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Different perspectives matter more than you’d think
I like to get mentored by people who have less experience in business than I do. Most people only seek mentors who are ahead of them, but in my experience, that’s not the most effective thing you can do.
I like to get mentors on three different levels: “below” me, on a similar level, and above me. Ideally, I aim to do that evenly.
The benefits of getting a mentor with more experience than you are obvious, while the benefits of getting mentored by someone with the same experience or less might be confusing.
Let me explain.
You learn by getting multiple points of view. Mentors with more experience will share what worked for them, but it may not always apply in your current situations. We only live one life, so it’s impossible to experiment with enough things to know what the best avenue is.
And depending on the sector, things an expert knows might be irrelevant today. I’d rather be mentored in programming by an intermediate programmer experience-wise. They’re more familiar with new and improved ways of doing things and are less biased towards a method.
By choosing to be mentored by people on all levels, I broaden up my perspective. But also, getting mentored by people “below” me allows me to confirm or destroy my own biases. It helps me figure out if I’m doing things one way simply out of “comfort”. It also helps me not pretend that I know everything about a topic.
Thinking you know everything you need to know about a topic can be dangerous. That stifles innovation and lowers your creativity. And as you may know, the really successful businesses are not ones that copy what others are doing, but rather think creatively about new ways of doing things.
Getting a mentor isn’t about getting THE answer, it’s about getting options. There’s no right or wrong answers, only experiments that can go well or not. Thomas Edison said:
“I have not failed, I only found 10,000 ways that don’t work.” — Thomas Edison
A more experienced mentor will tell you the ways that worked, but the real learning is in the things that don’t. I’m not saying a less experienced mentor will give you things that don’t work, but rather things that you can experiment with in a more innovative way.
I’m about to become a dad for the first time. I expect baby Nathan to be a great teacher for me. Is ever-curious mind will make me realize how biased I am towards things. There’s hardly anything more valuable if you want to learn better and bring your business to the next level.
So, listen to what less experienced people have to tell you. Don’t dismiss an idea because it’s untested. Embrace it. Try it out. The truly innovative solutions can skyrocket your business. And the more you keep them coming, the longer your business will remain on top.
You can do this!