WEBVTT - Second Cup: Make time to mentor

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<v Speaker 1>Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of I Heart Radio.

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<v Speaker 1>Good Morning. This is Laura. Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast.

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<v Speaker 1>Today's tip is about how to make time to mentor.

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<v Speaker 1>Many of us have been helped by mentors in our careers,

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<v Speaker 1>and we'd like to pay our gratitude forward. Like everything, though,

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<v Speaker 1>mentoring takes time. It's easy to shove it to the

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<v Speaker 1>bottom of the priority list when life gets busy. But

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<v Speaker 1>I think even busy people can make time to mentor. Indeed,

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<v Speaker 1>I hope busy people will make time to mentor for

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<v Speaker 1>a few reasons. First, I think it's important to show

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<v Speaker 1>that even people with full personal and professional lives can

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<v Speaker 1>contribute to the community. But let's admit a selfish reason.

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<v Speaker 1>Too few of us have so arrived that we can't

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<v Speaker 1>be helped by other people. The people you mentor early

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<v Speaker 1>in your career may go on to become fabulously success

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<v Speaker 1>full while you are still working, and it will be

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<v Speaker 1>great that they think fondly of you. So how can

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<v Speaker 1>you build this into your schedule. One of the best

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<v Speaker 1>things you can do is to be choosy about who

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<v Speaker 1>you mentor. Well, we do have time for whatever matters

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<v Speaker 1>to us. Time is ultimately limited. You can't mentor everyone,

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<v Speaker 1>so you want to mentor the people who will blossom

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<v Speaker 1>best with your help. You can definitely be strategic about this.

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<v Speaker 1>If you're in a desirable industry, and particularly if you're

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<v Speaker 1>in a position where you hire people, you will probably

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<v Speaker 1>get a ton of requests to pick your brain. This

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<v Speaker 1>is really a terrible image if you think about it,

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<v Speaker 1>and it can be easy to feel resentful about these requests.

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<v Speaker 1>So one of the best ideas I've ever heard for

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<v Speaker 1>people in this situation is to create a list of

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<v Speaker 1>frequently asked questions. Take half an hour or so this

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<v Speaker 1>week to create a document with the most common bits

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<v Speaker 1>of advice people ask you for. Send this list around

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<v Speaker 1>to anyone who asks to pick your brain, invite them

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<v Speaker 1>to read it, and then send you any follow up questions.

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<v Speaker 1>Here's an interesting discovery. Most people won't bother to follow up.

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<v Speaker 1>I have no idea why this is. I guess I

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<v Speaker 1>think people kind of hope that if they get a

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<v Speaker 1>coffee meeting with the right person, great things will just

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<v Speaker 1>magically happen. But in any case, by sending a list

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<v Speaker 1>of frequently asked questions around, you've been helpful. But now

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<v Speaker 1>you're off the hook. However, there will be people who

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<v Speaker 1>read your document and then follow up with intelligent questions.

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<v Speaker 1>Those people, by all means, meet with them. They're the

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<v Speaker 1>folks who are serious and are the best use of

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<v Speaker 1>your time. As for those meetings, feel free to make

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<v Speaker 1>them convenient for you. You might designate a time like

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<v Speaker 1>every other Friday morning for these sorts of meetings. Anyone

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<v Speaker 1>who asks can be put there. Limiting the time frame

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<v Speaker 1>makes it easier to make mental space for these meetings

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<v Speaker 1>rather than having any time be an option. You can

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<v Speaker 1>also have people come to you. Feel free to choose

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<v Speaker 1>whatever location minimizes your transition times, like the coffee shop

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<v Speaker 1>on the first level of your office building. You can

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<v Speaker 1>also look for ways to fold people into what you're

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<v Speaker 1>already doing. I've heard many creative examples over the years,

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<v Speaker 1>such as inviting mintees to go for a morning walk

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<v Speaker 1>or run with you, or sharing a ride to the airport.

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<v Speaker 1>Many years ago, one of my editors drove me back

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<v Speaker 1>to the side of Washington, d C. Where we both

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<v Speaker 1>lived from our office in Virginia. Most days, I tried

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<v Speaker 1>to keep her entertained in traffic, and she taught me

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<v Speaker 1>a lot while doing something that she had to do

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<v Speaker 1>every day anyway. Of course I saw her at work too,

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<v Speaker 1>and that's really the best way to fit mentoring into

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<v Speaker 1>your life. Ideally, you work with a lot of high

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<v Speaker 1>potential people that you'd like to see succeed. Ideally, these

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<v Speaker 1>are the sorts of people you're hiring. If that's the case,

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<v Speaker 1>then mentoring is really just part of managing every time

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<v Speaker 1>you work with someone, be generous and gracious with fee back.

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<v Speaker 1>Ask about their lives, ask about their desired career trajectories.

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<v Speaker 1>Look for ways to make opportunities for them. Because careers

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<v Speaker 1>are long and so are memories. Time strategically invested this

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<v Speaker 1>way will definitely pay off. So how will you make

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<v Speaker 1>time to mentor in the meantime? This is Laura, Thanks

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<v Speaker 1>for listening, and here's to making the most of our time. Hey, everybody,

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<v Speaker 1>I'd love to hear from you. You can send me

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<v Speaker 1>your tips, your questions, or anything else. Just connect with

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<v Speaker 1>me on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram at Before Breakfast pod

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<v Speaker 1>that's B the number four, then breakfast p o D.

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<v Speaker 1>You can also shoot me an email at Before Breakfast

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<v Speaker 1>podcast at i heeart media dot com. That Before Breakfast

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<v Speaker 1>is spelled out with all the letters. Thanks so much,

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<v Speaker 1>I look forward to staying in touch. Yeah Before Breakfast

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