The journey up the mountain of measured professional development is rarely an easy journey. Ahead lie career obstacles that block paths, a standing ground that’s slippery at best, and a road without signposts telling you the next move. With so much to consider, sometimes even the first step toward becoming a self-assured professional can be daunting.

However, when you meet the right guide, the trek suddenly feels a little lighter. A great relationship between mentor and mentee is a two-way street and becomes more of a conversation than a seminar. But, the requirements of a mentor are drastically different than those of a learning mentee. Let’s look at some tips for finding a mentor, inspiring your mentee, and working together.

Checklist for Finding a Mentor

Statistics published in the Centre for Workplace Mentorship 2016 found that employees with mentors were 20 percent more likely to receive a pay raise, got promoted five times faster, and had higher levels of retention. However, unless you’ve got a connection to a mentorship matchmaker, finding the right fit takes time and an ability to see potential in every candidate. Knowing the right questions to ask and how to best interact in this situation will make you more aware and help you select a better match.

__Dedicate time and effort into the search process, think critically about what you want to be like and who best exemplifies that.

__Perform a kind of background check to ensure you know exactly what this person has done in the past.

__Don’t rush into asking for mentorship. Establish a relationship and keep the request less-than-formal.

__If the individual says no, you might ask if they have recommendations for somebody similar to ask.

_Instill a sense of respect by sending a rapid follow-up message.

Checklist for Inspiring Your Mentee

Teachers in our lives provide us with more than lessons and tips; They’re also responsible for getting us excited about learning. This kind of inspiration is an excellent catalyst for personal growth. The same is true for mentors showing their pupils not only how to do it, but why it matters. The process of figuring out how to translate experience is often exciting and revelatory for the mentor.

This checklist can give mentors a good starting line for achieving the abstract goal of inspiration. While it seems like a lofty idea, you have an advantage here. Your student, as it were, has chosen you specifically because they find you compelling, informative, and maybe even a little bit inspiring. The items on this list will help you look within and distill your knowledge into information your mentee can use.

__Maintain focus on your pupil and avoid lengthy personal anecdotes.

__Customize lessons for individual relevance to ensure you’re imparting wisdom they need to hear.

__Try to make yourself available mornings, nights, and weekends, as your mentee might have a more restrictive schedule.

__Make conscious notes of their strengths and weaknesses, and take time to celebrate whenever the strengths grow and the weaknesses improve.

__Make it clear, both formally and informally, that there is nothing owed to you by the mentee, not even success.

Checklist for Your Mentorship Meeting

Once the partnership has been solidified, the progress can start. As with any form of self-improvement, you get out of it what you put into it. This final checklist is the clearest view of how this symbiotic relationship works. In a mentorship, nothing can be accomplished by one side. This is a classic give and take process.

__Set clear expectations for both sides by each writing a short paragraph of what they expect from one another.

__Each year, work together to create one to three goals for the next 12 months.

__During sessions, both parties will listen intently and actively, as well as avoid raising voices or making angry gestures.

__Set appropriate boundaries that protect the privacy of the mentor and the independence of the mentee.

Mentors and mentees could go a long time without ever meeting. However, for one reason or another, the two of you have teamed up for a fulfilling and worthwhile journey toward personal development and professional success. Whether you’re the teacher or the learner, be sure to use these checklists to get the most out of your partnership.

Servant leadership means doing whatever you can to help your colleagues and peers become their very best. Key elements of this philosophy include a commitment to developing others, foresight, and stewardship of resources and trust. Every servant leader will naturally encounter situations where they want to see their peers develop as servant leaders, too. As you prioritize this part of your employees’ growth, consider these steps that can accelerate their journey to leadership.

Nurture Skills and Goals

Listening is high on the list of the most important characteristics of a servant leader. The first step toward inspiring employees to practice servant leadership is to listen to what direction they want to grow. If someone wants to learn more about compliance and documentation, for instance, putting them in a customer service role might not be the best idea. By listening, you will pinpoint the various strengths on the team and learn how to develop the group in a way that moves you beyond bottlenecks or other challenges. As each person feels fully utilized and empowered, they will be inspired to lead in the workplace because that effort advances their goals.

Create a Culture of Trust

For servant leadership to truly take root and thrive in an organization, there must be a culture of trust. Employees must be able to rely on the leader to provide what is needed on the path to success. The leader must continue to believe in the employees even when one specific project or situation might seem like a step back. One study published in Harvard Business Review found that employees in a high-trust workplace reported 74 percent less stress, 40 percent less burnout, and 13 percent fewer sick days. Servant leadership and the trust that develops from the approach have major benefits to a business.

Encourage Foresight and Shared Perspective

Another beginner step in developing as a servant leader is to adopt long-term thinking and start researching what is next for the organization. When evolving an employee as a servant leader, allow them to suggest contacts or new strategies that might improve life for their peers down the road. This is especially true when it comes to networking, which is a vital skill for any leader. Not only does it help form connections that can solve problems and drive growth, but also networking builds a professional’s reputation in their own industry.

These tips, that can help inspire servant leadership in your employees, are really just advice for practicing servant leadership yourself. By listening to employees and pivoting to meet their goals, you deepen loyalty and build trust. As that trust is expressed through the culture, it is safe to try new things. In that environment, leaders will step up to help and serve each other, naturally following the example of those around them. For help achieving the dream, call on Alpha Kappa Psi for insight and support.

One of the most fun and challenging aspects of servant leadership is the continuous growth that happens along the way. Simply because we’re only human, every leader has some characteristics that come naturally, while other competencies develop over time. As you strive to become a better, more well-rounded servant leader, here are some resources to help develop soft skills and other professional qualities.

Become a Better Listener

Listening is one of the most essential skills for a servant leader, especially active listening. In this practice, the person listening repeats back what they have heard in the form of a question to confirm understanding before they share their thoughts. Active listeners also pay attention to emotions and nonverbal communication. To become a better active listener, try out these resources:

• The Active Listening Wiki is full of information about active listening in all types of situations and overcoming barriers
• SessionLab shares a list of active listening exercises that can help a pair or team practice listening and retention
• Udemy offers an Active Listening Masterclass with unlimited access and downloadable resources for a one-time fee

Develop Awareness

Awareness is the ability to look at yourself and your behavior in the context of the others around you. As a leader, this means considering elements like how you give and receive feedback, how you manage your emotions while communicating, and how your values appear in the workplace. Becoming a self-aware leader is a constant process. Here are some resources to help you get started:

• University of California, San Francisco provides an online core self-assessment to show you where you can grow
• A list from Steve Scott at developgoodhabits.com shares written, social, and physical activities to improve self-awareness
• Rice University offers a free class on self-awareness and leadership through Coursera

Learn Persuasion

People might think persuasion is negative, but in the hands of the right servant leader, it is a valuable skill. The aim of a servant leader is to build a consensus and comraderie among team members, rather than dictate tasks through authority. When you persuade members of the team, this means you’ve earned their trust and support. Learn more with these resources:

• This video from Gregg Learning, The Art of Persuasion in Leadership, can help you understand how these ideas align
• Harvard Business Review’s Emotional Intelligence series includes perspectives about emotional intelligence, leadership, and persuasion from multiple experts on ethical persuasion
• Alison offers a course on workplace persuasion and motivation that also covers negative persuasion and how to avoid those tendencies

Listening, awareness, and persuasion are three of the most important skills for a servant leader, and they are also the kind of skills everyone can always improve. Whether these resources expose you to new concepts or help you deepen an understanding, we wish you happy learning and happy leading.

This past weekend, I had the amazing opportunity to attend the Alpha Kappa Psi President’s Academy in Phoenix, Arizona. Alongside networking with over 300 other chapter presidents from all around the globe, I was exposed to new perspectives on conflict resolution, stress behavior, and the true meaning of leadership.

Alpha Kappa Psi is the oldest and largest professional business fraternity in the world, and our members are dedicated and motivated leaders. After I served two terms as the Vice President of Membership for the UT Dallas chapter of Alpha Kappa Psi, I gained a solid grasp of recruitment strategies and how to work on a high-paced executive board. Now, as my chapter’s president for the following two semesters, I am looking to take our members to new heights. I am ecstatic to work alongside some of the brightest and most driven people that UT Dallas has to offer. However, to be an effective leader that inspires success within my team, I first had to truly understand the subtle nuances of leadership. Attending President’s Academy was a pivotal step in my personal leadership journey as I learned from industry professionals about how to effectively lead at the collegiate level and beyond. Here are my five main takeaways from this influential experience:

• Trust is essential.

It is human nature to doubt yourself. Whether you are undertaking a risky task, venturing into unknown territory, or trying something completely new, you may find yourself doubting your abilities or competency. After meeting with so many great leaders at this academy, I realized that even the best of the best have their own fears, doubts, and apprehensive thoughts. However, trust is crucial to conquering your goals and maximizing your success.

• Leadership ≠ management.

While all great leaders are managers, not all managers are leaders. Understanding the difference was eye-opening and very interesting for me to discover. As John Maxwell said, “Leadership is influence, nothing more, nothing less.” With this in mind, I now realize that that leadership is more than telling people what to do, scheduling events, and signing off documents. Great leaders inspire change, influence others, and are constantly available to help in any way they can.

• Stress is inevitable.

The Birkman Method is a fascinating approach to understanding your unique personality interests, behaviors, needs, and environmental stresses. While the Birkman Method is usually distributed at the corporate level, I am grateful to have been a part of one of the first student groups to be introduced to this assessment. From the in-depth analysis of our results from the Birkman Assessment, I learned all about my personal leadership style. While I am enthusiastic about innovation and strictly organized, my personal reactions to stress may inhibit overall success. Through this analysis, I have gained new techniques to addressing, mitigating, and preventing stress from overshadowing my personal and professional goals. Let’s face it, stress is bound to happen in school, work, and life. Nevertheless, how we deal with stress and how we resolve conflict is essential to the success of our overarching objectives.

• Find your motivators in life.

Find your “why” in life. What gets you out of bed in the morning? What inspires you to keep pushing in the face of adversity? Life is tumultuous and has its fair share of trials and tribulations. Despite this, I was reminded to always have my motivators in mind to push me to become better every single day. Without your “why”, your motivation, and your drive, it is difficult to keep your personal momentum long-term.

• Always be hungry to learn.

Finally, this weekend was the best reminder of one of my favorite quotes by Steve Jobs, “Stay hungry, stay foolish.” College is the prime environment for me to not only grow professionally and academically but personally as well. With the introduction of the new decade and my journey into the second half of my college career, I am promising myself to continue learning outside of the classroom to grow into the best version of myself.

I am so grateful for the relationships I have built and the lessons I have learned from this past weekend. Alpha Kappa Psi is truly building the next generation of future leaders, and I am honored to be part of this movement. I would like to personally thank Thomas Tran, our Fraternity President, Steve Hartman, our Fraternity CEO, and Heather Robinette, my chapter’s advisor, for encouraging our members to constantly grow, ask difficult questions, and spark change in our communities.

The world of business is constantly changing, evolving, and mutating. With so much innovation and growth, industry trends are just that – trends; what might be a huge deal today might be old news tomorrow. Sure, there are established industry standards that remain relevant year after year. The trick to keeping up with business is to focus on the emerging job markets on the horizon. With 2020 around the corner, let’s look at the four major emerging industries in business.

P2P Payment Apps

Innovators in the banking industry have long-since used technology to simplify monetary transactions. The debit card replaced cash and check, online banking removed the need for trips to a physical bank branch, and the credit card chip has made payments more secure. So, it makes sense that developers would take advantage of our preference for mobile devices through peer-to-peer payments. P2P payment apps like Venmo, Paypal, Zelle, and Square have made it easy for individuals to send, receive, and request direct payments. By linking your smart phone with a bank account or credit card, you can easily transfer money to anyone, anywhere, all with the tap of a button.

With the simplicity and security of P2P payments, adoption of the technology has seen rapid growth. According to statistics by eMarketer, by the end of 2022, over half of mobile phone users will have made at least one P2P payment within the past month. With such a huge demand for these apps, job openings are increasing in areas like cryptosecurity and blockchain development.

AI and Machine Learning

The applications of artificial intelligence (AI) are seemingly endless. Automation has become a part of our everyday lives, whether it’s in our car’s GPS, our thermostats, or our smart home devices. Even beyond this observable impact, AI and machine learning represents an even larger shift in the business world abroad. Machine learning is about improving the efficiency of software. Applications built with machine learning are suddenly able to make laser precise predictions and analyze data instantly. The result is a more effective and self-sustaining piece of technology, one that improves the function of nearly any system it touches.

This kind of power can be applied to nearly any industry imaginable. Artificial intelligence and machine learning plays a role in healthcare, manufacturing, financial services, bioinformatics, telecommunications, and transportation, to name just a few. A report published by Zion Market Research states that the global machine learning market was valued at $1.58 billion back in 2017. However, that same study projects that the market will reach nearly $21 billion by 2024, representing a 44 percent increase in just 7 years. With such rapid growth, it’s no surprise that the industry came in at number 2 on LinkedIn’s Emerging Jobs Report.

Solar Power and Wind Turbines

As climate scientists continue to urge immediate action across the globe, it makes sense to turn to alternative energy sources. Not only do options like solar and wind power equal lower carbon emissions, they also provide a more sustainable energy option than crude oil or coal. Along with natural gas, these types of resources are unlimited and provide savings to consumers. However, depending entirely on renewable energy can’t happen until the necessary equipment is in place.

Alternative energy – specifically wind power – has led to a rapid growth in the installation and management fields. Wind turbines need wind farms, and wind farms need planning and oversight. According to IBIS World, the wind turbine industry saw a 53.5 percent revenue increase from 2018-2019. Part of this is due to government-sponsored incentive programs and a growing mandate for the use of these sorts of technologies. The industry rise is also thanks to the wide variety of renewable energy types and the increased manufacturing of all associated equipment. LinkedIn’s 2018 report listed Solar Power Consultant as its 11^th fastest growing job title.

Big Data Science

At this point, saying that technology is everywhere seems like the understatement and cliché of the century. Tech isn’t just ubiquitous, it’s everything and all-encompassing and dictates how we live our lives. So, with this endless stream of technology accepted as the status quo, should we really be shocked that data has become more valuable than ever? Servers and hardware and software are all running 24/7, and are collecting infinite amounts of data at every endpoint. Forbes published figures in 2019 showing Americans use over 4.4 million GB of data per minute. The sheer amount is staggering. But, in the right hands, this simple byproduct of technology can become a window into the future of the world.

Analyzing data is a key factor to the success of any industry, anywhere. Whether it’s information technology, manufacturing, transportation, social media, or food production, data analytics is big buck business. According to research from Inside Big Data, the data industry is projected to grow to $40.6 billion by 2023. Data scientists are tasked with breaking down massive datasets and interpreting the results to establish trends and predictions for the future. With these efforts replicated in every single modern market, and no signs of slowing down, Big Data is primed to become a key industry in the years ahead.

Staying in touch with emerging industries is a great way to grow a career. Whether you’re still in school, graduating, or just looking for a new career direction, keeping an eye on these markets might get you a few steps ahead of the pack.