The Qualities of a Great Mentor: Part I

At a certain point in your career, you might consider becoming a professional mentor. Being a mentor is an enormous responsibility, and the future of another person’s career may rely upon your guidance and support. There are many ways to become a mentor, whether it’s through a program at work, or through word of mouth on social media. In any case, it’s important to approach the mentor-mentee relationship with care. Here are some of the qualities the best mentors possess.

What Is a Mentor?

As a mentor, it’s your job to coach a mentee through a certain stage of their career. Most often, a mentor-mentee relationship takes place in the mentee’s early career when their skills aren’t developed and they need the most guidance. Mentors share their professional experiences and knowledge, providing valuable insight that can encourage and inspire a mentee.

Mentors are there to help a mentee set goals, develop skills, and build confidence. They can also help a mentee approach new challenges, create a better resume, or prepare for an upcoming job interview. Along with this, a great mentor is able to connect with a mentee on a personal level, which helps to strengthen the bond between them. If you’re considering starting a mentor-mentee relationship

A Two-Way Street

Any great mentor understands that the mentor-mentee relationship is a two-way street. While a mentor can help a mentee build confidence, take on new challenges, and realize their career goals, it’s important to remember that a mentee can also show a mentor a thing or two. For example, a mentee might have a better understanding of the most recent industry trends and events.

During the course of your career, you might begin to take for granted the simple things that you learned early on. In coaching a mentee, you’ll be brought back to that time, and you’ll be reacquainted with your past self and the challenges you once faced. This can help to fill in gaps in your memory, and you’ll find a whole new appreciation for your journey. Taking on a mentee will also force you to sharpen and skills you haven’t used in a while. The bottom line is, even for mentors, there’s plenty of room to learn and grow.

Get to Know Your Mentee

For the mentor-mentee relationship to succeed, it’s important for a mentor to get to know a mentee on both a professional and personal level. What are the mentee’s long-term career goals? Short term? What skills would they like to develop? Are there areas that need improvement? Asking these questions and more will help you get a good idea of what a mentee is looking to achieve with a mentor-mentee relationship.

Through your conversations, you might discover that you share common hobbies and interests with a mentee. This common ground can help to build a stronger bond between a mentor and a mentee, and allows them to explore topics of conversation that aren’t necessarily related to work and career goals.

Be Strategic

In any mentor-mentee relationship, it’s important to have some structure. Early on, decide upon a preferred method of contact, whether it’s in person, over the telephone, or on virtual meeting platforms such as Zoom. Along with this, put together a schedule so you can anticipate upcoming meetings and plan around them accordingly.

In order for the mentor-mentee relationship to be successful, you’ll need to have a list of goals. These could be short-term and long-term goals you want to help a mentee accomplish, and they may also include your own goals for the mentor-mentee relationship. At regular intervals, take some time to evaluate the mentor-mentee relationship. Are the established goals being achieved? Are the expectations of both the mentor and mentee being met? Being strategic will ensure that the mentor-mentee relationship is beneficial for both parties.

Effective Communication

The best mentors have excellent communication skills. They are able to convey ideas, experiences, and solutions to problems in a way that a mentee can understand. They also understand the importance of knowing when not to speak, and when certain advice needs more time to develop before it is shared. A great mentor will always make sure that the guidance and support they provide is tailored to a mentee’s unique needs.

Another component to effective communication is the ability to be a good listener. A mentee will have goals they want to achieve, problems to solve, and professional skills to develop. As a mentor, it’s up to you to listen to their story, identify their pain points, and devise ways in which you can lead them toward a path of success and prosperity.

Being a good mentor is more than just having a whole lot of professional experience. It’s incredibly important to set a good example for a mentee, and the best mentors don’t only provide support and guidance, they live by their own advice. There’s still more ground to cover, and next time we’ll be talking about even more qualities that make a great mentor, so stay tuned.