Who Makes an Effective Mentor?

Successful and rewarding careers are often shaped and guided at an early stage by the wisdom and generosity of a good and effective mentor.

Mentors create opportunities and open doors. As a newcomer, you often don’t know where to knock. You aren’t familiar with the opportunities out there and don’t have the connections.

Mentors know your strengths and abilities. They don’t set you up to fail. They challenge you to go beyond what you think you can do. But they don’t have you tackle things you are not ready to handle (or may never be). A good mentor can know you better than yourself.

Mentors set an example. Sometimes it’s just a matter of watching your mentor in action—how he or she accomplish a task, prepares a manuscript or presentation, or analyzes data.

Mentors want you to succeed. Effective mentors help you learn from your mistakes. They are not in competition with you. They don’t put up any roadblocks to success.

Mentors want you to become independent. The guidance you receive and the links you build, often through your mentor, enable you to finally function independently—whatever your ultimate career path.

The life-long impact of a wonderful mentor never stops. Whether mentoring comes naturally or requires an occasional peek at a checklist, the rest of us should strive to have a similar effect on the lives of our next generation.

The great William Arthur Ward said “The mediocre teacher tells. The good teacher explains. The superior teacher demonstrates. The great teacher inspires”.

An effective mentor can let down your guard, share your anxieties, and ask the ‘stupid’ questions we all have sometimes.

Mentoring is a Big Responsibility; Caution Advised!

Gone are the days when assigning an informal companion to mentor a new employee meant going out to lunch and teaching the employee a few lessons about succeeding in the workplace. These companions generally have no mentor training and they were clueless about their overall responsibility in welcoming the new employee.

Workplace mentoring is a skilled activity that should be delivered by appropriately trained people and is a proven method to train and develop others. A mentor is someone who can help (often a younger) another employee works out their priorities, make career decisions, and develop work skills.

Wish to know how to learn the practical tools for Motivating, Coaching, Counselling & Mentoring in Workplace?