1 on 1 meeting with mentor (partner) - are these suitable questions?

Question

I've just joined a consulting firm for a month. I am meeting with my mentor, a well respected partner who is kind and open-minded. I'd like to seek you opinion on what are the suitable questions to discuss.

On one hand, I do have some specific promlems and struggles that I am eager to collect advice. On the other hand, I'm not sure if asking these questions would expose my weakness and picture myself as someone not capable for this role.

Some questions that is on top of my mind and troubling me, which I'm thinking of asking the mentor would be as below:

1. Due to flat corporate structure, it's common that in some projects there's is no manager, and a consultant need to lead the team. How can I overcome this situation (for instance, probably asking to be pulled in projects where I can work with other consultants or projects with a manager who I can learn from)?

2.How to be more hypothesis driven and enhance story telling capability? (I have worked with this partner on my first projects, and indeed these are topics where I need to improve)

3. As a new joiner without suffient management consulting experience, how can I lead junior members when they might have more knowledge in specific topics?

Thanks for your advice!

Answer 1

Hey there,

You should be totally free to discuss anything with your mentor, regardless if they are a partner or not.

Turn your perspective around: The more you are open and transparent as well as honest, the better the input and advice you will get, the stronger your performance where it actually matters.

Asking for help is never a weakness!

Take care.

Cheers,

Florian

Answer 2

Hi there,

All of these are very good questions!

Don't be afraid to hide your weaknesses. The more open you are about them, the more vulnerable, the more you'll learn and the stronger the bond will be with your mentor. That's what mentors are for - to actually help you grow and support you where you struggle.

The most important thing about asking advice from mentors is to be very specific, pointing to certain situations and challenges you have.

Best,

Cristian

Answer 3

Hello,

Asking for help does not “expose your weakness” and certainly doesn't make you appear incapable of doing the job! I always recommend an open and candid approach with mentors - this is how you get to learn and improve the fastest. No one starts a job knowing everything about it, so don't be afraid to ask for advice when you need it.