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THE MENTOR

In today’s world, people often talk about the importance of mentorship in personal development and career contexts, with 'get a mentor' being a key piece of advice from successful business people.

In the search to find a mentor, you may find yourself asking questions like, who is a mentor?

Who is a mentor?

A mentor is a person who can support, advise and guide you. They typically take the time to get to know you and the challenges you're facing and then use their understanding and personal experience to help you improve.

Who a mentor isn't?

• While a mentor can provide invaluable support and guidance across a range of topics including mental health, they are not a therapist. It is important to establish this to all parties participating in mentoring.
• A mentor is not the same as a coach. Coaches are paid for and provide time-bound teaching on specific topics.
• Mentoring is not a magic cure. While mentoring can support a range of development goals and has many benefits for both parties, it isn’t going to fix everything.

What is mentoring?

Mentoring is the act or process of helping and guiding another person to support their personal development.

Note that we've said 'personal' development here rather than 'career' development – and that's because ultimately, mentoring is about people. If someone helps you improve your confidence or self-awareness, that's going to translate beyond your day job.

Why do people become mentors?

People choose to mentor others because it's an incredibly valuable experience; seeing somebody grow and succeed as a result of your advice is highly rewarding. There are many benefits of mentoring for the mentor as well as the mentee, such as improving communication and developing leadership skills.

What makes a good mentor?

“A mentor is someone who sees more talent and ability within you than you see in yourself, and helps bring it out of you.” — Bob Proctor

When asking, what is a mentor, it’s important to understand the difference between good mentors and… not so good ones. This quote highlights the essence of a good mentor: somebody that does nottellyou what to do, but guides you to figuring it out for yourself.

When looking for a mentor there are certain characteristics to keep in mind. The traits of a good mentor include:

• Being a good listener
• Asking good questions
• Showing empathy
• Being encouraging and supportive
• Self-awareness
• Giving constructive and honest feedback

Misconceptions about mentoring

There are a few common misconceptions about mentoring that affect the way people think about who a mentor is.

Let me set the record straight in this mentoring myth-busting:

• "Mentors have to be old" - Mentoring has no age requirements, and older people can benefit from being mentored by younger people, such as in reverse mentoring. What's important is relevant experience and chemistry.
• "Mentoring only benefits mentees" - Mentoring has heaps of benefits for the mentor as well as the mentee, including; improving communication and leadership skills, increased fulfilment, likelihood of promotion and more.
• "My mentor has to be similar to me" - Familiarity is nice, but the best learning happens when you're exposed to different ways of thinking. it can be better for your development to seek out opinions from outside to your usual spheres of influence.

Finally, to mentor or to be mentored can be a life changing experience, all you need to do is find the right person and take advantage of all he/she can offer.