How to be a good Mentor..!
Tips and tricks that will help you be a good mentor
“Mentoring is a brain to pick, an ear to listen, and a push in the right direction.” — John Crosby.
What is a Mentor?
A mentor is simply defined as an experienced and trusted advisor. As a senior to all your employees/mentees, the most important thing you need to keep in mind is that as a mentor you not only serve as a career advisor and guide but also help your mentee in figuring out how their job contributions fit in their long-term goals, goals that can also fit into the larger picture of the company’s goals and ultimately their future within the company as well. A lot of organizations these days have adopted a sort of volunteer system wherein existing employees take in the task of mentoring the newbies.
Every Mentor/Mentee relationship has its own uniqueness depending on what dynamics each individual shares with the other. It’s important you figure out your own style along the way about what kind of a mentor you see yourself becoming or wish to see yourself becoming. Until then let us help you with a few tips and tricks that we picked along the way:
Challenge them:
Being a mentor is about making sure you drive your mentee to be the best and the most successful version of themselves, which means challenging them in ways that not only test their capabilities but also being an insight to where improvements need to be made. A person grows only when he/she is in a situation where they need to rely on their skills and instincts to figure out the best possible solution.
Guide them:
A good mentor guides his/her mentee rather than outright telling them what to do. When approached with a question or a doubt help your mentee figure out a solution by providing suggestions and inputs when needed. Give your mentee a free reign to explore while making sure they do not fall off the edge.
Listen better:
Being a mentor is not only about sharing your knowledge but also actively listening to what your mentee is trying to communicate. Only when you listen well, will you be able to properly figure out the suggestion that will best help the situation. Don’t just provide opinions, make sure whatever discussions you have engaged is seen as an open and free space to express opinions and ideas by your mentee.
Be invested in their success:
A great mentor not only wishes the success of his mentee but is equally happy if his mentee surpasses them in their achievements. A true mentor wants his mentee to succeed more than perhaps the mentee himself. Make sure you and your mentee share the same vision when it comes to success and actively collaborate in order to achieve it.
Provide constructive feedback:
As a good mentor you not only praise your mentee when they’ve done something right or achieved something but also, and perhaps more importantly help them figure out what went wrong and how they can improve on it. Feedback without any suggestion for improvement is of no use. So not only point out what could be improved but also collectively figure out a solution for making things better.
Mutual Respect:
A good mentor never looks down on his mentee but rather sees them as their equal. A partnership without mutual respect is of no use, and the relationship between a mentor and his/her mentee is at its core a partnership. A partnership that aims at the betterment of not one but both parties involved.
We would like to part with these insightful words by Mr. Phil Collins, ‘In learning, you will teach, and in teaching, you will learn’.
That is it for today folks, see you on our next blog. Until then, Stay Home, Stay Safe.