last four-plus years at Intelisys, a cloud and SaaS-based technology solutions broker in the trusted advisor world. Both are channels, but have very different routes to market.

Fish Out of Water

When I first started in the channel 17 years ago, I had no idea what the channel even was. I was a year-and-a-half out of college and quickly realized that women were certainly a minority in this male-dominated industry.

I remember the first time I was in a supplier business review with more women than men in the room. It was 2020 and I was so overjoyed that I took a picture and hung it over my desk! I remember working late nights in the office because I thought that was what I needed to do to stand out and prove myself to management. I remember crying in my hotel room at a supplier advisory event only a few years ago because I felt like an outsider and wasn’t the “right” person to be there.

Thankfully I also remember celebrating and experiencing lots of wins — meeting my husband and several life-long friends, making it through two maternity leaves, being recognized by my peers, growing up, and gaining more confidence in my skills, and most importantly, myself.

Career Highs and Lows

Over the course of those 17 years I have experienced a lot — taken on new roles, moved from an individual contributor to a manager, changed teams, reported to different leaders, and navigated different personalities across direct reports and peers. During that time I’ve been given advice, coaching and countless annual performance reviews, but nothing truly preparing me to successfully navigate the high highs and the low lows (imposter syndrome, doubt, feeling like I didn’t fit in, and uncertainty over my career path) that I would experience along the way. This feeling like I needed to “phone a friend” could have helped me so much and helped plant the seed of being interested in mentorships.  

Mentorships that Unlock Your Potential

I was recently talking to a friend who took on an exciting new position about the importance and impact that the right type of mentorship can have. Too often, or at least in my case, mentors have been unofficial, short-lived, or bound to my current role; for example, a current boss or someone whose paths crossed with mine for a brief period of time. She told me about a mentor she had a few years ago and how much it meant to her. The mentor not only supported her during her current role but helped her build a foundation for lifelong success by helping her uncover and leverage her unique passions, beliefs and skill sets. The mentor challenged and motivated her deeply — and it mattered.

It got me thinking … what would a meaningful mentorship look like for me, both as a receiver and as a giver? Is it ever too late in one’s career to have a mentor, or is it too early in my career to be the best mentor I could be for someone else? What could a purposeful mentorship mean for the next 10-20 years of my career?  

Tips to Find the Right Mentor

Finding the right mentor can be a challenge. Some get lucky and get introduced to someone perfect and the mentorship magic happens instantly. For others, it can be a longer process, much like finding a good therapist or trusted doctor. It can take time, multiple “test runs,” and require honesty if it’s a good fit or mutually beneficial. In short, it takes work, which on top of busy lives, can feel daunting.

How to Get Into Mentoring

So how do you find a mentor or put yourself out there to be one? Here are a few ideas:

As we move into a new year, I’m putting myself out there to both find a mentor and be one for someone else. Being vulnerable and admitting I still have a lot to learn is hard, but I think (I hope!) I have some meaningful things to share with someone at a new or different point in their career journey. So cheers to a new year and finding meaningful mentorships that truly matter!