Mentors

Why a mentor?

Having the guidance, encouragement and support of a trusted and experienced mentor can provide a broad range of personal and professional benefits, which ultimately lead to improved performance in the workplace or in outside personal life. Mentors should not be direct supervisors.  Direct supervisors should be coaches!

What to look for in a mentor:

• Ability and experience
• Willingness to spend the time
• Approachability
• A good listener
• Honesty
• Inquisitiveness
• Objectivity and fairness
• Compassion and genuineness

Advantages for Mentees

• Work on developing a skill or competency
• Improve confidence and an ability to execute a task, objective or project
• Help improve listening and communication skills
• Practice in accepting feedback from a consistent source
• Practice building and maintaining a professional relationship
• Expands networks and contacts

Advantages for Mentors

• Strengthens active listening skills
• Give back to the organization and community
• Touch the future
• Build contacts
• Added sense of purpose and responsibility for one’s career

When do you need a mentor?

Seek help before known issues in your work or personal life, become a major issue.  Major issues are more difficult to repair so some foresight in regard to using a mentor can pay large dividends.

You may not need a mentor if you have your career path will managed, know where you are going, you are a great listener, observer, and very good at absorbing information and knowledge from skilled, respected leaders and coworkers at work and outside of work as well.

***** S&E *****