{"id":7634,"date":"2018-09-26T11:20:56","date_gmt":"2018-09-26T01:20:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.empoweringambitiouswomen.com\/?p=7634"},"modified":"2018-10-03T11:21:59","modified_gmt":"2018-10-03T01:21:59","slug":"why-women-need-mentoring-and-how-to-get-it","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.empoweringambitiouswomen.com\/why-women-need-mentoring-and-how-to-get-it\/","title":{"rendered":"Why Women Need Mentoring and How to Get it"},"content":{"rendered":"
\nWhat is stopping women from finding mentors and building solid careers? We have ‘the why’ and how to go about fixing it.<\/h1>\n<\/blockquote>\n
Why do more men than women ask for mentoring?\u00a0<\/span>Why don\u2019t we give ourselves the same chance to build a career we\u2019re proud of?\u00a0Mentoring is an essential tool for any leader, but <\/span>even more so for women. In what\u2019s still in many organisations, a male dominated leadership space, women need help to find their feet.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n
Women are missing out<\/strong><\/h3>\n
LinkedIn surveyed more than 1,000 female professionals in the U.S. and 82 percent agreed that having a mentor is important. Fair enough. A LinkedIn survey<\/a> in the US found nearly 1 out of every 5 women had never<\/u> had a mentor. Yet, nearly 1 out of every 5 women reported never having a mentor.\u00a0<\/span>Another survey<\/a> found\u00a0 \u201863 percent of the survey group never had a mentor, even though 67 percent of respondents ranked mentoring as important to career success.\u2019\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n
The problem seems to be that we women aren\u2019t asking for mentoring.<\/p>\n
A 2014 report from Development Dimensions International (DDI) suggests this stems from a lack of confidence in ourselves. We\u2019re afraid to step up, and afraid to take the risk of being turned down.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span>Yet the same report says \u201c71 percent of women in the study reported that they always accept invitations to be formal mentors at work. And, overwhelmingly, women reported that they would mentor more if they were asked\u201d.<\/p>\n
So, what\u2019s stopping us from finding mentors?<\/strong>\u00a0<\/strong><\/h3>\n
What\u2019s really stopping us from finding mentors and building strong, solid careers is ourselves? Following are common reasons we use to limit ourselves.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n
W<\/strong>e\u2019re waiting for the \u2018right time\u2019<\/strong><\/p>\n
If you want to build your career, NOW is the right time.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n
W<\/strong>e need someone\u2019s approval<\/strong><\/p>\n
Why? When a man knows he needs mentoring, he goes out and gets it. It\u2019s logical. If he doesn\u2019t need approval or permission to find what he needs, why do we?\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n
We need to put<\/strong> other people first<\/strong><\/p>\n
An investment in yourself will benefit more than just you. In the long run, your family and your business team will all be better off as you grow.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n
W<\/strong>e\u2019re worried about the time commitment<\/strong><\/p>\n
We should be more worried about not committing our time to our development. After all, how long do we want to sit, stuck at the same level, or in the same job?\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n
We\u2019re not good enough<\/strong><\/p>\n
Studies<\/a> have shown men overestimate their abilities and performance, while women underestimate both. Their performances do not differ in quality. That means you\u2019re better than you realise so you are definitely <\/em>worth the effort.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n
The vital facts about mentoring<\/strong><\/h3>\n
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- 80%<\/a> of your workplace and career learning takes place between mentor and mentee. It\u2019s the mentor relationship which helps you make sense of your workplace experiences and guides you to make the right choices.<\/li>\n
- A US survey showed 75%<\/a> of private sector executives say mentoring had been critical in helping them reach their current position.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n
- While you might eventually reach your career peak by working hard and for long hours, you\u2019ll probably burn out long beforehand. For many people, mentoring can be a career shortcut.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
Go out and ask for mentoring<\/strong><\/h3>\n
I guess what I\u2019m saying is that we\u2019re holding ourselves back by not asking for mentoring. And the excuses we use to hold ourselves back are weak or just ridiculous.\u00a0We know that, but excuses give us something to hide behind.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n
We can\u2019t expect to increase the number of women at leadership level if we\u2019re afraid to step up and take a risk.\u00a0If you want to achieve goals and results you\u2019ve never achieved before, you have to do things you\u2019ve never done before. This is why women need mentoring. All you have to do is ask!<\/h3>\n
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