Mentoring is an integral part of the growth and development of any organization.  Mentors promote good training and learning efforts.  Mentoring is actually a very old and well established way of teaching.  Most of us can remember a teacher, relative or friend who inspired us to learn and grow in ways that lasted a lifetime. A good mentor is first and foremost a teacher.  Instilling a desire to learn, and encouraging the ability to take risks is a mentors primary objective.

So, how does one become a great mentor?  Here are a few guidelines to consider.

First a mentor must understand the potential of the person they are mentoring. When mentors are aware of a person’s natural abilities and talents, they can guide them effectively.

A mentor needs to identify the personality traits of their student in order to understand what drives them to learn.

The mentor must then establish that they are compatible with their student and can make the relationship work.  Do they share similar values and beliefs?  Are their work ethics basically the same?   Do they share a mutual respect for each other?  And, as basic as it may sound, in order for a mentor/student relationship to work, they must like each other.

Mentors openly share personal experiences and achievements in order that the student will learn from the mentor’s failures as well as their successes.

It is also the mentor’s responsibility to help the student believe in his or her own potential and encourage them to develop their own interests and follow their dreams.

Mentors are there to instruct, to teach, to encourage, reward and inspire.  They are the ones who help their student up when they falter, and offer encouragement and reinforcement when they begin to doubt themselves.

Mentors encourage students to leave their comfort zones and try new things.  Mentors encourage risks in order that their students broaden their horizons and expand their experiences.

Mentor/student relationships require quite a large investment of both time and energy in order to succeed.  Mentoring can be an enormously rewarding and fulfilling experience for the mentor and be enriching and even life changing for the student.

Finally, the greatest challenge for mentors will be maintaining the right balance of friendliness and familiarity without becoming too personally involved.  Mentors must provide the right amount of support, encouragement and respect while counselling and clearly presenting areas for change and improvement.