Richard Crenian: “Sharing Experiences Is Essential”

We live in an increasingly complex world. That’s a statement that’s been said before, even to the point of ad nausea, but it’s no less true. Take a look at our modern careers for example. The days of employees working at one company for their entire career are largely a thing of the past. Does that make things simpler? Far from it. If we look at life outside the professional world, at the pace of today’s current events or the pace of change in values and how we live our lives, things are clearly no less complex.

Having a guiding voice, in other words a mentor, is more important now than ever before.

What is a mentor?

A mentor is someone who advises or guides a less experienced individual (sometimes referred to as a “mentee”) by building trust, being a positive model and sharing knowledge. The Boys Scouts of America is an example of a very established mentoring program. However, over the past several decades, as the value of mentoring has become more noticed, the number of formal mentoring programs have proliferated.

Now there is a National Mentoring Partnership Program, called MENTOR, many mentoring community outreach programs, and even schools like USC’s Marshall School of Business and corporations have developed their own mentoring programs.

There’s a reason why mentors are so valuable in today’s professional world. In many industries, professionals have become in some ways free agents. Of course, professionals remain devoted to the businesses they work for. However, in today’s modern world, they are very likely to work at dozens of companies during the span of their careers. As noted in a Forbes article from several years ago, the average worker remains at his or her job for an average of 4.4 years, which means that many professionals will have had 15 to 20 jobs by the time they retire.

What does that mean as far as the value of mentoring?

It means that it’s more important than ever that professionals navigating from position to position and company to company have a guiding, mentoring voice along the way.

Professionals no longer follow the promotional ladder system of one single company. The road to professional and monetary success is no longer as black and white as fifty or sixty years ago. Which are reasons why a mentoring voice coming from someone who has made career shifts and navigated a career through a number of companies is so vital.

A Harvard Business Review article from 2008 mentions the world of business, especially in professional service firms, such as accounting, legal and marketing , has become far more consolidated and, at the same time, far more competitive. The article goes on to comment that in this “hypercompetitive” professional world, mentoring within firms, where senior leaders guide and advise younger associates, plays a critical role in reducing company turnover and creating more motivated associates.

What’s interesting to note is that the article goes to describe one associate who received a compliment from a senior leader, this leader commenting to the associate: “Associates like you inspire me to be a better leader here”.

The respect the associate had for this senior leader and how happy the associate was to have received a compliment had the associate “walking three feet off the ground for the rest of the day”.

Though this interaction between the associate and the mentioned senior leader is not an example of a long-term mentoring relationship, it demonstrates two things: one, how important thoughts and opinions of leaders are to many members of a younger generation. Second, it adds further evidence to the idea that many young people are hungry for guidance and to be noticed.

Relationships where knowledge and experience is imparted from one person to another can be successful. But, there are certain principles or guidelines that can help. Similarly, there are certain things to keep in mind for those looking for a good mentoring relationship.

Here are some of those things.

Mentoring Is About Guiding and Sharing Experiences, Not Developing Connections

Richard Branson is well known for his success in business. He’s also well known for the high regard he holds for mentoring, both within and outside of the world of business. In his articles and books, he oftentimes credits key mentors who helped him achieve success, like his mother or Sir Freddie Laker or a friend of his parents who gave him basic accounting lessons when Branson was just starting out in business.

What’s important to notice is when discussing the mentors Richard Branson had in his life, Branson focuses on the knowledge and guidance they instilled him, not what business connections they may or may not have introduced him to.

Networking and meeting people who can help you grow professionally and personally is important. But, that’s not of foremost importance in a mentoring-type relationship. In fact, many mentors will feel that they are being used as simply a means to an end if a mentee is simply concerned about networking and meeting new connections.

How to Make the Most Out of a Mentoring Relationship.

So, what should mentees expect from a mentoring relationship and, more importantly, what can mentees do to make the most out of the relationship?

Like most things in life, being honest with oneself goes a long way. That’s especially true when someone is looking to gain advice and guidance from another person.

It’s important that mentees are honest – both with themselves and their mentor – about short and long-term goals and about perceived personality strengths and weaknesses. Plain and simple, a mentor can’t be of any assistance if the person he is helping is not truthful about aspirations and personality traits.

Criticism. Criticism can be a jagged pill to take. Some of us are better at accepting it than others. However, it comes with a mentoring relationship, regardless if that relationship is in the professional world or outside of it.

A good mentor provides guidance on how to make better, more informed decisions. Not everything a mentor says will be positive, nor should it be. For those looking for a mentor, it’s important to understand that criticism comes with the territory. It’s important that mentees accept the positive comments, as well as the negative.

Things to Look for In Searching for an Inspiring Mentor.

There are plenty of role models in the world. In our own lives, we may be fortunate enough to encounter many inspiring leaders who would be a perfect fit for taking on a mentor-type role.

But, how do you know what type of person would be best suited as your mentor? After all, every person is different, and like other types of relationships, a mentoring relationship requires openness. In turn, having a mentor you respect and are comfortable with, goes a long way in building an open and trusting relationship, and a relationship that will work.

With that said, there are common qualities to look for when searching for an individual who will guide your professional and personal growth. These are some of the qualities.

You admire your mentor’s career and their values as a human being.

Respect in a relationship goes a long way in forming a productive mentor-mentee bond. Admiration of what a mentor has accomplished in their lives and/or careers plays an important role as well.

Simply put, a mentee who admires the path a mentor took in their lives is more likely to follow the mentor’s guidance and advice.

Your mentor is willing to take the time to invest in you.

A mentoring relationship is a two-way street, one that benefits both the mentor and the mentee. The relationship also happens to be a two-way street in the sense that both mentor and mentee have to be willing to take the time needed to invest in the relationship.

Some mentor and mentees meet once a month or once a week. Still others, like the mentoring relationships developed by Family Life, are almost entirely online-based. Regardless if mentors or mentees meet online or in person, they both must invest time and energy in the relationship in order for it be productive.

As an example of just how important time and energy investment is, at USC’s Marshall School of Business mentoring program, the Marshall School has a strict policy for mentees who either do not respond to program mentors in a timely fashion or who flake out of mentor meetings. Realizing that a time investment is critical, the school has established the policy that those students who flake out and drop the ball too many times will be kicked out of the program, with little exception.

Lastly, a mentor should be trustworthy.

In a mentoring relationship, trust between mentor and mentee is equally as important as respect. Even in a mentor relationship between two professionals that solely revolves around professional careers, there may be information or comments exchanged that are private and are meant to stay private.

It’s imperative that a mentee have enough trust in his or her mentor to be completely open and to be willing to share private opinions and feelings.

The Mentee Is Not Only One Who Benefits in a Mentoring Relationship.

Mentees benefit in numerous ways through having a mentor. But, mentors also benefit from the relationship.

Mentoring relationships reinforce leadership skills in mentors. Moreover, mentoring provides a unique, self-reflecting mirror for a mentor, helping remind them of their own values, personality traits and decision-making processes. Last but not least, mentors have the enjoyable opportunity to take part in and watch the development and success of his or her mentee.

“Every opportunity I’ve had to mentor someone – whether it’s a younger colleague or someone outside my career – has been an absolutely positive experience.”

This is a comment from Richard Crenian, who is the founder and President of ReDev Properties, Ltd., a Canadian commercial real estate development and investment company.

Having worked in real estate development and management for more than two decades, Richard Crenian has a lot to be proud of about his career. Similar to Richard Branson and other successful entrepreneurs, the opportunities Crenian has had to give back to his community, as well as to his younger colleagues, are for him the absolute measurement of success.

“I love working with younger colleagues. Being able to guide and advise them in the early stages of their careers and seeing how quick the learning and development process is for them at that early stage in their careers, is incredibly exciting.”

Richard Crenian began working and living on his own at the age of sixteen, which is one reason why he places so much emphasis on the importance of mentoring.

Richard Crenian adds, “I see so many members of the younger generation with so much potential, both within the professional world and outside of it. With that said, I really believe that no one can achieve their very best without some sort of outside guidance by someone who has “been there, done that” .... By experiencing set-backs and moments of achievements and by sharing these joys and frustrations with the next generation, I’d like to think that I’m contributing to a much larger cycle of knowledge.”

In the end, the benefits of mentoring relationships provided are numerous. They have the potential to the change a young person’s life for the better. They help build more positive and more stable communities and mentoring relationships help inspire openness, respect and trust. Yes, mentoring takes time and energy on the part of both mentor and mentee but, they absolutely do provide a return on investment.