As an Aspire, I had the opportunity to attend a Mentorship Panel with Microsoft Canada’s Senior Executives and learn about the importance of mentorship. Inspired by the impact that they’ve made in their careers, I listened intensely to the words of wisdom that came from decades of growth, experience, and reflection.

Following up to the thoughts of Kevin Peesker (read) and Alec Taylor (read), I am excited to share the thoughts and perspectives from Zia Mansoor, VP Customer Success at Microsoft Canada.

Look for mentors who already know who you are and what you’re about.

There are many ways to find a great mentor who is vested in your success. Zia talks about the finding someone who inspires you but also isn’t a complete stranger. Even if they aren’t necessarily in your immediate social circle, it’s important for them to have an idea of who you are and see your potential. Although it is fine to have different perspectives and experiences, it is also great if you and your mentor are aligned in cultural expectations and values.

Mentorship shouldn’t be determined by title or position. The best mentors are also the ones where you can provide value to them as well. For example, Zia found one of his mentors at JP Morgan because he was interested in switching from a technical sales career to a pure sales career.

Mentorship is not a checkmark exercise.

It really comes down to adding value and being vested in each other’s success. Make sure that you set clear expectations on what you want to get out of the mentorship. This includes agreeing on how often you meet and what success looks like at the end of a defined timeline.

Ultimately, a great mentor will push you outside of your comfort zone during the times that you don’t feel good enough. In Zia’s case, his mentor pushed him to pursue a leadership role related to Microsoft Azure although he felt completely unqualified and didn’t have a computer science degree. Let’s just say he has never looked back!

Thank you to Zia for sharing these thoughts from his accomplished career in sales. Please stay tuned for the final post in this Mentorship Moments @ Microsoft series featuring Suzanne Gagliese – VP Global Partner Solutions.

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Credit: Image source from Novari Health