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72 P E E R T O P E E R : I L T A ' S Q U A R T E R L Y M A G A Z I N E | S U M M E R 2 0 2 3 M E M B E R R E S O U R C E S • Limited Relationships: Many are seeking information and recommendations from public personalities in the media – such as authors, podcasters and even politicians! Ease of access to this information may cause potential mentees to seek mentors less often. While this limited, one-sided relationship has advantages, it lacks the personal connection you develop through a mentoring relationship which enables a deep interpersonal connection and open dialog. • Vulnerability: Mentees are partly driven by a need for information and guidance from a mentor. However, many mentees may be fearful of appearing ignorant or feeling vulnerable. For some, they may not reach out to a mentor since the fear is overwhelming. Fortunately, opportunities for mentors and mentees far outweigh the challenges. • Opportunities for Mentors: Mentors become better and more thoughtful listeners. This results in a mentor's ability to better understand and learn from mentees, and then, apply this skill back to their work as leaders. Leaders must continue to build their listening skills, particularly as new generations enter the workforce and take on increasing responsibility. Leaders who mentor also find their efforts pay off in terms of increased retention rates, job satisfaction, and team building skills. Mentoring relationships create a more inclusive workplace and improved morale, particularly since mentees are being given a greater voice and more exposure to the organization. Finally, being a mentor combats the isolation that comes with leadership: as leaders grow in their careers, there is a tendency to become siloed. A mentoring relationship – whether it is internal or external to an organization – enables leaders to hear different voices and viewpoints. • Opportunities for Mentees: For mentees, opportunities to build mentoring relationships have become more readily available due to our expanded virtual world. Virtual tools have given mentees a broader and deeper pool of potential mentors. The often-sensitive nature of conversations makes this pool more enticing since the mentee can more easily find mentors in different industries or geographies. Also, the tightening economy and, in particular, increasing legal industry layoffs allow laid off mentees to seek guidance or connections from trusted mentors. A mentee will also find that career reinvention is easier when approached through someone else's lens. The mentee's deeper reflection will lead to previously undiscovered insights. They will be pushed to confront and overcome challenges. The mentee may see greater job satisfaction particularly if the mentor can serve as a timely sounding board. The relationship will even allow the mentee to more deeply appreciate the importance of professional relationships and consider expanding their own network. • Shared Opportunities: Finally, there are opportunities which impact mentors and mentees equally. A mentoring relationship helps eliminate preconceived notions about other people and other generations, and can also provide you with a new perspective on how other organizations and industries operate. Virtual tools remove geographical constraints. Increased remote work reduces commute times and creates space to develop mentoring relationships. Lastly, mentoring relationships can span a lifetime, evolving into deep and lasting friendships …. Simply put, it's fun! Now that you are convinced about the value of mentorship, how do you sign up? Getting Started One of the easiest ways to get started with mentoring is through ILTA. In 2022, ILTA launched the myMentor program (https://www.iltanet.org/resources/ mymentor), which facilitates the ongoing development of professionals in our community. Nearly 100 mentor and mentee pairs were created in 2023, connecting ILTAns at all job levels and across five continents. The next round of mentor/mentee pairings will be established later this year. This program is included in your ILTA membership and has provided tremendous benefits to those who participate. According to Christine Becker, ILTA's Membership Coordinator: "The feedback from myMentor has been overwhelmingly positive and I encourage anyone to participate in our program. The more

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