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People often think about mentorship as being a relationship where you're assigned a mentor or you're assigned a mentee. But that’s not how it works. You can have colleagues and friends that are mentors just purely based on the fact that you look up to them, you respect them, and the way they carry themselves and go about their business.
If you pick your mentors well, you'll have somebody (or multiple people) that you can emulate and look to when you're at a fork in the road. See how they carry themselves in situations, or how they go about their decision making.
In the cannabis space, where the industry feels more like a community rather than a business sector, mentorship is the key to unfettered growth and success.
The Qualities to Look For in a Mentor and Why
You don't want a mentor that's there to make you feel good. You want somebody that's there to give you the information (and hard truths) that you need to hear. Look for someone who can give you honest feedback, share insights based on their experiences, and be transparent about what they know—and what they don’t.
A good mentor will say, “I don’t have the answer, but based on my experience, here's how similar situations have played out, and that’s why I’m betting on this outcome.”
You can tell someone is authentic if they show vulnerability, sharing both their successes and failures, and explaining how they overcame setbacks and learned from them. What you want to avoid is a “mentor” that tends to be flashy, only boasting about successes without acknowledging any challenges or mistakes.
You Don’t Need to Know Them Personally to Consider Them a Mentor
Mentors can be people you regularly meet with, sure. But mentors can also come in the form of books or online content. For example, while you may not be able to afford a consultant who charges $10,000 a month for their services, they may have published books or released YouTube videos, giving you unfettered access to their knowledge. Authors like Gino Wickman, who wrote Traction, and Michael E. Gerber, the author of The E Myth, both serve as mentors for GLC founder, Michael Mejer, as he’s studied their material and applied their insights to scaling systems and processes in the business.
Follow Up as a Mentee
If someone is taking time out of their schedule to mentor you, the least you can do is follow up with them after you've put their advice into action and let them know how it played out. This shows that they didn't waste their time and they actually made a difference by helping you. At the end of the day, most leaders in business crave the feeling of knowing that they're making a positive impact on other people.
Mentorship is Vital to the Success of the Cannabis Industry
Mentorship in the cannabis industry goes beyond professional development—it’s a shared journey that fosters connection, resilience, and growth. This isn’t just about finding a guide to help navigate challenges; it’s about building a community where knowledge and support are freely exchanged. Whether you’re seeking inspiration from a thought leader’s book, learning from a colleague’s lived experiences, or fostering a formal mentor-mentee relationship, mentorship is what keeps the heart of the industry beating.
The cannabis industry thrives on collaboration, and by investing in mentorship, you’re not only empowering yourself—you’re helping to shape the future of this community for the better.