In my career thus far, I’ve been in mostly start-up environments that lack a formally structured mentor-mentee program, but I’ve still had the opportunity to discover how important it is for growth. My career has exploded when I’ve had the opportunity to work with a mentor and, conversely, grown stagnant when I’ve simply worked for a boss.

This article by Rachel Ensign of the Wall Street Journal takes the point of view of someone looking to climb the corporate ladder, seeking out a mentor. You and I are more somewhere in the middle; many of us have direct reports or are managing teams, but are still in the early stages of careers.

I’ll pose these questions as conversation starters:

• How many of you have a mentor rather than a boss (it’s possible to have both)?
• How did you find/develop that relationship?
• How many of you take an active role in being a mentor to others, past the required exercises of formal reviews?

Any time I interview for a job, “Who would serve as my mentor?” is one of my questions. The worst feeling in a job is just doing the work and feeling no professional progress with no one to talk to about changing the situation (or that person not listening).

A link to the original article: “http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424052702303404704577309750220810364“