We hear the advice of “find a mentor” repeatedly in both our personal and work lives, and it’s for good reason. Mentorship can leave an incredible impact on one’s life, but there’s more to it than just “being there” for someone. The magic in mentorship appears when the other person helps us through a situation or provides a voice we need in our lives. In some seasons, we may need more generalized support based on what we’re going through. However, we often need a mentor to help us with something specific they have experience in or because of their unique perspective. Simply put, mentorship can be very most powerful when it’s intentional and focused.

I feel fortunate to have many people in my life whom I look up to and turn to for advice. I’ve never given them the official title of “mentor,” but they were instrumental on helping me through a season or with an individual situation. They provided me with a perspective that I needed in a job decision, asked me questions from a place of wisdom I lacked when thinking about a problem, or helped me figure out what to do next in a challenge based on their experience. Most of these people haven’t just “been there for me” (although we need those people, too), but they’ve helped me in a very specific, tangible way. And that’s where the magic in mentorship has happened for me.

How do we make networking work for us? How can we make it more impactful? The answer is simple: mentor mapping. I learned about the concept a few years ago from a friend in higher education – she learned about it from NCFDD. Mentor mapping is the practice of taking inventory of your network, identifying your gaps, and working to fill those needs. There may be some areas of your life where you have lots of support and expertise from your network, and there may be others that you need more of. The important thing about this concept is that we must take the time to assess where we are, and build from there.

Here’s how to map your network:

1. Have a goal in mind. This could be long-term – who do you want to be at the end of your life? What do you want to do by the end of your career? Or this could be short-term – find new job or career pivot within 90 days, build my personal brand, or improve my presentation skills.
2. Consider the areas of your life, skillsets, or types of support you would need to accomplish the goal. You can use a template for this (that’s what I do) or create one yourself. Here are a few templates I like:
   • NCFDD example (this one is built for higher ed professionals, so tailor it to your needs if that doesn’t work for you)
   • MIT example
   • GEMS example (see picture below)
3. Assess your current network. Take inventory of how your network supports you now. Sometimes people will show up in multiple boxes or categories of your life (i.e. “safe space” and “emotional support” if you choose to make those two different).
4. Notice where you have gaps or needs. Where do you think that you need more support in general or to reach the goal you’re working towards?
5. Brainstorm how to fill the gaps or needs. Think about what types of experiences or perspectives that would be instrumental in you accomplishing your goal. Dream big with your ideas – who are three people you really want to be on your mentor map? My friend told me that you could people on your map who don’t know you – authors, speakers, or podcasters. If you can’t learn from their books or their work online, what are some tangible action steps you can take to connect with them and seek their support?

When I did this exercise for the first time, I thought I had a big network, but I realized that I leaned on the same few people in lots of areas of life. There’s nothing wrong with that, but I had been so “in the weeds” in my network that I never had the ability to look high-level or objectively at who really made up my community. I also realized I needed to intentionally think about people who would sponsor me at work and what that looked like. (There’s a difference between sponsor and mentor – you can find a helpful article here explaining that.)

Like the saying goes, you need to work “in” and “on” your business, not just one or the other. Your network is no different. We all need the support of others, and we can get further in life and our careers if we know how to maximize the relationships we have. I encourage you to take 30 minutes sometime this week to put your network on paper, see where you need more support, and find creative ways to fill those gaps. Your future self will thank you, and that’s what it’s all about.

Reflection questions:

• Who are my “go-to” people? How do they support me?
• Who do I feel that I learn or gain the most from when I have real conversations with them?
• What is an experience or perspective that a majority of your network has? (i.e. Did they all major in the same thing in college as you?) How can you intentionally build a relationship with someone from an alternative perspective or experience?