Mentor Spotlight: Ekaterina Grizik on the Mutual Growth of Mentorship

"Morten T. Hansen's 'Great at Work: How Top Performers Do Less, Work Better, and Achieve More' analyses the skills and mindset needed to become a leader and how to find your own pace of work to be more productive."

This focus on working smarter rather than harder aligns perfectly with her approach to mentorship and professional development.

"Adam Grant's book 'Give and Take' explores the different types of professionals and shows how 'givers', those who offer help to each other and learn from each other, can achieve greater long-term success and better results at work rather than individualists, 'takers'."

This second recommendation particularly resonates with Ekaterina's mentorship philosophy, which embraces the value of mutual exchange and community support.

"I've been actively mentoring since the beginning of 2024. Every session with a mentee challenges me to adapt my knowledge and apply it to the particular digital tech field such as AI, Crypto, FinTech, and even EdTech. Mentoring, for me, is not just a sharing knowledge or expertise but a 'learning together' process."

This perspective refreshingly acknowledges the reciprocal nature of effective mentorship relationships.

"By interacting with my mentees, I continue growing and expanding my expertise and encountering different challenges in new digital technology sectors. I've gained diverse insights while supporting others in Marketing, Growth, and Product-related challenges."

This mindset creates a dynamic where both parties benefit substantially:

"Mentoring, for me, is a journey where we grow together, and it is one of the most rewarding aspects of my non-monetary work."

"Without a doubt, the most rewarding part of being a mentor is contributing to the achievement of my mentees' professional goals and objectives. One of the most rewarding aspects of mentoring is witnessing the impact my advice or sharing my experience have on mentees' career journeys: whether helping them to secure their dream job or position themselves effectively within a company to achieve their desired role."

These concrete outcomes represent the powerful potential of effective mentorship to transform professional trajectories.

"Through mentoring, advising, and solving mentees' professional challenges, I've expanded my expertise in various digital technology sectors. For example, before mentoring sessions with my mentees from specific areas of digital tech, I learned about their fields and how to use different innovative approaches, even asked other professional communities specific questions to navigate me through their domain-specific challenges."

This preparation process illustrates how mentorship can become a catalyst for professional development when approached with dedication and curiosity.

"If you want to be surrounded by people who love what they do and are always ready to grow and develop (and if you are that kind of person yourself), don't hesitate to start mentoring. Mentoring doesn't mean you have to be a C-level executive or director of one of the most successful tech companies."

She emphasizes that mentorship is about connection and shared problem-solving rather than hierarchy:

"It's about helping people like you who face challenges at work in the same industry and supporting them to find solutions together. Trust me, it will be a mutual remunerating experience for both of you!"

This accessible approach to mentorship invites professionals at various career stages to consider the value they can offer as mentors.

"Mentorship helps build a professional digital tech community, a space where mentors develop their soft skills and share hard skills with mentees, while mentees, in turn, enrich mentors with specific knowledge about new trends, technologies, and even emerging areas in digital tech."

This vision of mentorship as community-building emphasizes how these relationships strengthen the entire tech industry by facilitating the exchange of knowledge, skills, and perspectives.