Gourani travels the world as part of the World Economic Forum’s Young Global Leaders program, for which she speaks to government, business, academic and cultural leaders to encourage them to share their network and wealth of knowledge with others.
As a young adult, she says mentorship was not as socially acceptable. She often heard questions like, “Do you need a mentor because you don’t know how to do your job?”
“A lot of young people think they have to grow older until they can reach out to mentors,” Gourani says. “But that is not the case.”
Instead, she recommends you just “get out there.”
“You need to have a clear picture of what kind of mentor you need,” she says. “But most importantly, think about, ‘Who do I want to become?’ because your mentor should be someone who you aspire to be.”
Gourani notes that you can also get a mentor at your job, but this can be tricky.
“The downside to that is that you often get a mentor that is very loyal to the company,” she says, someone who isn’t neutral and might act in the interest of the company and not your benefit.
To gather some inspiration on a potential mentor, Gourani recommends that you read newspapers and start paying attention to what you read online, what you see on the tv or hear on the radio.
“It’s not about getting a famous mentor, it’s about getting the best mentor,” she says.
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