The idea behind and the ideals of mentorship has been
on my mind lately. As a mentor myself I needed to understand what qualities
makes up a good mentor.
Mentorship is such a valuable yet frequently underused
and misunderstood relationship that teaching someone else how to be a mentor
proved challenging.
For the most part it comes down to experience. Find
someone who is more experienced than you and ask if they are willing to help
mentor you. Ask if they are willing to help you to move up in life and not just
on with it.
A quick Google search will tell you that there are
plenty of people on the internet who are more than happy to take your money in
exchange for a mentorship program. And some of them are well worth the
investment but many more are not.
Aside from experience how can we tell the difference
between a good mentor and a bad mentor.
Hoping to be a good mentor myself I looked at a number
of sources on Leadership principles, self development programs and many books
talking about the philosophies of mentorship.
To me, as a speaker, author, consultant on Creative
Leadership, I found that this S.P.R.E.A.Dng checklist on creating a creative
environment developed by Dr. ROBERT ALAN BLACK of www.cre8ng.com certainly fits the
ideals behind good mentorship.
A good mentor will:
SUPPORT what you are trying to do,
PROMOTE you to others.
REWARD/RECOGNIZE your achievements. This doesn't mean give trophies for every achievement but a simple pat on the back can work wonders from someone that a mentee looks up to.
ENCOURAGE you to take risks, achieve success and dare to challenge yourself. Aiming for success in anything can be a lot of work and there will often be unforseen challenges that lie ahead. Having someone that is seen as a source of inspiration, trust and knowledge give words of encouragement can help a lot.
ACKNOWLEDGE your efforts. Whether you won or lost, a good mentor will still acknowledge your effort and remind you of the the road traveled and the skills learned.
DEVELOPng a program that is well suited towards your growth is what mentors do. They will take into account who their mentees are individually and work with them rather than through them.
I’d like to add that mentorship needs to be
consistent, they need to make time for you and they need to allow you sometimes
to fail. Failure is often the best lesson in winning that you’ll ever get.
I hope that you’ll start
moving UP in the world and not just on with it.
