Choosing a mentor can be challenging.
What if you do your best work with empathetic, encouraging people but your mentor is a stern drill sergeant?
Or what if you prefer the blunt, direct approach but your mentor encourages you to ask questions and challenge their ideas?
In both cases, the mentor could have the solution to your current problem but might not be able to motivate you to implement it.
The best mentor for you is the one who will help you take action.
Below, I’ll give you seven steps to help you pick the best mentor for yourself.
Seven Steps to Finding a Mentor
Step 1
Download this simple worksheet.
Step 2
Identify big wins in your past—a sporting accomplishment, an academic achievement, a completed project, a promotion. These wins can come from any period—even your childhood.
List the victories in the first column of the worksheet, under Wins.
It’s OK if you only have one or two wins. If you have more than seven wins, duplicate the worksheet and keep writing.
Step 3
In every win, I know you had a coach, a teacher, a mentor or a model to follow.
Review each accomplishment and consider the person who’s most closely attached to it (after you, of course). List the names under the second heading, Coach. It’s OK If you have several names attached to the same accomplishment.
Step 4
In the third column, Lever, write down the coaching or leadership style of the person listed in the Coach column. Don’t overthink it; just note the first words that come to mind, but limit yourself to one or two words so you have maximum clarity.
Here are a few common entries in this column: authoritarian, drill sergeant, questioner, philosopher, scientist, empath, listener, explorer, technician, role model, father/mother figure, etc.
In my example, I crossed out a coach after I thought more deeply about the greatest contributor to my win.
Step 5
Review your coaches and their styles: Which levers appear more than once? Highlight them.
These are the attributes you want in a mentor. You have clearly listed the traits that caused you to take action and accomplish great things in the past.
Step 6
Now that you know the style of mentorship you want, you’ll ask a series of questions to narrow your search.
Ask yourself this question: “What exactly do I want to achieve in the next year?”
Then ask yourself “why?” at least three times to get to your deepest reason for setting this goal.
Example: “I want to grow to 300 gym members next year.”
- Why? “So that my gym makes more money.”
- Why? “So that I can make a greater income and work less.”
- Why? “Because my husband and kids deserve to live without a budget.”
Next, identify people who have achieved your specific goal—this is key. You don’t want someone who suggests they can coach you to a goal they haven’t achieved. Example: A gym owner with 200 members who says he can help you acquire 300 members.
List two or three people in your industry who have achieved your goal.
Step 7
Call the prospective mentor and ask how they personally reached your goal and overcame specific challenges.
If you get a solid answer, review your levers: Does the person use the style that helped you succeed in the past?
If the person has solved your problem and uses the right levers for you, you have likely found your mentor.
A Shortcut for Gym Owners Who Want Results Fast
This plan has just three simple steps:
- Fill out the wins-coach-levers worksheet.
- Determine exactly what you want to achieve in the next year.
- Book a call with a member of my team.
On that call, you can explain what you want to achieve and describe the mentorship style that suits you. We’ll tell you if we can help by matching you up with one of the 50+ professional mentors on our team. (You can see what they’ve achieved as gym owners here.)
Your ideal mentor might be on my team. Or perhaps not—and if that’s the case, we’ll tell you.
But there’s only one way to find out: Book a call. It’s free, and we might choose each other!
