Although mentoring is an excellent method to gain leadership experience, it takes commitment and compassion to keep the course. Simply put, mentoring mustn’t be taken lightly. Whether the mentee is undoubtedly an adult or youth, anyone will be relying upon you to be around and to provide guidance. Hence, this post suggests eight suggestions to ponder before the leap.
8 Tips
Consider your motive.
What will be your motive? This question supersedes everything. If you lack clarity and have a big enough why, you could possibly need to rethink mentoring being a strategy to acquire leadership experience. Aside from obtaining a combination of skills and qualities, you need to care about people and success. So, reflect carefully in your response to the most important question. At length, generating a difference need to be the major objective.
Write down your goals.
Deciding to become mentor is one area, but making a plan to get it done is another. For that purpose, develop SMART goals. As you may know, SMART means: Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic, and Timely.
What do you ought to accomplish over the following week or next calendar month? What do you want to perform in a year? Use a journal or spiral notebook to record the details. Plan to succeed.
Begin where it’s wise.
Several groups need mentors: youngsters transitioning beyond foster care, students (high school graduation and college), women re-entering work, women going back to the community after incarceration, troubled youth, very first time supervisors, entrepreneurs, etc. Where do you consider you can make the best impact?
Keep a balanced view.
Your mindset could make the difference. That’s why it really is imperative to stay away from being judgmental or biased. Both can stunt the development of the mentor-mentee relationship.
Perform thorough research.
Read literature to uncover the mission from the agency, the programs, and services. Who are the clients? What are their demands? Uncover the challenges and/or opportunities. Even though mentors receive training, never neglect your homework.
Think about potential challenges.
Be motivated to face any perceived limitations or fears. However, brainstorm approaches to overcome them.
Seek to help keep balance.
Effective mentors score well in buildings relationships and relationship building requires time. Still, you can’t lose sight within your other obligations. With that said, obtain a firm handle of the current schedule. Sharpen your efforts management skills so you don’t stress out.
Take the next phase.
If you will have completed all from the above, make your move. There’s no time such as the present to begin.