Picture this: you have landed your dream internship/job. It is your first day at your new gig. You are introduced to a room full of the brightest individuals who will now be your colleagues. You are determined to make the most out of this opportunity you have received and repay the faith that has been put into you. At this very moment, look around and ask yourself, “What is going to motivate me the most? What is my source of inspiration?”

You don’t need to look any further than the one person who will guide you until the time you call your new workplace your new home.

Listen and learn

In the early stages of your time at your new workplace, one of the most crucial aspects is to listen and learn from your supervisor. You will find that you pick up on the smallest of things as you begin to shadow them. Perhaps, even your entire e-mail vocabulary has transformed to the way they write their e-mails in the space of a week.

I’m not saying that it happened with me. Or maybe it did.

Sure, you learn your trade through the lens of your supervisor. However, there is so much more that you can learn from them outside the professional realm as well. You learn about the importance of maintaining healthy relations with your colleagues and stakeholders, leveraging your strengths from your personal life and translating them into your professional life and so much more that you can identify in your own context and experiences.

The name is Bond – a professional and personal bond

The importance of a strong bond between your supervisor and yourself can sometimes be underestimated. A strong bond between a mentor and their mentee can go a very long way.

In the professional scheme of things, clear communication about your tasks, progress, goals, and bringing forth any initiatives and ideas is a great start.

In a personal sense, you will always have the opportunity to connect about your interests and your hobbies. This may entail having conversations about your favourite musical band or your Monday night out playing ice hockey.

When in doubt, they will be here throughout

There may be times where you might feel that you are not your usual 100 miles-an-hour self. As highly driven humans, we tend to cling onto failure just a little more firmly than recognising our accomplishments. The negative things that we perceive are often offset by positive things that we do not perceive, which is a totally normal tendency to gravitate towards.

In moments like these, your colleagues and your mentor come int clutch. They will be there to guide you and show you the way during challenging times. You can always identify your support network around you to chat with when the going gets tough.

It’s a two-way street

As the old adage goes, learning is a two-way street. While you may identify a plethora of avenues to learn from your mentor, what you might not realise is that the learning happens both ways. Your mentor has the opportunity to learn from the way you conduct yourself too.

This can include implementing different management styles, providing you a workload suitable for you, understanding your personality and ensuring that your time at your new gig is smooth sailing. So, always remember to put your best foot forward!

Gain consistent feedback

When you are at the inception of any new journey, there comes a need to outline your goals and objectives. In order to ensure that you are on track to meet said goals, it becomes very crucial to obtain consistent feedback from your supervisor. In this way, you are able to gauge just how far you have come along. It also serves as a reminder of the value you add to your organisation.

Through the exchange of consistent feedback, you will be well on course to develop a healthy relationship with your manager. This can take the form of an exceptional negative feedback, or more often positive feedback.

Often, you will notice that the purpose of obtaining feedback is to ensure you remain motivated for prolonged periods whilst also shedding light and recognition on all of the goals you smash and the immense work that you put in on the daily – reminder to not be too harsh on yourself!

Conclusion

Some of the key takeaways that I have been fortunate enough to grasp under the guidance of people that have led me in the course of my life is to always have a positive outlook towards everything and everyone, to be confident in yourself and your abilities, and to always back yourself when reinforcing your vision.

The word ‘supervisor’ has ‘super’ in it for a reason, after all.

Featured image courtesy of Unsplash