4 yrs ago

When you decide to become a mentor, you might think that the relationship only benefits the mentee. After all, mentees are often at the receiving end of this arrangement, while the mentors are there to provide guidance and advice based upon their own experiences, be it in their personal or professional lives.

Yet, you have to know that mentorship is a two-way street. As much as a mentee gains from the mentor’s wisdom and experience, a mentor also stands to reap rewards from the relationship. In fact, for many mentors at Speedy Mentors, they all agree that mentorship is a powerful professional growth tool that helps them build their knowledge, leadership skills, connections and sense of empathy and accountability.

We can’t stress enough how mentorship has obvious benefits to both mentors and mentees. So if you are still not sure if being a mentor is a role you should pursue, we have put together this simple guide to help you make an informed decision. Go over it and learn about the following:

• Understanding mentorship and the role of a mentor

• What makes a good mentor?

• Reasons you need to become a mentor

• Fostering successful mentoring relationships

Understanding mentorship and the role of a mentor:

Mentorship is a one-on-one relationship that depends on sharing wisdom. It also provides a safe environment for people to express their ideas, opinions, goals, frustrations and fears as they navigate changes in their personal life or career. The best form of mentorship comes from an engagement wherein both the mentor and mentee are able to teach and learn something from each other.

In a mentorship, the mentor is someone who helps the mentee grow, develop or progress in either their personal or professional life. They tap into their own experience and expertise to provide useful guidance and advice that the mentee can use to amplify their skills and achieve their goals.

What makes a good mentor?

A good mentor needs more than just being successful in their craft. They should also be motivated and committed enough to help develop other people. Additionally, they should be willing and able to share their own experiences—both wins and failures—as doing so demonstrates their strong desire to see another person succeed while avoiding the same pitfalls they made. 

Based on our experience here at Speedy Mentors, majority of good mentors possess the following qualities:

• Relevant knowledge and skills in the area where the mentee might be lacking and wishes to progress.

• Genuinely interested to see someone else succeed. To contribute in attaining that success, they listen without judgement; provide honest feedback and from an expert viewpoint; and give access to resources that can be of value to their mentee, including their network.

• Availability to commit their time and energy to make the mentoring relationship work. 

• Willingness to share both their wins and failures to fuel learning and teach accountability.

• Open to learning new things and accepting different perspectives because they are a lifelong learner with a growth mindset.

Reasons you need to become a mentor

Now that you understand what mentorship is all about and what being a mentor entails, you are likely wondering what assuming a mentor role could bring to you. In that case, consider these additional advantages to realize the true rewards of helping others work towards achieving their goals.

Build your leadership capacity 

As mentioned earlier, mentorship is based on sharing wisdom. While you, as the mentor, provide most of the guidance, advice and support in the relationship, your mentee can also teach you a thing or two along the way. How so? In order to teach someone, you need to become a master of the subject. You also need to observe how your mentee progresses and take note of the areas where they are struggling and succeeding. 

By doing these things, you get to reflect on your own mentoring strategies, along with your leadership and management practices. You then get to fine-tune them not just to become a better version of yourself, but also to become a better role model for your mentee. Take note that the leadership skills you inadvertently learn throughout the mentoring relationship are transferable in many personal and professional situations.

More and better career opportunities

Being able to use your expertise and time to actively help others succeed and exert positive influence on them can bring significant career gains for you. A growing number of studies have shown that people who are involved in mentoring relationships are more likely to get a raise and promotion than those who do not. 

Likewise, if you are about to change careers, you will have better chances at getting hired. This is because the majority of today’s employers look for prospective employees who are capable of leading and motivating others, taking accountability for their actions, and focusing on achieving their targets and goals. All these are attributes that directly relate to being a mentor. To that end, you may consider asking mentees to provide testimonials about their mentoring relationship with you so as to substantiate your experience and credential as a mentor. This can greatly help as you apply for work.

Create a Larger Network

As a mentor, you will likely meet mentees from all walks of life. Some of them will work with you for a short time, while others will keep in touch with you for years. This shows that mentorship is an excellent networking tool, and it is a powerful one that lets you get in touch with people that are outside of your circle. 

Although it is essential to have a network of allies who are already seasoned in their respective fields, connecting with mentees who are just starting out is equally vital. Remember that Millennials are the workforce of tomorrow. There are areas that they have already figured out and areas where they need help with, and that is where you come in. Guiding these mentees will enable you to contribute in shaping tomorrow’s leaders, and that can be valuable to you in the long run.

Achieve Personal Satisfaction 

Reaching out and giving the gift of your wisdom, time and perspective are powerful ways to make a difference in other people’s lives. You never really know how far a mentee will go. So whether your mentee becomes the next big tech leader or someone who has successfully overcome their difficulties or achieved their career goal, the point is that you made an impact in their life and that makes your effort all worth it.

Fostering successful mentoring relationships

Keep in mind that not all mentoring relationships end up successfully. Some break down for multiple reasons, and the cause could be the mentor or mentee or even both. For mentors, a failed mentoring relationship can mean loss of credibility and opportunity for new mentoring assignments. For mentees, it can lead to loss of interest. This can also take an emotional toll for both parties involved that may lead to health issues. To prevent failures and poor outcomes, it pays to work on managing and nurturing the mentoring relationship early on. Here are ways to do that.

Establish the relationship structure

Take the time to discuss how the mentoring relationship should work. There should be a shared understanding of the process. Be sure to cover such elements as contact and response times, areas of focus, meeting schedule and frequency, confidentiality, goals and accountability, and feedback.

Build trust by knowing each other

As with any other relationship, a mentoring relationship needs time to develop. That entails knowing each other to build trust that will hold the relationship together. Avoid immediately diving into solving problems and providing advice, as both you and the mentee do not fully understand each other enough for you to be able to figure out the kind of support they require. 

Articulate expectations

Both you and your mentee have expectations upon entering the mentoring relationship. It is important to articulate those expectations so you both know what you want to get out of the experience and what areas you need to focus on. 

Stay committed and consistent

Once the mentorship begins, take charge of the process and stay committed and consistent with everything that both of you discussed at the onset of the relationship. Stick to agreed schedules, assign tasks as needed and provide advice and feedback that can help your mentee grow. Remember that the more you put into the relationship, the more you get out of it and that works both ways for the mentor and mentee. 

Make reflection and evaluation a part of the relationship

Reflection and evaluation are what drives action. Every few meetings or so take the time to reflect on what you and your mentee have done so far. Ask questions like “How are things going for you?” “Which areas do you find helpful and which ones are you struggling with?” “Is there anything I should do differently to improve your mentorship experience?” Engaging your mentee in reflective and evaluative conversations will enable you to better understand their needs and will keep the relationship more valuable.

Become a mentor and help others grow, develop and progress through Speedy Mentors

As you can see, being a mentor is an excellent opportunity to make a potentially life-changing difference for yourself and for someone else. If you are ready to engage in this exciting and rewarding endeavor, Speedy Mentors is the right place to get started. Become a mentor today!