Tesar-Reynes

Think of the great movie trilogies of our time. I’m talking Star Wars, The Matrix, and of course, the Lord of the Rings. Every one of those movies had a main character who was doing something so profound, the writers couldn’t fit it into one movie. They couldn’t even fit it into two. The journey took three films, and their stories required a large cast of characters to keep the plot going.

Of these characters, every protagonist has what screenwriters call a window character. The window character is dubbed so because he or she helps the protagonist “see” themselves in a new light. These windows act as a guide to the story’s hero, seeing them through, in one way or another, the completion of the quest. Neo had the Oracle. Frodo had Gandalf. And, of course, Luke had Yoda.

I bring this up because I came across a great article from the Wall Street Journal the other day called “When Mentoring Goes Bad.” It gives a thorough, objective look at the imposed mentoring programs you’ll likely find at larger organizations, from both the perspective of the mentor and protégé. I’ve had success with any mentoring program I’ve been a part of and look fondly on my career guides. In fact, my younger sister babysat for my mentor from Blue Cross and Blue Shield a few times. I even came to help once and changed her baby’s diaper. First diaper I ever changed.

In the mentoring programs I’ve been a part of, my mentors were the people that recruited me to the position, thus the partnership made sense. I’ve never been in a situation where an HR person acts as a matchmaker. I think the Journal article was addressing this type of scenario, and I can only imagine how frustrating it must be if the mentor relationship was not a positive one.

But regardless of that, everyone should have a mentor in my opinion. You’d be crazy not too. Here are just a few reasons why:

• No one, no one, makes it through this world without a little help from someone else.
• One day, you’re going to need to ask for help. It’s inevitable. Most people learned the unfortunate reality of this last summer (see my most recent post.)
• The quote “The wisest man knows he knows nothing at all” comes to mind.
• Nothing can replace experience. Your mentor has years of it, and they’re willing to share it with you. Take advantage of this golden opportunity.

If any of our readers have other reasons one might need a mentor, I invite you to share.

For advice on finding mentors, I recommend this post recapping a teleseminar featuring the authors Tim Ferriss, Guy Kawasaki, and Keith Ferrazzi. All 3 have written excellent books on lifestyle and career advice which I highly recommend.

I’ll close with this. One of my all-time favorite quotes, by the author Mary McCarthy, was scribbled onto the front page of my high school journal. It read, “We are the hero of our own story.”

I truly believe that. And just like any hero in any great film, we all need that window character. We need that mentor guiding us through to the completion of our journey.