What does being a mentor mean?

You have certainly found yourself in countless situations in life when you need someone to give you advice, support, and help you make the right decision. Whether it was a decision concerning your career or life path you probably thought it would be good to have a mentor who will steer your lifeboat on the right course regardless of currents and storms. Ever since ancient Greece, old and wise mentors have guided students towards the development of a professional social and moral life.

Mentors present “knowledge and opportunity centers” that broaden our horizons, provide insight into their experiences that can be extremely useful to you, and can help you build a professional network. 

Often, they’re a source of connecting with people who can be very useful on the path of professional construction. But, not all mentors are equal, some can change our lives, some may not.

So how do we tell what makes a good mentor?

When you get out of the stigma that seeking help is a sign of weakness you open the door to mentoring. Mentoring is guided by the idea that your ship sails faster and progresses with the advisor.

EXPERIENCE

A good mentor, for starters, is a person who has the relevant expertise, experience and desire to share knowledge, which is manifested through the right way of transferring it. A good mentor will challenge you to step out of your comfort zone and open your eyes to perceive the environment from a different perspective. Experience will guide you to the development of your goals and provide answers to the questions: Who? What? When? and Where?

DOSING

You cannot expect a complete and exact solution to a current situation or problem from a good mentor, but only a draft of it. He will encourage you to develop a strategic answer to the current question yourself.

MORAL VALUES & HUMAN PSYCHOLOGY 

Besides the expertise and knowledge, your mentor should possess the right human and moral values. Although he is at a higher business level than you, he should always respect you and give you constructive criticism without a harsh approach. 

In order not to suffer the consequences of a mentoring experience, he needs to know human psychology. This is extremely important because emotions are a weakness in the business world, and above all what every man is guided by. A mentor is the one who finds balance in that. Your mentor needs to be honest and careful with your feelings because at the end of the day he acts for your progress.

PATIENCE & EMPATHY 

The virtue of a good and great mentor is also patience. They don’t give up easily and don’t expect instant results. Mentoring is an investment; the mentor invests his knowledge and experience in you through active listening and monitoring of both verbal and nonverbal communication through an empathic approach.

TRUST & HONESTY 

Relationships with any human being should be built on trust. Trust is the key to a successful relationship. You need to trust your mentor fully in order to share your fears, breaks that are on the path of your progress in every aspect. A good mentor is a man of trust who is very honest. Through mutual honesty, you achieve a healthy relationship that leads you to success.

SELF – CONFIDENCE & BEHAVIOUR 

It’s of great importance to surround yourself with strong, inspiring, and powerful energy. A good mentor has self-confidence and knows how to behave. Instead of proving and showing his ego, a good mentor must have the ability to critically review and challenge the protégé so that he doesn’t perceive it as a threat. 

“Mentoring is a brain to pick, an ear to listen, and a push in the right direction.” – John Crawford Crosby 

For closure, a good mentor is a specter of pure coaching and pure consulting. Are you a mentor? Do you have the values mentioned above?