I've always surrounded myself with people smarter, more experienced, knowledgeable and skillful than me. It just seems to make sense. Having people I could seek guidance from has made a huge difference in my career. And I know it made the difference to other people too, especially now that the job market has become so competitive.
Typically, a mentoring relationship develops between someone who is new in a profession and a more experienced person in the field. And a mentor’s guidance can be of much importance in a mentees career life.
Mentors teach mentees everything they were not taught in school as they build their professional career. They also provide a support base when the mentees make critical transitions, such as taking a new job, returning to work from maternity or dealing with stress in their lives.
This support helps the mentees develop confidence when dealing with other professionals, and pushes them to challenge themselves to achieve new goals and explore alternatives.
For the mentor, the mentorship enhances skills, develops talent, and gives them the satisfaction that they helped somebody reach their professional goals. It also raises the mentor’s esteem, self-confidence and creates a legacy.
So what are the things to look for in a mentor ?
A mentor should be someone with an open door and is willing to answer questions. They should be someone whose advise, counsel and guidance can easily be sought, and who has experience, wisdom and an understanding of internal office dynamics.
Emotional intelligence
They should also be someone working in the same functional area like you, who shares your values. Look for mentors who possess emotional intelligence, intuition, a drive to keep learning and a desire to bring about change.
As the relationship progresses, be sure to reveal as much of yourself as possible. Mentors are most likely to invest their time in those who remind them of themselves. Cultivate trustworthiness, and have the ability to keep confidences to the mentoring relationship.
The relationship is also beneficial when the mentee approaches the mentor with openness, honesty, introspection, realistic expectation, accountability and ability to admit mistakes.
In most cases, a mentor will invest more in the relationship than the mentee. So be sure to express regularly that you value and appreciate your mentor’s guidance.
Although the feeling that one is needed and making a difference is a rewarding payoff for the mentor, a mentee can supplement this reward with a token gift every once in a while.
You will know if the relationship is working if your mentor encourages your goals, provide honest and constructive feedback, helps you develop self awareness, challenge you to grow beyond your perceived limitations and motivates you to join professional organisations that can help you advance.
Source: The Standard
The author Dr Julius Olayo is the deputy director Human Resource and Administration at Kenya Forest Service
