If you’re successful in your career, chances are you had a mentor, coach or guide somewhere along the way. And chances are also good, you want to give back.
Fascinating new research suggests role models may be even more important than you thought. And when you offer mentoring to others, it’s also good for you—in terms of your esteem, fulfillment and wellbeing.
The Power of Role Models
When people have had positive role models, they are more likely to say their career is fulfilling (68% of people with role models compared with 51% of those without), to feel established in their career (65% compared with 45%) and have a career which pays enough (60% compared with 39%), according to a new poll by Gallup and Amazon which included almost 4,000 early-to-mid career adults.
And when people had role models, they were also more likely to be in STEM careers, based on the Gallup-Amazon data. This was especially true for women (21% of women with role models compared with 14% without role models and 26% of men with role models compared to 23% without).
In addition, young people who had mentors were more likely to have jobs with authority and autonomy and to experience more intrinsic rewards from their jobs (for example, feeling good about what they were doing and experiencing esteem based on their contributions), based on research published in the American Journal of Community Psychology.
The positive effects of mentoring begin even before careers start though—and these traits likely lead to stronger performance in finding and excelling at a career. For example, when boys and girls had mentors through the Big Sister or Big Brother program, they were more likely to be confident, value academic achievement, have fun at school, and they were less likely to suffer peer pressure or anxiety and also less likely to bully, fight, lie or cheat, according to research by the Center for Addiction and Mental Health.
So how can you provide role modeling which has the most positive impact?
1 – Reach Out
One of the most influential things you can do to have a positive impact is to be intentional in seeking opportunities to be a role model.
You can offer guidance in the closest relationships. In fact, the majority of people experienced role modeling from parents, guardians or siblings (41%). But they were also influenced by role models who were teachers, professors or educators (19%); coworkers or managers (13%); or aunts, uncles, cousins or close relatives (11%), according to the Gallup-Amazon poll.
Make yourself available over time, because based on Gallup-Amazon, 42% of people said it was especially helpful when they had the opportunity to connect with the same person multiple times to talk about careers. This is likely because of the relationship and trust built with repeated interactions.
You can also volunteer to visit schools or universities and speak about your career. Fully 30% of people said this was a helpful influence in the development of their interests and careers.
2 – Seek Similarity
Interestingly, you may have the most impact mentoring those who are more like you. In the Gallup-Amazon data, when mentors had similar life experiences they had a greater effect on motivation and made a bigger difference in encouraging the mentee to believe in themselves. They also had a more significant influence in guiding the mentee toward a good career path and helping the mentee feel like they belonged. The similarities that seemed to matter most were race (for 90% of respondents) and gender (77%).
No matter how similar you are to your mentee, you can have big impact especially when you express understanding of what it’s like to be someone like the mentee (according to 49% of mentees) and when you help youth feel like they belong (61%), according to Gallup-Amazon.
3 – Share Your Knowledge and Expertise—Humbly
Another primary way to have a positive impact is to share your own wisdom and experience. Fully 77% reported to Gallup-Amazon that they found the most value from role models who shared their knowledge and expertise, but also those who did so humbly (66%). Mentees also appreciated role models who provided guidance toward levels of career success that seemed realistic to their own achievement (68%).
Share what you know, share what you learned, share your struggles and be authentic about where you succeeded—but also where you may have stumbled.
4 – Encourage and Celebrate Mentees
According to the Gallup-Amazon poll, youth were most influenced toward positive career outcomes when their role model helped them believe in themselves, according to 65%. So, listen, ask questions and demonstrate you value the mentee’s ideas and perspectives.
Focus on the mentee, putting aside distractions when you’re together—and express empathy for their experiences.
5 – Be Specific In Your Guidance
You can also have greater impact when you’re specific about the guidance you provide. In fact, 49% of respondents in the Gallup-Amazon poll said role models guided them to select a career path that was good for them. In addition, 48% appreciated specific examples of how to live a successful life and 43% appreciated specific examples of what not to do in life, based on data from Gallup-Amazon.
You may also suggest a mentee do an assessment, guiding their career choices since 28% reported this was especially helpful, according to the Gallup-Amazon data.
6 – Incorporate Role Modeling Into Your Work
You can also have an impact on younger generations through your work. In fact, 59% especially appreciated doing job shadowing, 43% valued internships and 29% liked working at a paid job, according to Gallup-Amazon. All of these were sources for them to be surrounded by role models who had an impact.
People reported to Gallup-Amazon that some careers were especially inspirational for them—and they saw role models in these fields.
- Education and library – 58%
- Healthcare and technical – 51%
- Life, physical and social science – 47%
- Management – 38%
- Community and social service- 38%
- Sales and related – 36%
- Computer and mathematical – 35%
- Arts, design, entertainment, sports and media – 35%
- Business and financial operations – 34%
- Architecture and engineering – 34%
- Office and administrative support – 27%
- Legal – 22%
But no matter what kind of work you do, you can have an impact on young people around you. Bring your best to work so you model engagement, performance and motivation.
Also reach out to young people who may be working with you—offer your help, input and guidance.
Worth the Effort
Contributing to young people’s success is good for them, but it’s also good for you. In fact, when you reach out to others and contribute to your community, you’re more likely to feel happy and fulfilled.
Interestingly, when you do (volunteer) work that energizes you, you’ll also perceive you have more time—rather than less time available.
So, find opportunities to share your experience and make a positive impact—especially on those who are just starting out, discovering their interests and pursuing their paths.
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