What is the role of a mentor? Have you ever thought about the different ways a mentor can help you? What are the different goals and responsibilities involved in mentorship? Lastly, how do you go about finding a mentor? We can help, but we will share that after covering the basics.
We will answer each of these questions along with giving you an overview of why mentorship is a great way to help you with growth, development, and working toward goals.
Let us tackle the basics, first. Sound good? What is the role of the mentor? Then, we will focus on a basic description, and then dig into other details like responsibilities, learning, resources, and more.
What is the role of a mentor?
The role of the mentor is to guide, model, and share information about their job or the role it plays in their overall career. Together with your mentee, you will develop goals, look at ways to expand the mentee’s knowledge and network, as well as identify resources that are relevant and helpful.
In doing this, the role of a mentor includes teaching your mentee how to go about solving issues as they arise. It is not that you do it for them, but rather show them how to do it. With proper direction, they will be able to use those skills needed as their career develops. You are helping build them up and learn how to expand their knowledge base.
When it comes to the role of a mentor, they can help make an impact in your career by showing you a better, more obvious path via networking help, goals, and more. Though, it only works when you contribute to your success as well. Think of it as teamwork, with an encouraging leader that has been where you are.
Description of a mentor
A mentor opens a door to knowledge you might not have had access to otherwise. They can help you accelerate in an area you are trying to succeed in. They are also a reliable figure who can help you build skills, while empowering you with expert guidance.
“Behind every great leader, at the base of every great tale of success, you will find an indispensable circle of trusted advisors, mentors, and colleagues.”
– Gopendra Patel
The role of a mentor is to guide you, while encouraging their mentee to tackle problems as they arise. The mentor can help shorten the learning curve, and help their mentee understand valuable skills that will advance or enhance their career.
Thriving communities’ matter
A supportive community of peers is a great way to stay connected with those who are focused on growing themselves in a like-minded manner. They are a central point in which you can share resources and work together in a cohesive way.
THE IMPOSSIBLE IS POSSIBLE, has a thriving community of active participants. Knowing there are people to answer questions, share different information, resources, and knowledge brings a sense of relief when you are hoping to find solutions.
A good question to ask is what are the essential qualities of a great mentor? We asked, and our community answered. Here were a few qualities mentioned:
- Experience
- Fits with your goals
- Enthusiasm on the subject
- Offers guidance and feedback
- Challenges you to do best
A mentor’s responsibilities and duties
What are the mentor’s responsibilities and duties? What are good characteristics of a good mentor?
- Offer support and encouragement to the mentee as they advance their knowledge
- Track the progress of their mentee to see what other resources may be needed
- Help the mentee identify people to connect with for networking
- Help create a plan of action that leads the mentee forward on their career path
- Communicate how the process will work, the means of contact, and discuss the amount of time you’ve both committed to
- If you are not familiar with an area the mentee asks about, be honest and seek out answers how you are able to find out the right solution.
- Also, follow up and see how the mentee is doing, as they continue their learning path and career
A mentor has been through those situations before and learned via the school of hard knocks. The role of a great mentor is to guide you through shortcuts that you can take to achieve your goals and advance in your career.
That is the bonus of having a mentor, they are somebody who has gone through these scenarios before. You get to learn from somebody who has been where you are and found new ways to make things work when the obvious method you thought would work, does not. Now that you know what the duties of a mentor are, what can you take from this?
What are some of the mentoring goals every mentor needs to work on? Good question. We all need goals, and in this case, we will look at it from the mentor’s side of things.
Mentoring goals every mentor needs to work on
At THE IMPOSSIBLE IS POSSIBLE, one of the important things we focus on is matching the right mentee with the right mentor. With a large community of mentors, you can browse through our mentor section and find a mentor that feels right for you.
The best part is there are different ways to work with your mentor to make things easier for you to succeed. So, with that in mind, let us get back to mentoring goals. What are some goals that mentors should work on? Now, let us dig into mentoring goals
Here are a few to start with:
- Being committed to following through
- Active listening skills
- Offer concise, clear, helpful feedback
- Set boundaries and limits, and respect those of your mentees
When it comes to advancing your career, there is no better way than working with a mentor. They have been in your shoes, where you are, and know how to get to the next level. Learning skills, understanding what resources are valuable, and knowing who it is important to network with are all things that you can accelerate by choosing a strong mentor.
