Great mentors stay for life

Very recently several of my ex-colleagues asked me if they could continue with my mentorship. I was caught off guard as I have high standards and I'm certainly a demanding professional. Why would they want to continue with me as a mentor?

As the workforce continues to change in 2022,?mentoring?plays an ever-increasing role in employee retention and performance.

I therefore, decided to write this article on mentorship.

My Mentors, and why they were important?

I have been blessed with some great mentors without having this official tittle. They were smart, experienced, and always had my best interests at heart but they weren’t gentle. Probably each person gets the style they need from their best mentors, and mine were tough because I needed it.

Finding the right mentor is not a secret to success it’s as obvious as it is essential. I learned from several professionals that were older, wiser and more experienced in the business world.

Through them I have learned how to behave, how to give feedback, how to communicate but most importantly how to become a leader, through tremendous work ethic, unmovable ambition for a better world and a unique sense of leave my mark behind whatever I do.

The number one question I get asked by people interested in my mentorship is, how do you do so much?

It's all about consistency!

By constantly being asked how and why my body of work is so large,?I have learned that the answer to this question is not talent, it is all about consistency. I'm not a good professional because I have a natural talent or god-like gift. I believe my main characteristic that sets me apart from others is I'm focused and consistent!

Since very young I have understood that the difference between craft and talent is consistency. I have learned to cultivate consistency in my work routine, day in and day out. Eventually, my dedication and consistency will beat any talent, luck, skill, and even quality.

I have wrote in the past an article on Talent vs Skill, check out my article on this specific topic below.

Learn to Ask Good Questions

My role as a mentor is to ask good questions so that the mentee can figure out what he or she needs to do. I’m not going to simply give answers.

Learning how to ask the right questions is important in developing effective communication skills on a mentorship program. Below there are some thoughts on how to ask good questions:

1. Think about what you want to know.

2. Determine if the purpose of your question will unlock deep reflection.

3. Develop an open-ended question.

5. Determine the right time to ask them.

6. Allow them to answer your question.

7. Ask follow-up question to determine if you are in the route cause.

“A good mentor acknowledges that everybody is different.”

As a mentor I'm open-minded and willing to learn about and from others! People learn skills over time, with hard work, and therefore everyone has different strengths and weaknesses.

Allowing a mentee to express themselves through their work means they’re significantly more likely to succeed. A good mentor enables this by establishing an experimental and creative environment for their mentee to work in so that ideas can flourish.

As a mentor I encourage the mentee to try new approaches and be willing to fail with me. As a mentor my role is to encourage, guide but also provide comfort that we will do experiment together.

"A good mentor pushes their mentee to get creative with what they already know, and get them out of the comfort zone"

Realize that you, as a mentor, you are learning and growing by helping others.

Being a mentor makes me question how I can be the better professional? How do I keep up to date with an industry that’s constantly evolving? This also means that I have to admit that I'm also always learning from my mentees.

I'm trading of my expertise and experience to empower others, for new knowledge on areas that can be either professional or social cultural.

Most important on a good mentorship program is a win win situation!

Mr Miyagi style approach.

It’s hard to imagine Karate Kid without the help of Mr. Miyagi. Let’s walk down the path to finding a mentorship style that works.

Wax On, Wax Off

If the mentor teaches, the mentee must be receptive to learning.

My role as a Mentor:

1. I guide?rather than a supervisor.
2. I encourage you.
3. I critique to bring out the best?in you.
4. I add value to your goals.
5. I'm accessible.

“There are no bad students, only bad teachers.” Mr. Miyagi

Bad Mentors

Mentors are supposed to help you grow. But there are always a few bad apples. Here's how to spot a toxic mentor that won't offer you what you're hoping for from a mentoring relationship.

Emperor Palpatine from Star Wars used his charm to corrupt their more righteous counterparts for there own best interest:

Traits of a Bad Mentor

1. Instead of guiding you through problems,?they try to fix them for you.
2. They take on?the title of mentor and none of the responsibility.
3. They?lack the commitment?to mentor you.
4. Their interest in mentoring you is lower then there self interest.
5. They’re?only superficially involved and still expect gratitude?for their “help.”

Mentorship is about giving back.

Good relationships are built from trust and respect. Without these vital elements, mentoring can become toxic.

Keep in mind that the focus of mentorship is to help the development of someone, not to create a clone of the mentor.

Mentoring works best when it is a mutually beneficial relationship, built on humility, kindness, patience, and generosity. Think of it as a way of investing in the future of your network, the future of your company, your community, or the world.

Might you be interested in discussing Mentorship in your organization, or you are considering becoming a Mentor or being Mentee. Feel free to contact me as I am always willing to share my experiences and in return learn from others.