Mentoring: Do You Have What It Takes?
Characteristics of a Good Mentor
The concept of mentoring while having a universal or common objective of upgrading employee’s knowledge and skills is no longer limited to teaching the what, how, why, who and when. It now includes the re-orientation of both professional and personal values, influencing attitudes, and changing behaviors of the mentee. It is also about developing a mentor-mentee relationship based on personal interaction. In the process, the mentor similarly adjusts. Imparting hard skills is no longer the only aspect of mentoring, as it is now commonly accepted that human behavior is equally or if not more important for an organization to achieve competitiveness and excellence. In this light, the question is: can anybody become a mentor?
What Makes a Good Mentor?
Not all successful managers make effective mentors. There are individuals who are more effective in developing others. Mentoring competency depends on one’s own professional stage of development and experience—and not all managers possess these. The qualifications can be lumped into five major aspects:
1) The desire and sincerity to help
2) The skills, knowledge and experience
3) The mentor’s availability and time
4) Mentor’s personal rapport and building relationships and confidence capabilities
5) Job security confidence
Desire and Sincerity to Help
Desire and sincerity to help others are the basic personal values of a mentor that serve as foundations in any mentoring activity. These are the motivational forces that create enthusiasm and passion to impart skills and knowledge to another person. These are the “invisibles” that develop an honest mentor-mentee relationship.
Skills, Knowledge and Experience
The quantity and quality of “contents” imparted to the mentee depend substantially on the mentor’s acquired skills, knowledge, and experience. These give the mentor the right, confidence, and authority to mentor. Possession of more superior skills, knowledge, and experience assures the mentee of the quality of mentoring services from the mentor. These reinforce mentor’s credibility.
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