What Does a Mentor Do?

What Does a Mentor Do?

There are many professionals who will volunteer or donate their time to others in need of advice or support, and these people can come from all kinds of backgrounds. This happens between two people, and it is known as a mentoring relationship. It is usually a more experienced person in the same field of work. This relationship can be established informally with someone who is a supervisor, manager or even an employer. This relationship might also happen with a person who is in a senior position or who simply has more experience in a particular field of work.

Organized programs are sometimes created by groups of people who are now more interested in offering assistance to others than to pursuing individual ambitions. One prominent example is the Small Business Administration’s program for entrepreneurs and retired business people. This program allows people to connect with other experts in their field to give all types of support as needed. This may include applying for bank loans, writing a business plan or obtaining financing.

What is a Mentor?

Mentors are people who have accumulated valuable experience and insights in a specific field. These are often business people who share their time helping others who are starting out in their careers. This often requires the mentor to focus more time on helping the person who is starting a career, and this takes time away from other activities that the experienced person could be doing.

The process is meant to primarily benefit the person receiving the guidance. This can easily lead people to wonder why a person would want to engage in this activity in the first place. Since this valuable time could be used to advance the skilled person's own goals instead, why would she or he choose to donate this time and effort to another person?

People will take on this responsibility for a variety of reasons. It is a unique relationship, and it can be very rewarding on both the personal and professional levels. The person receiving the mentorship often needs assistance. This can include guidance, but it may also include other types of support. For example, the senior person might provide insights that motivate the junior person to continue persevering through adverse conditions.

Different Styles and Techniques of Mentoring

Some mentorship relationships are based on a dynamic that resembles two peers working together on a problem. In the business world, this might involve two co-workers, for example. If one of them has less experience dealing with the specific problem or task, this might become a type of apprenticeship. This is common during the first few weeks on the job when a new hire is still learning how to get around the work site. The relationship might even change later as the person becomes more confident and experienced dealing with the work environment.

Other mentorship programs are more formal, and this can include career mentorships, life coaching and other official programs. These relationships tend to be more focused towards accomplishing a specific objective. Each style of mentoring is slightly different, yet there are still some common threads between them all. For example, active listening skills will always play a role in any relationship. This is the first step in establishing communication that can later be used to convey success or point out areas for improvement.

What All Great Mentors Do

Each style of mentoring is a little bit different. This can become one of the biggest strengths of the relationship. In fact, each relationship should be treated as a unique opportunity for both sides. Taking the time to examine the type of commitment and communication styles used in the very beginning helps things along when difficulties arise. One of the most basic skills any adviser can develop is the ability to wait for the right time to offer advice.

Timing is incredibly important, and most people will be open to hearing advice if they already feel understood. This is also the reason why actively listening to the junior person's views can help to establish basic trust from the very beginning of the relationship. Thoughtful responses can only happen once a situation is fully understood. Listening to a person and asking occasional questions can be the best way to figure out what is really happening.

Here is a summary of the qualities of a helpful relationship:

1.Actively listen to the person without interrupting or giving advice prematurely. Emotional intelligence is a skill that takes practice in order to develop. The role often includes acting as a sounding board for the benefit of another person. This requires the senior person to withhold advice until the situation is fully understood.

2.Avoid making assumptions about the person or their situation. Asking appropriate questions is the best way to get information that can lead to more productive conversations. Open-ended questions are usually the most helpful because they give the person an opportunity to express the problem in their own words. In many cases, this also allows the person to think the problem through, and sometimes the solution will become apparent just by having a productive dialogue. 

3.Contribute to the conversation only when the person has had an opportunity to describe the problem in detail. Advisers who are able to help the person see their own situation with more clarity tend to have the most positive impact. They are also respected because they avoid trying to lead the conversation into a particular area. It is helpful to phrase questions in a way that assumes that the person is capable of coming up with a solution. 

4.Great relationships flourish when the senior person allows room for error. Admitting past mistakes can help to open up the space so that there is room for growth. If the person looking for advice is afraid to make mistakes, the entire relationship can suffer. Instead, mistakes should be handled as learning opportunities.

Handling Difficulties

During the early stages of this relationship, boundaries and expectations will be set. This is good because it often helps to reduce misunderstandings along the way. Handling challenges is a central part of this relationship, so it should be expected that a difficult subject might arise at some point. When this happens, it might seem tempting to fire off a response as a reflex. However, instant reactions are seldom practical to the person who needs the help.

Experienced people will also recognize the need to become capable of demonstrating positive behaviors that can be emulated in the future. Every challenging conversation presents this opportunity because disagreements are inevitable. It is always best to take a break from any conversation that introduces topics that are too difficult or risky to tackle right away. Taking the time to get additional information can provide the space necessary to diffuse a tense situation.

Summary

Mentorships can seem easy until the process gets going. The most important skill a mentor can possess is the ability to listen actively. Many people just need a person to talk to who is able to understand the challenges that they are facing. When a person who is starting out their career takes the time to seek the advice of a more experienced and skilled adviser, there might be a temptation to provide advice without really listening carefully. This is usually what determines the quality of the relationship. Mentors who have the capacity to listen actively instead of imposing their own ideas prematurely usually win the respect and trust of the person who is being mentored.