How to Be an Effective Mentor

culled from:wikihow.com

Steps

1

Choose your mentees wisely. A good personality match is essential to a successful mentoring relationship, whether you are becoming a mentor through a formal program or have been approached by a junior professional seeking your guidance. Find someone whose success is important to you and someone you feel is genuinely open to your counsel.

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   Treat the mentoring relationship as a learning process for yourself as well as for the mentee.
   • You will have a chance to develop your leadership and managerial skills.
   • Ask for your mentees' feedback on how you can be most effective in helping their career development.
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   Listen to your mentees.
   • Find out what they hold as long-term career goals and the challenges they face in achieving them.
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   Dedicate time to the mentoring relationship. Arrange to meet and communicate regularly with your mentees for updates and to suggest new directions and share ideas.
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   Seek opportunities to advance your mentees' careers. Alert them to upcoming organizational changes and trends that may lead to new opportunities.
   • As a senior professional, you may be in a position to advocate for or suggest your mentees for positions that arise. You will be aware of their strengths as a match for opportunities.
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   Give honest positive and negative feedback.
   • Your constructive criticism may alert your mentees to potential problems before they hear about them in a performance review or job rejection.
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   Provide motivation and encouragement.
   • Having a professional mentor who believes in them when setbacks arise can keep mentees focused on the long term.
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   Share your own experiences and career story.
   • You will both benefit from this as you gain new insights sharing the ways that you have approached and handled situations; Your mentees will share in the perspective you have gained over time.
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   Set boundaries.
   • Maintaining your integrity will make you a more effective mentor and protect your career and those of the people you mentor. You must expect professional behavior from yourself and your prot�g�es.
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   Be a role model.
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    Your career continues to develop, as do your mentees' careers. Your mentees will not only benefit from your past experiences, but also from your ongoing example.