As we make our way through life, we collect people. We meet people from all kinds of industries, people from all levels within the hierarchies of organizations, and people who perform all kinds of services. Not only do we know lots of people who can help us, we figure out how to approach these people so they don’t feel “used” or taken advantage of. And of course, we’re in their “network” and they call on us when they think we can help them too.
The younger you are, the weaker your network. It takes years for your network to become robust and you could use some help while that happens. And that’s another reason a man needs a mentor.
Mentors LOVE to help our guys with “life” and that includes giving them access to our network. We enjoy tapping into our relationships to help the younger guys we’re mentoring. It doesn’t (really) cost us anything but a little time… a quick email of introduction; a phone call to a trusted friend, and a door is opened that can make a huge difference. The fulfillment we get from helping our protégé is huge. It makes us feel good to know we bring something to the table that adds value to the younger ones that we love.
And a byproduct is that the younger guy’s network gets wider and deeper faster. That empowers him to be a more helpful mentor as he starts to pay it forward.
Question: How has opening up your network to your mentees impacted/grown them?
