How can you be a successful mentor for your team?

"Don't try to describe the ocean if you've never seen it. Don't ever forget that you just might end up being wrong." - Jimmy Buffett Effective mentors provide guidance based on experience, good, bad, successes, failures, and accomplishments to help mentees prevent missteps, and build upon success stories. Trust, respect, and credibility are the 3 Pillars of Leadership. When mentors truly connect with mentees, knowledge, wisdom, and counsel inspire them to make better decisions, and become better leaders...and become mentors themselves.

Expectations is the foundation of being a mentor. Share the right expecations. There are two kinds of situations 1. Where yo know the work specifically: In this case you transfer the work and the expectations are clear. A very clear watchout here is the need make sure you do not allow your limitation to be set on the other person. This the place where a good mentor really comes in to play 2. Where you do not know the work. This creates ambiguity and also a space for creativty A good mentor allows the self to be vulnerable in these situations. Shares the outcome and allows a person to experiment.

A l'entame d'une relation de mentorat, il est important pour les deux parties, le mentor et le mentoré de convenir sur les objectifs à atteindre et les attentes respectives. Il faut ensuite définir des règles de fonctionnement afin de conna?tre. Avec mon premier mentor professionnel, nous avons manqué de faire cet exercice et c'est sans surprise que nous n'avons abouti à rien et pire, le mentorship a été de très court terme.

As a mentor, ironically, you can easily build trust by highlighting how most of the time, you're not always more knowledgeable than your team. The humility in this acknowledgement serves as a way of reminding everyone that only they can truly know what's best for them. Your purpose as a mentor is to effectively listen to issues and problems and be able to reframe them back to your team in a way in which the next steps become clearer. You do not need to instruct people on what to do and if anything, this should be discouraged as it can have the opposite effect. People want to feel as if they have agency over their own decisions and if they feel that they lack this, they can often resent the person they feel is responsible for this.

To be a 'successful' mentor for the team... it starts with simply being a mentor for the team. That sounds like I joke but it's not. Often a leader has good intents and really wants to mentor the team - and of course successfully - but then struggles to let go. Mentoring isn't about teaching or directing; it's about inspiring. This means that the team will learn or get inspired by the leader but then do their own way. Yes, the leader can then comment as a constructive feedback or to give another perspective but the leader has to show an high degree of trust not to 'correct' but to 'support'. NB: letting the team face challenges, even small failures, is part of the learning journey.

Establish Trust: Build rapport and create a safe space. Trust forms the foundation for a strong mentorship relationship. Listen Actively: Understand goals and challenges. Active listening fosters a deeper understanding of their needs.

As a mentor, your role is more like a parent/sports coach. Observe closely and only step in to guide when you feel things are not going the way they should. Encourage the mentees to do work in the framework set & keep communication precise. The mentor needs to adapt, be flexible & resist the urge to jump to resolve things at the first mistake/error/delay. Let the mentees learn from the errors & correct their course under your guidance.

Provide Guidance: Offer advice and support. Sharing experiences and insights guides them through obstacles. Encourage Growth: Identify strengths and areas for development. Encourage continuous learning and skill enhancement.

Celebrate Successes: Acknowledge achievements. Celebrating milestones boosts morale and motivation. Adapt and Evolve: Be flexible in your approach. Adapting to their needs ensures effective mentorship.

Being a successful mentor also involves openly sharing your failures to help build trust and relatability. Discussing your mistakes and the lessons learned promotes a growth mindset and demonstrates resilience. This also reduces the fear of failure, encouraging risk-taking and problem-solving. By providing real-life examples of overcoming challenges and learning from failures, you create a team culture where failure isn't dreaded but seen as a stepping stone for improvement.

Being a successful mentor involves a commitment to the growth and development of your team members. I have learnt the below from my own mentors and follow them – 1. Normalize Mistakes – Normalize the concept of making mistakes as part of the learning process. Foster an environment where mentees feel comfortable taking risks and learning from both successes and failures. 2. Promote Well-Being – Encourage a healthy work-life balance. Discuss the importance of well-being, stress management, and maintaining a sustainable lifestyle to support long-term career success. 3. Share Personal Stories – Share personal stories of challenges faced and how you overcame them. Being open about your own journey makes you relatable and inspires.

Successful mentorship is a blend of guidance, empathy, and encouragement. As a mentor, your role is to inspire, support, and empower your team members on their professional journey.