The relationship between a mentor and the person being mentored is different with every situation, and there is no single blueprint for "how to be a great mentor."  Rather than focus on typical qualities or responsibilities of a mentor, here are a few ideas of what mentoring can be, how to find a mentor and why mentoring is so important to one's professional development. 

Who Is a Mentor?
A mentor is any person who has the experience to help and guide another person's development and does so because they want to - not because they have to.  "Taking someone under his/her wing" is a great way to describe the mentoring most often seen in law firms.  A typical scenario involves a new hire or someone who is eager to learn more about his/her job and the firm.  The newbie seeks out a more senior person with greater knowledge, a good track record, impressive perception of others, and in general, someone with outstanding leadership qualities.  The hope is that a mentor can "show them the ropes."

When courting a prospective mentor, what do you look for?  This is a person with whom you're going to spend a lot of time, so you need to get to know them well.  Do you trust them?  Do you like them?  Do they like you?  Can you work together?  All of these questions and more need to be answered before you can build a mentoring relationship.  To get those answers, you need to spend time together.

Finding a Mentor
Some companies have a formal program for mentoring.  There may be a database of people who are willing to be mentors and who have filled out a profile listing the job-related skills they would be willing to teach.  Although it may sound a bit like a dating service, this method does help match up the experienced, willing mentors to those who desire to be mentored. 

In the legal world, the majority of us are left to seek out our own mentors.  We tend to gravitate toward those people who can help us move forward on our career path and/or someone we admire.

Once you've found a potential mentor, how to you approach him/her?  A conversation that begins with "will you be my mentor?" is not a likely approach.  Remember, a prospective mentor should have similar interests, integrity and as much commitment to the relationship as you do.  Get to know each other first.  After you have "clicked," you can explain your goals and pose the question about mentorship.  The beauty of being forthright is that it will allow you to discuss the details of the mentor relationship.  How often you will meet?  What kind of expectations do you have?  What formal ways can you share knowledge?  By formalizing the relationship, a mentor can discuss his/her experience more easily without wondering whether or not you really want to hear it.

The more common way to engage in a mentoring relationship is to ease into it as you would any new work relationship.  Casually mention you could use a few pointers on your current project.  A few weeks later, you might ask the person to review your project plan and give you feedback.  Sharing knowledge or experience happens gradually, and you build the relationship over time, letting the natural give and take dictate how things flow until you are comfortable enough to start referring to him or her as your mentor.

The Importance of Mentoring
While the mentoring process itself is very rewarding, each participant in the relationship can achieve specific goals.  For the mentor, it's a very flattering, ego-boosting confidence builder to know that someone you work with wants to hear your sage advice.  Another great benefit for the mentor is that you acquire a fresh perspective from the less-experienced thinker.  The nicest part of mentoring is when these fresh ideas mesh with tried and true methods.  Creativity often sparks, and both parties are excited about the results.

For the person being mentored, the benefits can be career-building and very enlightening.  Learning from experience sometimes stings, but learning from an experienced person can be delightfully engaging because you can hear about the pitfalls over coffee; and, if you listen, you can avoid them yourself in the long run.

One of biggest benefits of a mentoring program is to the firm itself.  The employees form lasting bonds through which firm culture is preserved.  When mentors pass down experience, information and knowledge to new employees, it keeps the story of your firm around for a long time.

About our author . . .

Marti Phillips is the National Training Manager at Andrews Kurth LLP and has been in the legal industry almost a decade.  In her role at the firm, she manages all people, places and things associated with helpdesk and training support.  She is also the current Regional Vice President of the South Central Region of ILTA and the past president of the Legal Technology Association in Dallas.  She can be reached at martiphillips@andrewskurth.com.