What Is a Product Administration Mentor?

A mentor is somebody who has priceless skilled recommendation to share, normally discovered by way of a few years of expertise. They could have a couple of mentees, or only one, who they coach by way of key milestones of their careers equivalent to job looking, breaking into a brand new business, asking for a promotion, and the whole lot in between.

In Product Administration, mentors have all the time been key to the success of the subsequent technology of Product Folks, as no formal PM training existed within the early days of the function.

Mentor-mentee relationships could occur organically, as you is usually a mentor to your direct stories in your workforce, or by way of mutual acquaintances. When you’ve deliberately determined that you just’re able to develop into a mentor, you too can attain out to individuals you’ve by no means linked with and provide mentorship.

Advantages of Changing into a Mentor

• Giving again to your neighborhood: Should you’re eager to make Product Administration extra accessible to your neighborhood (eg ladies, POC/WOC, LGBT+) mentorship is an effective way to interrupt down entry boundaries.
• Sharing what you’ve discovered: Mentorship and educating can assist you to contribute to the craft of Product Administration, and broaden the business’s information base.
• Constructing your private model: Exhibit your PM prowess and set up your self as a thought chief.
• Having enjoyable! Most mentors discover the expertise gratifying, fulfilling, and loads of enjoyable.

Issues to Take into account Earlier than Changing into a Mentor

Earlier than you dive into changing into a mentor, you’ll want to work out whether or not you’re prepared or not. Dangerous mentors might be extra damaging to an individual’s profession than no mentor at al. Listed below are some issues to be aware of:

What are your motivations?

There are a variety of advantages to changing into a mentor in Product Administration, as we’ve already talked about. And it’s OK to wish to develop into a mentor in an effort to construct your private model, or to learn your individual skilled growth. However nice mentors strategy mentorship primarily by way of altruism. It’s important to actually care about your mentees in an effort to make the time for them and that’s onerous to do when you solely care about your self.

There are different methods to ascertain your self as a thought chief or to construct your private model (equivalent to beginning a aspect hustle), however it’s best to solely embark on mentorship when you have a real curiosity in serving to others and forming mutually useful mentorship relationships.

Do you’ve the time?

Mentorship doesn’t need to take over your entire life (and it shouldn’t when you set expectations early-on), however it’s a time dedication.

It’s not the identical as writing a weblog full of excellent recommendation, hitting publish, and sometimes replying to feedback. A mentoring relationship includes a sure stage of 1-1 interplay. Simply how a lot and what kind that is available in will probably be as much as you and your mentee. However when you’re at the moment struggling to discover a good work/life steadiness, you’ll both drive your self loopy by including one other dedication to your plate otherwise you’ll find yourself letting your mentee down.

Study your schedule and see how a lot time you’d have out there for mentorship. Should you comfortably have an hour per week at least that you might spare, you’re good to go!

Do you’ve sufficient expertise?

Years of expertise aren’t as essential because the high quality of your expertise. Somebody who has transitioned from UX to Product, succeeded as a girl in FinTech, or scaled profitable merchandise inside a small startup, could have significantly priceless recommendation for these trying to do the identical. Should you’ve efficiently achieved your profession targets, then you’ve the whole lot you’ll want to be an efficient mentor. It shouldn’t matter that you just didn’t spend twenty years doing it. 

That being mentioned, when you’ve been working in Product Administration/the tech business for only some months, you could discover your mentees asking you questions that you just don’t have the solutions to. From a private branding perspective, it might come throughout as conceited to leap into mentorship if you’re solely two months into your first PM function!

You must in all probability give attention to being an excellent PM within the first place earlier than going out of your manner to assist others. The very last thing an entry-level PM wants is one other assembly of their calendar.

Do you wish to specialize or generalize?

When you’ve got all kinds of Product Administration expertise, you may solid a comparatively vast internet when selecting your mentee. However you could have overcome a specific problem that you just’d prefer to give attention to. All of it is determined by your space of experience or your background.

We’ve briefly touched on this already, however when you’ve made an uncommon transition (say from journalism to Technical PM), then you’ve insider information that’s fairly distinctive. You might also have confronted boundaries and bias, and also you’d like to assist the subsequent technology of Product Leaders overcome them extra simply.

Attain out to the web communities that serve your area of interest, or discover them within the wider Product Administration neighborhood. Connecting with those that you have already got one thing in frequent with, or discovering a mentee who has the identical targets, pursuits, and values as you, units you as much as be an excellent Product mentor proper off the bat.

Discovering Your Mentee

Should you’re fortunate, your mentee will come to you! They could be somebody you’re vaguely conscious of or conversant in who reaches out to you on LinkedIn, or somebody in your organization who approaches you on the subsequent worker mixer.

These working in bigger organizations could profit from official mentoring applications run by your organization. Organizations of all verticals and sizes are beginning to severely put money into Product-Led Progress, and perceive the necessity for Product Considering of their companies. There could also be room so that you can suggest beginning one among these mentorship applications inside your organization if there isn’t one already.

Should you can’t discover a mentoring program, or if it’s simply not your type, you too can discover your mentees by way of networking. Should you’re capable of get out of the home/workplace and meet somebody head to head, that may assist to kind a stronger mentoring partnership.

Keys to A Profitable Mentor-Mentee Relationship

Setting Expectations

If you begin out in your mentor-mentee relationship, you’ll want to set expectations of how out there you’re going to be.

What many individuals overlook is that this works each methods. You could present up on your mentee, however additionally they want to indicate up for you. Should you make your self out there to them for a one/two hour catchup as soon as a month, in addition to a couple of textual content messages backwards and forwards in between, additionally they have to decide to that.

Equally, they should know that you just’re not going to be endlessly out there to them. It’s essential to set boundaries, in order that your mentoring doesn’t intrude in your work life or your private life.

However it’s not nearly time administration. You also needs to set expectations of the assistance that you just’re going to supply them, and what they’re hoping to realize by way of your mentorship. If you’re aligned in your targets, you’re set as much as be an excellent mentor they usually’re arrange for achievement!

When to Finish a Mentor-Mentee Relationship

There are two varieties of causes for mentor-mentee relationships to endl; good and dangerous.

Good: your mentee has achieved their targets, you mutually agree that your targets not align, one or each of you not have the time to decide to the connection, and so forth.

Like all relationships, generally issues simply don’t work out. And that’s high-quality! There’s nothing fallacious with mutually agreeing to half methods when circumstances change. You may nonetheless communicate and hold tabs on their progress.

However the formal relationship can even finish when a mentorship relationship works, and also you’ve helped them land the job of their goals or negotiate an enormous promotion. Relationship app Product Managers would name this ‘optimistic churn’, when your service has solved the issue or stuffed the necessity, and is not required.

Dangerous: they’re not taking your entire recommendation, they’re not transferring as quick as you need them to, you’ve gotten bored of mentoring, mentoring isn’t boosting your individual profession the best way you’d hoped, and so forth.

Being dropped by a mentor for no good motive might be very damaging to a brand new skilled’s vanity, and might really negatively impression their profession development. When you’ve made a dedication to somebody to be their mentor, attempt to see it by way of to the tip when you’ve obtained no legitimate motive for dropping out.

Celebrating Your Mentee’s Wins

One thing Product Managers particularly are very expert at, is celebrating the wins of others. Product Administration is a collaborative endeavor, and so that you perceive higher than anybody the ability of shared wins.

When your mentee takes your recommendation to coronary heart, and makes use of the teachings they train you to land massive wins, have a good time that with them! And know that even by serving to one fellow Product lover, you’ve had a big impact on the craft of Product Administration.