The Importance of Mentorship: Advice from Seasoned Professionals

If I could give my younger self one piece of advice about mentorship, it would be this—seek mentors early, not only for answers but for perspective. Early in my career, I focused heavily on mastering technical skills like cloud architecture, integration frameworks, and large-scale system design. That foundation was important, but I later realized that having a mentor could have helped me connect technical skills with strategic foresight much sooner.

I remember an important experience with a senior leader during a major insurance transformation program. He didn’t just guide me on how to do things, but always asked questions like “why now?” and “what business outcome does this enable?” Those simple questions changed how I viewed technology—not as a project, but as a long-term business lever. Had I sought that kind of mentorship earlier, I would have developed a broader, more balanced leadership lens faster.

Mentorship isn’t about dependency; it’s about accelerating maturity through shared experience. A good mentor challenges your thought process, opens networks, and helps navigate setbacks with clarity. For me, having mentors who blended business acumen with empathy later in my career helped shape my approach to leading diverse teams, managing transformation at scale, and mentoring others in turn.

If I could give advice to my younger self or anyone starting out, it would be this: technical skills build your career, but mentorship shapes where you go. The right mentor not only helps you grow, but also helps you see the bigger picture before you get there.

Seeking support from others is not a sign of weakness. Mentors are a great resource to support your strategy for growth. Create a list of areas you would like to develop. Development areas such as communication, networking, and strategic thinking were part of my list. As you consider mentors, evaluate what you believe they do well and can teach you. Find mentors within and outside of your organization because diverse perspectives and experiences provide a greater range of tools.

Mentors have accelerated my learning. I can have honest conversations that help me avoid common mistakes, navigate organizational dynamics, and help to focus my energy where it truly matters.

Looking back, I would tell my younger self to actively seek mentorship earlier in my career path. The guidance I received from my partner during a pivotal dinner conversation transformed my passion into a sustainable career, as they provided the continuous support and challenging questions I needed to grow. Having this mentor as a sounding board helped me build my career in couples work by focusing on authentic progress aligned with my personal values. This mentorship experience taught me that the right mentor doesn’t just guide your professional trajectory but helps you develop an approach that remains true to who you are.

I’d tell my younger self that mentorship isn’t about finding someone who has all the answers, it’s about finding someone who asks the right questions. Early on, I tried to figure everything out alone, which slowed my growth more than any failure did. A good mentor doesn’t just guide your career; they help you see your blind spots sooner. Having one would’ve saved me years of trial and error and probably taught me to trust collaboration earlier.

Having mentors in various capacities throughout your business career is extremely important, and in my experience, picking the wrong people to go into business with, people who won’t also act as mentors, is a big red flag. As a younger entrepreneur, it’s vital to have someone you can run ideas by who’s been there before and made the mistakes, because let’s be honest, those mistakes are extremely costly. You can get lucky, but most of the time starting out really is like throwing spaghetti at the wall to see what sticks; even experienced business people will say this. Kevin O’Leary talks about it all the time. If you have someone who can guide you, tell you which marketing channels are worth it, which traffic sources are scams, and whether Google Ads is a better bet than the shiny new thing, it can save you thousands of dollars and countless hours. Every question you get answered by someone experienced is potentially a huge saving.

I would advise my past self to seek help because carrying everything by yourself is not the right approach. Seek out someone who survived the turbulent process of creativity while maintaining their faith in beauty. A mentor provides career guidance while simultaneously helping you remember your true self when external forces attempt to transform you into something else.

Having such a presence from the start would have helped me believe in my own voice more strongly. I would have learned to recognize that my gentle nature and creative perspective made me strong instead of weak. A mentor would have prevented my long journey of self-doubt by telling me to continue because my emotions hold value.

I would tell myself that there is always more to learn than you even realize. Some of the most valuable things I have learned through mentorship have been things beyond the scope of my specific jobs or career path. There are so many things you don’t learn in school or in books that can only be taught by those who have had lived experience. That is an invaluable source of wisdom you should absolutely tap into if you want to grow as much as possible and have the success you’re hoping for.