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May 6, 2020 3 Unlikely Benefits of Mentoring

Two women having coffee

Mentoring might seem like a one-sided deal on the surface. You put your heart and soul into training a new hire, you meet with them and provide resources, you answer questions. It all seems very time-consuming and, perhaps, a little annoying, BUT what if I told you mentoring is not a one-sided deal? What if I told you both parties—you and your mentee—benefit from your relationship?

Note: Ultimately, mentoring is about building up confidence and skills in another person. It’s not a selfish act. As a mentor, you’ll put in a few extra hours and some extra effort. A good mentor truly cares about nurturing and guiding their mentee.

However, that doesn’t mean there aren’t a few benefits for you! If you’re on the fence about mentoring, these 3 unlikely benefits might push you toward doing it:

1. It’s a chance to set a precedence

If you think the office is in need of some changes, you can set a new precedence with your mentee. If you think there’s too much gossip, a poor work ethic standard, or too many people handing in their assignments after they’re due, NOW is the time to start changing that. Helping instill good habits in your mentee not only helps them in the long run, but improves the office overall.

2. It can reveal knowledge gaps

One of the best ways to prove you know your stuff is to explain what you do to others. If you find you can’t answer all your mentees’ questions or cannot fully explain a certain aspect of your job, that might mean you need to brush up on that particular area.

By the way, if your mentee stumps you with a question, don’t fudge an answer. That’s doing both of you a disservice. Instead, use this as an opportunity to deepen your knowledge and learn something new.

3. It builds your reputation

If you volunteer to be a mentor, you’re demonstrating that you’re willing to go the extra mile to help the company. You also position yourself as a leader—someone who knows their stuff well enough to tutor others. Building this kind of reputation is not only good for your standing in the office, but also makes you more promotion-worthy.

Aside from the benefits I listed, mentoring can be a rewarding endeavor in itself. Helping someone learn and grow within your company is the kind of valuable work that can’t be assigned a price. Mentoring might give you a few personal benefits, but ultimately, it’s about building the competencies and instilling confidence in a new co-worker.

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October 9, 2019 5 Benefits of Mentoring Others

Hands holding a seedling
Image via Pixabay

Striking out fresh in any career comes with its own set of challenges. If you’re lucky, you’ll enter into your industry with a few contacts and entry level skills before having to navigate where to look for employment and how to distinguish yourself from a large pool of talent. While this generation of young people are capable workers in their own right, young professionals don’t have the benefit of having experienced an industry for a decade or two like their superiors. Mentoring others provides a unique opportunity to fill in the gaps for these workers and offers many rewarding benefits:  

1 . Better Outcomes and Relationships

Mentoring, like tutoring, is an interpersonal skill. When people feel their voice is heard and being encouraged to grow, they are much more likely to remain engaged with their work and voice concerns more confidently. Any time you can foster better feedback from your team, the stronger the team becomes.

2. Reputation

Building a reputation as a mentor in your industry can become a distinguishing part of your career. Often, companies seek to draw upper-talent from pools of candidates that are known in professional circles to be helpful leaders and actively collaborative. Mentoring your employees demonstrates both of these skills easily and clearly, particularly for mentors who’ve done so throughout their career. As the adage goes: “You get back what you put in.”

3. Professional Development

Just because someone can benefit from the guidance of a mentor doesn’t mean they’re without skills to bring to the table. New workers, especially young people, often come with the proficiencies or strategies needed to approach new technology or use new software. You can take advantage of the personal relationship you strike with your mentee to have them teach you how to effectively use these tools. You both walk away more competent.

4. Networking

Life is long and careers often take unexpected twists and turns. The analyst that started at your company five years ago may quickly rise in the ranks of the industry to a sector you’re interested in doing business with or simply learning more about. The more people you can foster a mentoring relationship with, the wider you cast your net across the next generation of leaders. These relationships may end up among the most important in your working life.

5. Personal Fulfillment

Any teacher can attest to this last benefit. Mentoring is an opportunity to open yourself to others whose perspective may be entirely different from your own. Learning from one another about subjects that extend beyond the scope of your job will enrich you personally and professionally.

Mentoring others is essential to bridging the gap between generations of workers. Stepping up to help guide colleagues through this process will not only reward your mentee and yourself, but your industry as a whole. So take a leap and share what you know!

MARGARET SMITH IS A CAREER COACH, AUTHOR, INSIGHTS® DISCOVERY (AND DEEPER DISCOVERY) LICENSED PRACTITIONER, AND FOUNDER OF UXL. SHE HOSTS WORKSHOPS FOR PEOPLE WHO NEED CAREER OR PERSONAL GUIDANCE. 
NOW LIVE: CHECK OUT MARGARET’S NEW ONLINE LEADERSHIP COURSE.

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April 17, 2019 4 Steps To Find Your Perfect Mentor

working with a mentor

With any job, we all rely on guidance from our supervisors and peers to learn the ropes and develop new strategies for accomplishing tasks. These people serve as coaches and mentors, and can be a principle reason for creative and professional success.

A mentor’s experience is a resource as valuable as any skill in your personal toolbox, but finding the right person for the role can be challenging in a new environment. As you begin your search, you may find a few of these strategies useful:

1. Identify your process and values

As we grow, we try out and exchange work habits and strategies to make ourselves more effective. Finding a mentor who speaks to you starts with understanding yourself and how you work. What are the values that drive you? How do they translate to the type of work you do and which projects or responsibilities you’d like to take on?  What are the pain points and blind spots of your working style that others may need to accommodate for or address? These questions are important to ask and reflect upon when seeking a mentor. Knowing their answers to some degree will help when approaching others for help.

2. Look across disciplines

Everybody brings a unique mix of experience and ability to the table in an organization. A person’s job description doesn’t always tell you everything about the perspective they bring or their ability to teach. If you are worried or intimidated by reaching out to folks in your own department, making connections outside your usual circle and observing how people attack problems may shed a learning light you never considered before.

3. Establish rapport

Mentors are not always our closest friends, but a good mentor will be someone who respects your goals and spends time to observe and understand your learning process. Get to know folks who’ve joined the team before you and communicate your respect for their role and the work they’ve done. If you’re not familiar with these details, friendly chats over lunch or a drink can provide a way to accrue insight casually and over an extended period of time.

4. Develop yourself and network

Professional associations often offer conferences and seminars to learn the ropes of new skills or discuss innovation within a given industry. If you feel like your office lacks the means to provide the guidance you seek, attend trainings and make connections – either with fellow learners or the speakers. Handing out business cards and picking someone’s brain for 15 minutes may be all it takes to find a new teacher.

Finding a mentor isn’t always easy, but the returns for your efforts can be transformative. Keep an open mind, and be honest with yourself if you aren’t getting what you need on the first attempt. If you keep at it, often the right guidance is never too far away . Stay positive and get cracking.

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