Getting into the mentoring mindset

By ExecutiveBrief Staff

To help things along, here is a simple checklist for getting into the mentoring mindset. Do you have all of these?

• An individual must have a genuine desire to help. The mentoring relationship usually works when it develops naturally between certain parties. When a mentor imparts wisdom or shares an experience, the protégé is more receptive—because there’s no ulterior motive to worry about.
• An individual must have had positive experiences himself with a mentor. The mentor passes a torch along that has already been lit by previous mentors. He adapts what and how he learned to current circumstances and protégés. Those who have had positive experiences with a mentor tend to be good mentors themselves.
• An individual should have a good reputation for developing others. It helps to be credible. A good record of having helped or inspired others will attract protégés.
• An individual must have up-to-date skills and knowledge. Willingness is not enough; an individual must be skilled and knowledgeable himself to be able to recognize the potentials in others and develop them. For example, it would be very difficult for a good-natured but tone-deaf person to develop the singing skills of another; or a successful individual with a specific background to cater to those coming from a different background.
• An individual must have the appropriate learning attitude. We are constantly learning and developing. A mentor who accepts this, that he or she could learn even from those being mentored, has a healthy learning attitude. A healthy learning attitude often translates to effective mentoring.

If everything and everyone is interconnected, we make an impact on the world whether we mean to or not. When we mean to, as we do when we mentor, we create a stronger splash, with repercussions that spread wider, that touch more lives. Getting into the mentoring mindset is crucial then, so when we do create that impact we do not make a mess—as the well meaning aspiring writer did in that library of people’s lives. Maybe, if we make such a neat job of it we’ll help create a story instead that will need precious little editing.

     Email This Article      Print This Article