Top innovators don't operate in a vacuum. They soak up ideas from everyone.
Perhaps the best source of ideas and inspiration comes from mentors. The right mentor can unleash your creativity and help turn your grand vision into a profitable reality.
The best mentoring relationships are built on mutual trust. Both parties learn from each other and share challenges they face.
"Mentors are often unseen accelerators behind innovators," said Britney Cole, chief innovation officer at Blanchard, an Escondido, Calif.-based leadership and management training firm. "They give innovators the courage to continue on (when facing roadblocks). They are fantastic role models."
Innovators tend to think big. While some mentors urge innovators to proceed more conservatively and take baby steps toward their lofty goal, others prod mentees to think even bigger. "They may encourage innovators to wander into new or expanded possibilities," Cole said. "They ask tough questions" that spur even bolder thinking.
In conjuring the image of a mentor, we might see them as wizened old folks. But age matters less than their ability to relate to their mentee.
"The advantage of older mentors is they've seen and experienced a lot," said Robert Siegel, author of the upcoming book, "The Systems Leader." "But sometimes mentors are your peers. And sometimes they are younger than you."
To sharpen your innovative edge, find the right mentor. How can you maximize the relationship?
Pass It On Like Top Innovators
Your greatest breakthroughs can happen when you're working alone. But turning your idea into reality requires engagement with others.
That's when a mentor can help you pitch your concept to different audiences and polish your speaking and writing skills.
"Mentors act as a mirror for the innovator," Cole said. "They exemplify grace and it cascades down. Innovators model what they learn from their mentors and adapt their leadership style" to bring out the best in their employees, suppliers and investors.
Direct Your Focus
Left on your own, you might struggle to focus on what matters most. Your drive to innovate can cause you to chase too many opportunities at once.
"My mentor helps clarify the fortitude to keep going and funnel down what I'm doing and not spin out (of control)," Cole said.
Top Innovators: Unload Your Burdens
Innovators face myriad pressures. They may confront crunch deadlines, flawed prototypes and restive investors.
"The ideal mentor provides you with psychological safety," Cole said. "They're your safe vessel to share your frustrations" so that you can maintain your composure and perform at your best when it counts.
Shift From Micro To Macro
Innovators don't just dream of what's possible in a world of boundless potential. Coupled with their inventive ambition, they need to execute well and mobilize teams to follow through.
"Because of the speed of technological change, everybody has to be both an operator and an innovator," said Siegel, a lecturer in management at Stanford Graduate School of Business. "Mentors can bring an outside perspective" and guide mentees on how to think and harness systems to their advantage.
Prize Flexibility Like Top Innovators
The best mentors reject a one-size-fits-all approach. Instead, they tailor their strategy to accommodate the mentee's personality and proclivities. "Great coaches of sports teams don't coach every player the same way," Siegel said.
Prioritize Your Patience
In your eagerness to make progress, you can innovate your way into a dead end. A mentor can help you regroup.
"They can give you a framework to slow down and unpack a confusing situation," Siegel said. "With my mentors, they brought a context that I wasn't able to see at the time. They were most helpful when I was adrift and I didn't think through something."
