[Flash] There’s Nothing Urgent About Mentoring (and that’s why you should do it)

And I’m bracing myself for the inevitable…

Before the end, someone in the program will confess, “ugh. I’m sooo busy. I haven’t even connected with my Mentor!”

Of course, you’re busy! That’s how you got into the program. By successfully doing a lot of things – by being really great at your job.

But here’s the acute reality: there is nothing urgent about mentoring.

Mentoring is important, but it is not urgent. And that’s why we need to do it.

When we are committed to leading (a team, a project, or our careers), it’s imperative that we learn how to:

1. distinguish and serve the urgent (the issues, the emergencies)
2. while making time for the important (our goals, our ambitions).

It’s a critical yet overlooked leadership skill.

What is “important”?

• growing ourselves and others
• honing skills and creating new experiences
• discovering fresh approaches and perspectives
• collaborating, innovating, and improving
• recognizing, appreciating, and celebrating others
• connecting and building trusting relationships

By participating in a mentoring relationship, we have the opportunity to practice the art of intentionally advancing the important while effectively managing the urgent.

And if we can learn how to make time for the important-but-not-urgent, we’ll have an impact at work (and in life) well beyond our job titles. 

So, how can we advance the important while managing the urgent?

• Find something to be excited about (a heart-pumping goal)
• Master communications (listening, speaking, setting expectations)
• Tackle procrastination and eliminate time-zappers
• Trust, engage, and involve the people around us
• Be eager to learn and ready to evolve

Frankly, I don’t care if participants accomplish their goals in the mentoring program. I only care that they care.

When we are intentional with our time, our relationships, and our communications, we can commit to the important-but-not-urgent, navigate the urgent, and make a difference that ripples.

© 2022. Ann Tardy and MentorLead. www.mentorlead.com. All Rights Reserved.