I sat down with Artisan Creative’s Founder Jamie Douraghy recently to talk about mentorship. Jamie has mentored and is a mentor and is committed to mentorship from both sides.
Jamie has been an entrepreneur for more than 20 years. He is also intimately involved with the Entrepreneurs Organization (EO), where he has served in leadership roles including both Area and Regional Director. He is currently the Chapter President of EO Los Angeles and a Board Member of AIGA LA.
Jamie is passionate about mentorship and we asked him for his insight into these important relationships:
Choosing whom to mentor
Jamie meets people and networks all the time. He looks for some special qualities in his mentees: “Shared values, and a spark in their eye that indicates they are ready for personal growth, and are willing to follow though with what it takes to change.”
What has he learned from being a mentor?
Jamie takes mentorship very seriously. “As mentors, we have a responsibility to share our experiences and life lessons with others to help them avoid some of the mistakes we made along the way.”
What about from having a mentor?
“The most important thing I have learned from a mentor is that we have the capacity to do so much more than we initially believe. I have also learned that, through aligning my values and living a life that is proactive vs. one that is reactive, I am able to accelerate that capacity.”
Deciding whom you would like to mentor you
A mentor can have a profound effect on your future development. How do you choose a mentor? “I look for a depth of life experience, combined with the same values I use to determine a mentee. This type of relationship changes the direction of lives, so both parties must be in sync for the long run.”
Do you ever outgrow needing a mentor?
“There is so much more to learn and there are so many people to learn from. That is why I still take fencing lessons from coaches that are both younger and older than me.
We will never have all the answers, but the quest for these answers is much more interesting when we listen and learn from others.”
Thank you, Jamie!
I have had the privilege of being a mentor to a new colleague for the last couple of months. She has her feet under her now, but she recently asked me, “When do you stop being my friend?” Of course my answer was “Never!” One of the wonderful things about mentorship is that the relationships you build are lifelong connections as well as lifelong learning experiences.
We look forward to talking to Jamie Douraghy further about mentorship in business and in competitive fencing later this year.
Wendy Stackhouse for Artisan Creative