For young people, who are just getting into the business world, starting up, and finding their own way, it is very useful to have a model, an example of an already established professional.
Why Is It Good To Have A Mentor at a Work Place?
It is greatly rewarding to have a mentor or a manager who understands what you are going through as a younger person in your business branch.
By working with more experienced colleagues you can observe their behavior and determine social norms and standards, but also get crucial information, which will help you keep your heart and soul in the toughness of the business world.
The Best Advice Frank Received
When asked about one of the best pieces of advice he received from a more experienced colleague, the one that completely changed his perspective, here is what Frank Bastone said:
“I had a few great managers and mentors that I worked with and one of them was at Equinox. We’d get really upset when people weren’t living up to the standards. Salespeople that I was managing were not catching on or being lazy or they would send an e-mail late, so he sat me down and said to me: “Assume good intentions.”
He said: “What you are doing here is you’re saying they’re lazy and this, and they may be”, he continued, “but always assume good intentions. When someone doesn’t get back to you right away always dig deep and think: Let me assume that the intention is good here, let me assume it’s not malice, and let’s try to fix the problem.”
And I used to go of the hand a little bit, so that was really great advice that I got, and it really helped me to reframe things. So when someone is not getting back to me, I would say maybe they’re stressed out, maybe they’re busy. Those are the kind of things that stick with me.
Assume good intentions
So assume good intentions is what I always try to do when I’m in a situation where I feel like somebody is not following through on something. And it changes my frame of mind and it makes me deal with the problem better. So that was a good piece of advice.”
