Being a mentor and leading by example can profoundly impact your staff and peers' well-being and performance. A study by Deloitte found that mentored employees feel they perform better and are more satisfied with their job.
Staff can look to you for support and guidance in both their professional and personal behaviours. Mentorship can be formal or informal but will pass down wisdom and experience in a specific field.
What does it take to be an effective mentor? Find out below:
1. Build a relationship
Find someone who shares similar values and ideas about common topics, and get to know each other better. Grab a coffee or lunch and chat about common goals and interests to help build trust and understanding of one another. It also helps to share ideas and create a collaborative workplace.
2. Motivate
Encourage your employees to work to their full potential and best abilities. Help them reach their goals and values towards building great products and services for the organisation. As a result, they will become more engaged in their work and look to help others.
3. Positive role model
Set an excellent example for your protege and all your staff. Build confidence in your team by giving praise and providing constructive criticism. Your business may be in unfavourable circumstances, but it's good practice to see the silver lining.
4. Listen
Take the time out of your busy schedule to check in and listen to feedback, ideas or criticisms your staff may have. Understand the perspective of your protege and be proactive in reaching out. Sometimes, you may offer help before employees realise they need it.
5. Trustworthy
There are many ways of becoming a trustworthy and reliable mentor for your staff. But, you must be willing to share ideas and be open with your team.
You and your staff may not share the same opinions and perspectives and live opposite lives. A mentor must be willing to pass on their expert knowledge and form new ideas regarding their business and industry.
6. Write it down
Mentors should write down and identify the goals they wish to achieve in their professional relationship with their protege. Defining your goals ensures how successful you are.
A mentor-protege relationship works both ways and requires the effort of everyone in the relationship.
Inspire Others
Developing a mentorship program can be beneficial for your business in numerous ways. Employees within your company can build stronger, lasting relationships. A creative flow of ideas and new concepts can be discussed and debated.
It can help bring different departments together and work towards key business objectives to serve their customers better.
Healthy work cultures require close and strong relationships. If everyone is on the same page and is unselfish in offering support, it puts your business in a healthy place. Be open to continuous feedback from your staff and be ready to implement new ideas.
For more helpful reading, here's how to become a professional mentor.
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