Top 3 Tips: How women can get the most out of mentorship

Life is full of incredible experiences, successes and failures. Even with strong support systems, women can deal and overthink these experiences. Overthinking can create a noise that can become confusing and debilitating as women navigate the working world. How can women climb the ladder while dealing with that noise? Mentorship can help.

Here are my Top 3 Tips for getting the most out of mentoring.

• Always be kind. You don’t know where or when that act of kindness will spark courage in an individual. People go through different experiences in their lives and we do not know the type of negativity they are going through behind closed doors. Kindness will help get the individual to a more secure point.
• Establish a give-and-take relationship. Mentoring is about learning and understanding which direction to go in. What might work for you, might not work for the person you are mentoring. Keep an open mind and listen. Mentors and mentees can learn from each other. Not all advice is good advice, it is experience-based.
• The relationship may not work, and that’s okay. One of the most important things about mentoring is if it is not a good fit, do not be afraid to sever ties and go your own way. Do this earlier rather than later. When you are trying to help someone and all you get from them is combative, entitled behaviour, or they are constantly correcting you or challenging you, it is better to just say good-bye. This works both ways. If you do not feel like you and your mentor are moving towards a common goal, you might want to rethink the relationship.

I have learned that I will never fail at anything, not because I am brilliant or because I am the best, but because I have surrounded myself with some pretty incredible women that are always willing to jump in and help me when I ask for that help. My motto when I am asked to do anything out of my comfort zone is always “Say yes, Panic, Rock it!” and of course, talk with my mentor.

Elizabeth Naumovski is Vice President of Marketing at Caldwell Securities Ltd. She has been at the firm since 1997 and is responsible for marketing, corporate communications and public relations. As a way of giving back to her community she mentors young women.