My Take On: "Mentoring Somebody Who Doesn't Know What Their Career Goals Should Be"

After reading the Harvard Business Reviews article: “How to Mentor Someone Who Doesn’t Know What Their Career Goals Should Be” I was left wondering why the authors missed such an obvious mark. What if the best job solution isn’t a job? What if it’s more about taking full control of your life where you define 100% of the terms of your success?

Essentially the article gave permission for people to not feel an obligation to follow the “traditional” concept of a linear career path and explore different methods of finding a meaningful job situation.

As an employee, much of your success and happiness is influenced by the people above you. Everything from your salary to your office hours is often dictated from above, leaving employees with limited freedom for individual decision making. It is no wonder that employees are confused about career goals – they are not used to thinking big thoughts for themselves.

In many cases, the best mentors are people who don’t work for a company but those who work for themselves. In my experience, I find that people who have full control over their finances, their time and their life’s direction are happier and more successful. If you work for yourself, you define your own success.

The article encourages employees to “think outside the box” in non traditional ways. But what is really missed was encouraging people ”to get out of their own box”. I can think of nothing more radical than taking control of your own destiny.

https://hbr.org/2018/07/how-to-mentor-someone-who-doesnt-know-what-their-career-goals-should-be

Do we need to mention “entrepreneur”?