January.31.2017

Bubbling with Confidence from Womentorship

If confidence could be bottled, it would bubble like champagne and its label would read “Womentorship.” I know this from watching women bubble with confidence after entering a mentorship relationship.

Women who are part of the party have lots to celebrate and all are welcome to join in. They can be either a protégé or a mentor and are often both. Sometimes their roles change back and forth as one shares her knowledge on the workplace while the other passes on her wisdom about managing the home front. I’ve also watched peers successfully mentor one another through sticky office politics.

All it takes for the bubbles to flow is a phone call or an email with the objective of making a Womentorship connection. There is something about making that mutual toast that seals a commitment. And, just like champagne is a lovely aperitif, mentorship is also a signal of great things to come.

For example, if you want to kickstart your career, get a mentor. Not only will you get important advice such as how to ask for special assignments or a raise, but the very fact that you reached out and found help demonstrates that you are a self-starter. And, that in itself, is a confidence booster.

The relationship has bubbles of confidence for mentors as well. You never realize how much you know until you share it with someone and that is very validating. It is also gratifying to advise a protege on how speak up at a meeting or handle a difficult co-worker and witness her success. You no longer take your experience for granted when you see the power of its impact in someone else’s life.

Womentorship is the experience of seeing things in a new light. When we recognize that there are possibilities and options, we can get “unstuck.” I call that paradigm shift a “Catalytic Moment” and it is always accompanied with increased confidence about the future.

Whether you are the protégé or the mentor, the experience is exhilarating and it can be yours by popping the cork on the Womentorship party. How can you refuse that invitation?

Want to learn more about Womentorship? Join BPW for lunch February 7, 2017 as Betty-Ann Heggie describes the mentorship spectrum and gives advice on how to establish rewarding protégé/mentor relationships. Prepare to laugh and learn but also prepare to leave motivated to connect with others in a mentorship/protégé relationship for mutual benefit.  Register now >>