Mentorship Finds You

The pressure to find a mentor can make it feel like yet another todo list item.

Take your time, be open to learn and mentors will find you. Just trust the process.

I’ll admit, my watch isn’t the kind most people would choose. It’s not a sleek, high-end timepiece designed to pair perfectly with a tailored suit. In fact, I wear it less for its ability to tell time and more for how it looks—and, more importantly, how it makes me feel. But what truly sets this watch apart is the emotional significance it holds for me.

It takes me back to Sixth Form—what many around the world would call college—when I was lucky enough to join a program that paired students with local businesses. Over the course of a year, we worked on a real-world project designed to bridge the gap between classroom theory and practical application. Each business assigned a mentor to guide their student team, someone who would serve as both a coordinator and a project lead.

In the early months, our interactions were sporadic, limited to scheduled meetings. But halfway through the program, we spent an immersive week at a university, working intensively on our project. That’s when everything changed.

I can still picture it vividly—sitting in a university science lab with my teammates, making calls to chemical companies, trying to source information on a material we needed for our water pipe experiment. Our company mentor was supposed to arrive later that day, caught up in meetings that morning. Then, as I sat mid-call, he strode into the lab, laptop bag slung over one shoulder and a watch on his wrist—one that wasn’t at all the kind people typically spend good money on to complement a suit.

That moment marked the beginning of a lesson I didn’t yet realize I was learning: sometimes, the right mentors don’t just appear when you seek them out—they find you.

Mentorship Isn’t a Box to Tick

Looking back over the last 15 years of my leadership career, I’ve sent more "can we just grab a few minutes?" messages than I care to admit. My mentor during that time has changed companies, job titles, and even countries more times than I can count. And yet, through it all, he’s remained a steady presence—offering guidance, perspective, and the same watch still proudly displayed on his wrist.

Once you have a mentor, you wonder how you ever navigated your professional life without one. We’ve covered everything from political strategy to improving cycle times in manufacturing, from how to lead a team to how to rethink a career. But what I’ve learned above all else is that mentorship is not something you force. It’s something you grow into.

So much has been written about the importance of mentorship that it can start to feel like an urgent to-do list item—another milestone you need to check off on your journey as a leader. That pressure can make it tempting to find any mentor rather than the right one. But my advice? Slow down. The speed at which you find a mentor is irrelevant; what matters is that you remain open to finding one at all.

The Right Mentors Aren’t Always the Obvious Ones

I’ve worked for many different bosses, and a surprising number of them never had a mentor. Some were even shocked that I did—more so that I still check in with them regularly. What I’ve observed is this: people who are open to mentorship, who can put ego aside, and who genuinely want to learn from others tend to attract mentors naturally. On the other hand, people who believe they have all the answers, who hesitate to admit they might be wrong, or who are closed to external perspectives often go through their careers without one.

A mentor isn’t just someone who helps you land a promotion or navigate office politics. Some mentors will be with you for a lifetime, while others will guide you through a particular season—whether it’s a new company, a new role, or a new phase of life. The key isn’t to rush the process but to trust it.

What makes mentorship so powerful is often what makes it easy to overlook: the most influential mentors rarely announce themselves as such. They don’t hand you a roadmap or sit you down for formal lessons. Instead, they lead by example, offering guidance in the way they approach challenges, the questions they ask, and the standards they set. They shape careers in quiet but profound ways—not by giving all the answers, but by challenging assumptions, broadening perspectives, and instilling confidence when it’s needed most. Sometimes, they help you see potential in yourself that you hadn’t yet recognized. Other times, they push you to think bigger, act bolder, or take that leap you weren’t sure you were ready for.

And then, before you even realise it, their lessons become part of you—woven into how you lead, how you problem-solve, and how you mentor others in return.

So, remain open to the possibility. Stay curious. Be willing to listen and to learn. Because when you do, you’ll find that mentors are everywhere, quietly shaping careers, building confidence, and passing down wisdom.

And pretty soon, when the time is right, someone will choose you too.