The four types of mentors to consider
There are a few articles on the internet (including a few created from yours truly) regarding mentors and how to get one. Whether it's for career growth, expertise or guidance, a mentor’s help is priceless.
However, on reflection of these articles, I have come to realise there are several types of mentors to consider. Below are four types of mentors, with each one having its pros and cons, but can provide you with insights that can help with your development journey:
Active mentors
This is the most common type of mentorship, whereby you gain experience from professionals, which may be either generalised or specialised in a particular area. As the name suggests, it is either 1 to 1 or 1 to many relationships with the mentor, whereby you have regular meetings with them and there is accountability for your actions towards your goals.
Pro: Active mentors will help to make you accountable towards your goals through actions and tasks.
Con: This type of mentor might not relate to a specific issue or area you might be developing in. Rather it might be either a generic or a side issue you are looking to work on.
Passive mentors
Passive mentors are mentors that can be admired from afar and mentees want to absorb their expertise without regular meetings. These may be through reading regular blog posts, social media, talks or youtube videos.
Pro: These types of mentors are well versed within the particular area you are looking to improve in, as well as the learnings being available wherever.
Con: No real interaction with a mentor, as well as a lack of accountability towards actions you are looking to improve on.
Vertical mentors
A vertical mentor is someone who is either in the same industry or job role you are interested in growing in. They have a concentrated amount of experience and knowledge that can help you to get to the next stage in your career.
Pro: Gain great in-depth insights into learnings about the industry or job role.
Con: Sometimes a mentor might be too far ahead of you in regards to experience, and maybe difficult to empathise with your situation if you are only just starting out.
Horizontal mentors
These mentors are roughly at the same level of experience and may either be in an industry you’re interested in, a similar job role or a skillset you’re looking to improve on.
Pro: They can provide some empathy with your current situation and provide an opportunity to grow and gain support from someone in a similar situation. Also, it can help to grow a certain skill set.
Con: This type of mentor may not have as much experience as vertical mentors and may have limited insights in terms of growth.
So which type of mentor is best? The answer: a mixture of all four can be beneficial for career growth. Take time out for each type of mentor in order to excel within your personal development.
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