WHY DO I NEED A MENTOR?

Compiled By: Martin Musoke

"Mentoring is a brain to pick, an ear to listen, and a push in the right direction." (John Crosby)

Who is a mentor?

A mentor is a person with specialized knowledge to educate and motivate one’s personal or career life. Similar to coaches and teachers, mentors guide less-experienced people through the learning process by establishing trust and modelling positive behaviours. The importance of mentors cannot be overstated. A good mentor inspires you, stretches you, connects you, develops your EQ, opens your mind and most importantly, doesn’t judge.

Mentors provide a safe space to learn, experiment and ask questions, no matter how seemingly stupid. In the corporate world, mentoring boosts employee engagement and retention, as well as knowledge retention.

What Qualities Make a Good Mentor?

Like most of us, mentors have differing areas of expertise. You ought to find a mentor who has similar style, mannerisms and approach to your own. You should also identify one mentor that has a style diametrically opposed to your own. Many of their approaches or suggestions might intimidate you, but adopting a toolkit separate from yours will aid learning new tips, tricks and ways to come out on top. Here are a few of the best qualities that a good mentor will display:

· Active listening abilities

· Honesty

· Empathy

· Self-awareness

· Encouraging

· Positive role model

How does the mentor relationship work?

The level of formality in mentorship depends on your desired outcomes. Informal mentorships may involve calls, texts or emails to your mentor when you need guidance. Formal mentorships may have a defined schedule that details the specific dates and times you plan to meet.

75% of people acknowledge the importance of mentors, but only 37% actually have one. This is because most people are afraid due the fear of rejection. The best way to reach out is usually sending a short email. Share one or two things you admire about their work, then tell them a little about yourself, why you’re reaching out and what you would like to learn from them.

The Benefits of Having a Mentor

The importance of mentorship is like the importance of friendship: it’s better understood in the actual relationship than explained.

1. Mentors Offer Constructive criticism

Mentors offer constructive criticism designed to strengthen areas of your life that need improvement. Without this insight, personal growth may take longer to achieve. Encourage mentors to tell you how you may improve your strategy to better reach your goals.

2. Mentors Aid one’s Personal growth

Mentors look for ways to encourage personal growth. Once they understand your skills and abilities, they may put you to work on a specific task to see how well you perform. The look for teaching moments that help you grow along the way.

3. Mentors kick start professional development

With the support of a mentor, mentees can stay focused on their career, gain confidence, attain goals, and expand their networks. Having a mentor also leads to self-discovery and helps you continue growing your career.

4. Mentors help one clarify and set SMART goals

One of the main reasons for mentorships is for the mentee to set goals. Having SMART goals gives a purpose to mentoring.

· Specific

· Measurable

· Achievable

· Relevant

· Time-sensitive goals

5. Mentors hold one accountable to achieve one’s goals

Without goals, a mentee has no direction and no plan to get where they want to go. A mentor helps keep them on track and accountable for achieving their goals. It provides the motivation needed for mentees to work at attaining their goals.

6. Mentors develop leadership skills

Mentorships can cultivate skills such as listening, compassion and giving and receiving feedback. Formal mentoring programs can develop the following soft skills in youths:

· Self-awareness

· Adaptability

· Teamwork

· Collaboration

· Verbal communication.

7. Mentors raise confidence and problem-solving abilities

Having a mentor to advise and guide you increases confidence and development of problem-solving skills. Mentors offer a different perspective that can be instrumental in changing bad habits or unhelpful ways of thinking.

8. Mentors expand network and open up doors to new opportunities

Through mentorship, mentees can expand their network and gain access to other people in various ways. This further increases the mentee’s confidence because they can get out of their comfort zone, develop their soft skills, and gain access to new opportunities as they meet new people.