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3 Reasons Why Mentorship and Learning are Important to Me

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I was encouraged to write this blog because of a question I was asked while attending the Women in Technology (WIT) mentor-protege alumni networking event. Someone asked me, “Why are you a protege? You are a business owner, a CEO!” I replied “being a protege has nothing to do with your title or owning a company. I believe I still have a lot to learn.” In life, there is always room for growth. The woman who knows everything is a woman who is done learning, and I am never done learning or evolving as a professional and as a person.
When I joined WIT in December 2016, I had no intention of becoming a protege. I was deep into the “make it work” stage of my entrepreneurship journey: I have a startup IT Consulting firm, and for the first time in 3 years I had to get out and find contracts for the company so that I can keep my workers on payroll full time.
Despite my being lost in the fog of business development and capture management (keep in mind that I am an engineer), I joined WIT and turned myself into a protege. And I am very grateful every day that I did!
Oddly enough, not all my mentors are in my line of business – some of my mentors are in marketing and communication and others in fields unrelated to technology.

3 ways the mentor-protege program at WIT helped me:

1. Fight impostor syndrome

While my mentors helped me piece together my awesome future – from discussing the quickest ways to bring my existence into focus and give my life a purpose – I was also helping them see their value as mentors. I might feel like an impostor when I am writing my life’s mission statement (one of them taught me to write it down, and write it down again, and again) or talking at conferences and network events, but my mentors never saw me that way. Instead, they saw in me as an expert in the IT field (which I hope I am), a resourceful reader, and a linguist, fluent in French, English and 12 African languages and other dialects. Working with each one of them one-on-one allows me to put my knowledge to good use and take the focus away from what’s not working. They told me: “You are no impostor, and being a protégé will soon prove that to you.”

2. Deepen my community

I believe that even the most anti-social protégés amongst us have spent time in college or university putting together a network of people, one which consists of professors, advisors, other scholars in our field, peers, classmates, friends, students, and helpful administrators. I do not think any of us could have graduated without this community. Every person we interact with enriches us, especially when that person is a mentor. A mentor-protégé program requires each party to build a relationship different type of than any other in our network. It is informal and familiar while still being professional and, to a certain extent, hierarchical. No syllabi or grading, just coffee/tea/lunch, advice, and dialogue.

3. Articulate my ideas

One of the most unexpected benefits I gained from working with my mentors was to be able to articulate what I do. When they asked questions, I had to think about not only the answer to those questions but also the best way to make that information accessible and understandable to them. This involved many discussions about getting out of my comfort zone: for example, reaching out to federal government agencies to provide visibility for my company. A mentor-protege program is a great practice for everything, from writing a mission statement to perfecting your elevator pitch, as the stakes are low and there is no one to impress. It is just a mentor and his/her protege conversing about careers, grad school, life, etc.
I asked one of my mentors what she enjoys about mentoring, and here’s what she said:
“Being a mentor takes a lot of time, and mental energy – a point that I do not want to understate – but the results far surpass anything you put into it. Motivation, however, to help a protege in this way must come from within, since it will not appear on an evaluation or performance review. Like donating to a charity or contributing to the Creative Commons, helping you made me feel good. I was doing something worthwhile, something with long-term meaning. Likewise, it sets you up to be a fantastic entrepreneur in the future. Also, you became my friend, which was its reward: Doing good while making friends.”

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