“We make a living by what we get, we make a life by what we give” – Winston Churchill
In the beginning of his career, Winston Churcill had a mentor in Bourke Cockran a British Lawyer and Politician. If Churcill mentored any one particular himself I have not figured out, however with quotes like this, he inspired many.
A mentor is a professional advisor; usually two of the most important qualities of a good mentor are that they have “learning attitude,” and “effective managerial skills.” If you have this qualities I encourage you to become a mentor, to a fellow novice as myself.
Last week, I read a blog post from an internationally recognized young entrepreneur. He wrote that he never had a mentor and he thought that the reasons where that; character did not fit with a mentor and many think of him and others like him as “young people who think they know everything.”
I was a bit surprised by this, because I have never looked for a mentor but I have always seemed to have mentors, and has he is some one I admire I just assumed that he had many mentors and supporters.
Have you heard the Buddhist proverb:
“When the student is ready the teacher will come”
When I have needed guidance and help, the help has come in one way or another. I guess I never asked the question “would you be my mentor?” instead I just asked questions and the relationship that has formed between me and the more experience people I have asked, have become a mentoring one because of this.
No matter if you get asked to become a mentor or just naturally find yourself in that position, I encourage you to do it, and here are a few reasons why.
Teaching make you analyze and draw conclusions of your work
It is one thing to know something and to do that, it is another thing to explain how it is done for someone else. Teaching and explaining what you do, make you look at things differently and learn them more thoroughly. Therefore you will become better at what you do by constantly teaching it to someone else, and depending on the level of expertise of your mentee, you might have to become better at what you do to be able to fully answer the questions you get. This can also lead to advancement in your own career as you will show the features that are wanted in people who are promoted: unselfishness, desire to develop and leadership etc.
You have a better change to stay connected with what is “new”
If you are a few years into your career, it is very likely that the things you were taught in school have changed since you graduated. In most fields, things such as strategies and techniques changes very fast, and it is harder to stay updated when you are working full time. Therefore, a mentee can assist you by teaching you about the latest development and what is taught now compared to when you where in school. Thus, you can get a competitive advantage and get a wider picture by letting the mentee teach you stuff as well.
The relationship is both give and take.
As I just said; the mentee can teach you things as well. However, this is not the only way the relationship goes both ways. Maybe the mentee have a few connections that you can benefit from. Or computer knowledge that can help you with you online resume? Or be a very good listener, who you can speak to about changing career without judgment? Sure, you are the more experienced in the relationship, but that does not mean that you cannot gain from it. I think that the relationship is even better if you benefit from it, both because you will be more inspired to teach if you get something back, and because the mentee can feel that him or her is contributing as well.
With that said, the benefits of being a mentor is plenty; You become better at way you do, by teaching and analyzing. You stay connected with what is new and gain competitive advantage. And the benefits of the relationships goes both ways.
So what is there to wait for? Go and find you novice and start mentoring today!








Recent Comments