Transformative Learning & Development
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From learning to leading: Navigating HR with a mentor
An interview with Merita Ramadani, Fractional People Leader
Merita Ramadani has a diverse background in entrepreneurship, venture capital, and project management. Over the years, she has been deeply involved in the startup ecosystem, contributing to the growth of 4 startups from their seed stage to series B funding.
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Building these ventures from scratch, developing innovative solutions, and successfully navigating them through various growth stages have taught her the value of resilience, adaptability, and an unwavering commitment to turning visions into reality.
​When does an HR professional need a mentor? How do you believe that a mentor could support them? What impact can mentorship have not only on their professional development but also on their ability to drive business results?
There is no perfect timing to look for a mentor but I would say you should always be seeking knowledge so going out there as early as possible to look for a mentor would be a good idea (meaning as soon as you are starting your career)! From my experience, the moment I realised I needed a mentor was when I reached a point where I wasn't able to grow professionally.
I kept on being a part of pre-seed to seed stage startups and couldn't do the jump into a series A start up due to my experience. This is where I went out there on to LinkedIn and started looking for professionals who have done the jump and were working and scaling series A+ business; I wanted to be like them so I wanted to learn from them!
A mentor's support is super valuable. We need to remember that a mentor is not our therapist, but given their experience they are able to help you navigate situations that they have previously been in and can tell you the good, the bad and the ugly!
The support a mentor can give will definitely impact business results if done right! Sometimes you can be found at a crossroad on a decision on even the simplest thing (a tool you should implement into your business). You can discuss your findings with the mentor and what your thoughts are and given their experience, they can guide you into making the right decision.
Can you share a personal experience from your own journey with mentorship? How did it shape your perspective or career?
In my own journey, my mentors helped me jump the leap from being an IC (individual contributor) to becoming a manager. It was a long process, and it took a while I would say but the prompts of asking me the right questions such as:
Is this going to make a difference to the company OKRs?
Does the leadership team care about this?
And my all-time-favourite... What are we trying to solve by doing this?
All of the above really helped me see things from a different perspective —more global view than just the IC vertical!
I will never forget the moment I realised that I have officially stepped into a manager role not just by title but finally in practice. I was on holiday, and my teammate was covering for me while I was away. She needed to deliver quickly on a task but wasn't able to as she was in her first years of her career. She called me in panic, and I calmed her down . We decided a plan of action, I shared all the information with her step-by-step on how to deliver the project and to get the sign-off. She shared this with the CEO, the CEO said great job to her! At that moment, I realised that my job is to elevate the people around me and give them the confidence and strength to deliver without taking the spotlight that I did! I immediately shared the story with my mentor and this was the moment she told me all the hard work we've done so far has paid off!
I can definitely say that you should be looking for mentors that you look up to and have achieved things you want to achieve in your career journey. From my experience, it would be better for you to sit down and go over where you want to be in 5 years time, review those traits you want to have at that point and based on that, look for mentors. Remember that you should also be looking for mentors outside of your professional network and in various career paths, not just HR!