Three Key Elements of Being a Mentor
During the course of your professional career, you may have gleaned the benefits of being a mentee. Someone in a position you aspired to took you under their wing and showed you that your career dreams were possible, all while guiding and educating you along the way.
Now, you find yourself a more senior figure in your field and a mentor to others. You truly care about the role you play in helping young people find their voice in your particular field and want to be the best mentor you can possibly be. We spoke with a few leaders to lend insight into the three key elements of being an effective mentor.
Listen First
In the words of Divya Yerraguntla, “Being a mentor starts with being a good listener.” You have to be listening for key strengths, areas in need of improvement, passions, and goals to help your mentee in ways that will extend beyond professional life. Taking the time to understand where your mentee is coming from can help you better understand where you can offer guidance. Listening and speaking from a compassionate place of understanding is essential for helping your mentee grow into their best self.
Build a Community
Mentorship also helps create points of access for those mentees who may not otherwise find opportunities in your field. This is especially true for fields that are harder to break into for women and People of Color. Mentorship can offer a launchpad for diversifying your field. The phrase, “You can’t be what you can’t see,” is true for most mentees. Having a mentor that they relate to and see themselves in can help a mentee find the encouragement to keep at it in their field. Barbara Ryan stresses that “supporting one another is not only rewarding, it’s just good business.” You never know where a mentor or mentee will be in five years or what opportunities may come across their desk. Mentorship can also be used as a strong networking tool.
Learning Goes Both Ways
Keeping in mind that mentorship is a mutually beneficial practice is also incredibly important. Not only are you offering invaluable insight to someone who is up-and-coming, offering them a possible opportunity for promotion as they hone their skills, but you also gain the benefit of increased talent retention as a business leader. Employees who feel appreciated and invested in an organization feel more compelled to stay. And the dynamic between a mentee and mentor also becomes a two-way street for education. “While a mentor can have a major influence on her mentee, I’ve been equally impressed and moved by the power a mentee has,” Melinda Wolfe notes. “Mentees enable me to understand new perspectives.”
Growth does not stop when you reach a certain age or job title. Even as you encourage those who are just beginning their journey, you will be surprised at just how much you stand to gain as a lifelong learner. By committing to listening, community building, and remaining open to learning new perspectives, you’ll find that mentees have so much to offer your field. Not to mention the pride you’ll feel watching a mentee over the course of their career, applying the lessons and guidance you have offered them.
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