While you, as a mentor, will bring quite a bit of knowledge, experience, and insight to the relationship, it's important to note that effective mentoring is built on respect for the mentee. Some mentors have the desire to see the mentee do things "their way" and are discouraged when a mentee makes another choice. The cornerstone of mentoring is empowerment: helping another person discover their own strengths and talents, as well as allowing them to make mistakes and then learn from those mistakes.
An effective mentor provides guidance and then lets go. Think about your ability to provide information in a neutral way and allow mentees to pick and choose what they want to use. How would this feel to you?
We've already identified that a mentoring relationship is established largely to help the mentee achieve goals and move forward in their professional growth and development. Given that premise, it's crucial that a mentor be sensitive to and willing to assist with the mentee's self-image and confidence level. It's been reported that two-thirds of the population suffer from low self-esteem and, therefore, there is little need in a mentoring relationship to focus on the mentee's weaknesses. Instead, focus on your mentee's strengths, discover opportunities to build on those strengths, and create space for new strengths to emerge.
Download the Confidence Impact Plan (pdf) for more opportunity to think about and plan for this mentor role.
As a mentor, it's critical that you:
Next Section: Mentoring Skills
Mentoring Topics
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