So, You’ve Been Tapped to Mentor…
At its core, being a mentor boils down to making yourself available to support and advise someone when they need it, delivering that support in a way that makes sense to them, and always keeping that person's best interests in mind.
No matter what type of mentor you are, or whatever mentoring program you will be handling or implementing, some best practices help you be effective. Here are some of the ways you can leverage and put to life your mentoring relationship –
Tell stories to highlight lessons learned throughout your career. Share your experience and what you’ve learned to help your mentee gain wisdom. Tell the specific stories of what you learned and how you learned it.
Seek understanding before providing advice. Aim to fully understand where your mentee is coming from before offering advice. This helps to ensure you’re addressing the real problem rather than its symptom.
Give your full attention. Building a connection with your mentee is vital to a successful experience. When you listen to them and make them feel heard, it boosts their confidence. It also helps you understand what suggestions to make to help them grow.
Highlight areas of growth you see in them. As your mentee achieves their goals, celebrate them. Remind them of how far they’ve come and what areas of development you’ve seen. This also enhances the experience and gives them the confidence to tackle other challenges.
Empathize, empathize, empathize. It strengthens the relationship when you empathize with your mentee's challenges. Practicing empathy can also make you a better leader.
If you haven’t mentored before, ask yourself if you really understand what it takes to be a great mentor. Calibrate your confidence level and seek out role models. Find some people who are acknowledged to be masterful mentors and interview them to see what you can learn and what it takes to foster a successful mentoring relationship.
At the end of the day, being a great mentor takes practice and patience. The more you work with a given mentee, the more you'll learn a lot about them: their communication style, how they process feedback, how they go about pursuing their goals. It will likely be as rewarding an experience for you as it will be for your mentees.