“WHAT IS BEST FOR PEOPLE IS WHAT THEY DO FOR THEMSELVES”
Benjamin Franklin
Benjamin Franklin was not referring to self-mentoring when he made this quote about 200 years ago. Mr. Franklin was probably encouraging people to fend for themselves and not be at the mercy of others. However, the quote has relevance for many young professionals in today’s business environment. Mentoring appears to be a declining skill or responsibility and thus many young professionals are left on their own to train themselves and advance their career. The word mentor comes from the Greeks and represents a character in Homer’s “Odyssey”. Mentor was an older man Odysseus asked to guide his son. There are several reasons why mentoring is on the decline.

1. MANAGEMENT SKILLS CONTINUE TO DECLINE
Management skills are diminishing or even non-existent in many US firms. Many people are promoted into management positions without the company’s awareness of their management skills. In addition many firms fail to provide adequate training to assist those promoted to become skilled at management. Too often people equate being the boss with being a manager. Many people enter their new position as a manager determined to show those reporting to them “who’s the boss”. A boss is not a manager, and a boss seldom becomes a mentor.

2. THE RISE OF TECHNOLOGY
Technology has diminished the inter-personal skills that used to drive many businesses. Face time has decreased and this along with diminishing management skills contributes to a decline in availability of mentors.

3. CHANGE IS RAPID IN BUSINESS
Business is changing so fast since the millennium that new paradigms are necessary to be successful in the future. The past used to be a great teacher. Today the relevance of the past is less and less the pathway to success.

4. YOUNG PEOPLE ARE DIFFERENT
Young professionals are vastly different from their parents and the peers of their parents. They are committed to change and forging different lifestyles. They have different career goals and different paths planned for achieving those goals. The typical role of a mentor has been “here is how I became successful; follow my lead”. Young professionals do not want to be just like the potential mentors thus if they do have a possible mentor the potential for a disconnect is enormous.

5. THE EMERGENCE OF WOMEN
More and more women are entering business and becoming successful. However women still have less mentoring options available to them than men in addition to all the other challenges they face.

SELF-MENTOR FOR SUCCESS
No one knows you better than you know yourself. You know your dreams; you know what you want in a job and a career; you know the path you either want to follow or are willing to follow to achieve your goals; you know the sacrifices you are willing to make and the sacrifices you will not make; and you know what will make you happy. Former president Theodore Roosevelt wrote to future president William Howard Taft and told him: “No other man can take the responsibility of deciding what is right and best for you to do”. Follow that advice when it comes to the subject of mentoring. In m y book “Theory You” I introduce the subject of self-mentoring and illustrate how to best become a skilled self-mentor in charge of your successful career path. The decision to self-mentor is a powerful first step in the management of your career. I urge you to adopt this discipline to help you achieve your career goals.