February 09, 2011

How to be an effective mentor

Mentoring can be one of the most rewarding experiences you'll ever have. 

The requirement, though, is to be effective at giving mentorship advice.  That requires delivering value, helping the mentee achieve his/her potential and solving immediate needs.  In many cases, our thoughtfulness doesn't translate into effectiveness when it comes for formal or informal mentoring. We pick the wrong student, come across preachy or fail to make a connection.  

This week, I gave a workshop to a group of business leaders on this subject, suggesting that mentorship wasn't just a matter of being generous with knowledge.  It requires a process.  Here are the advice points I shared with them along the lines of the mentorship cycle: 

1 - Identify:  You must shop for a mentee by looking for two things: Intersections and Reflections.  Intersections occur when change meets opportunity meets ambition.  A new person joins your organization at a point in time where there's uncertainty or novelty.  Someone wants to make the next leap in her career, but her skill set isn't yet up to the task.  Reflections of you signal a good candidate for mentorship.  If you 'see a greener version of you' in someone, you'll likely have empathy for her, and that leads to more compassion and desire to help.  It will also give you more stick-to-it-ness, should you get busy.   Once you've identified a candidate, plot a journey for him, seeing him as a potential hero that needs to embark on an adventure with tools you give him.  

2 - Engage:  You must be overt in your effort to mentor someone, offering to both show-them-the ropes and explore new areas of professional growth.  To do it well, you need to make a personal connection with your mentee, dialing into her passions and goals in life.  The old saying is true here: No one cares how much you know until he knows how much you care.  Once connected personally, agree on your value-add during the mentorship program and schedule regular meetings or discussions. 

3 - Empower: You should always seek to make someone stronger, eventually independent of you.  Offer devices to the mentee in the form of books, resources and new contacts.  Hold the mentee accountable to act on your advice, but be willing to let him modify it based on his life-work context. Most important here: At the end of all mentorship sessions, let the mentee share her knowledge with you!  Ask her, "what should I be learning from you?" and give her the airtime to give-back.  This will give you more knowledge for your next student, and empower the mentee to start the process of becoming a mentor.  One last thought: Never expect repayment of any type.  Do this for the love of helping, giving and growing others.  

 

---

Comments

---

Post a comment

If you have a TypeKey or TypePad account, please Sign In

You are currently signed in as (nobody). Sign Out

Name:

Email Address:

URL:

Remember personal info?

Comments:

Get The Blog via Email

Tim's Tweets

---

More Tim

• Follow Tim on Facebook
• Connect with Tim on LinkedIn
• Tim's YouTube Channel
• Follow Tim on Twitter
• Subscribe to RSS Updates

---

---