Could I become a mentor?
Author Martina Knitter, Mentoring Team AICR Switzerland
After our last article of Sebastian becoming a new mentor we have received some requests:
mainly with one question: Could I be a mentor- what skills would I need ?
Even though we believe everyone can be a mentor we want to emphasis on four skills you need:
- Experience in the area you’re mentoring someone
You can’t be an effective mentor if you don’t have experience in the area of expertise your mentee needs. For instance, if your mentee is thinking of becoming a nurse, it probably makes sense for you to have nursing experience. - The ability to teach at an individual level
To become a mentor, you need leadership skills. You need to be able to customize your approach to the specific person you’re mentoring. You need to be able to read a person to see if a teaching approach is working or not. And you need to know how to course-correct and adapt when needed. - The desire to help someone reach their potential
A great mentor wants to see their mentee reach soaring heights. They want them to fulfill their goals and live their fullest life. They want them to feel invigorated. - Communication skills
Every mentor needs proper communication skills to have a successful mentor-mentee relationship. It’s the only way to discuss how to develop the mentee’s path forward.
Within the comunication skills we would like to highlight:
- demonstrate positive attidude: Positive attitude is the key to success. A mentor with good mentoring skills is always optimistic and enthusiastic about guiding others.
- active listening: Listening is much more than receiving or hearing. It is an active process where you make a conscious decision to listen with intention. You are mentally present for the mentoring session and observe non-verbal cues such as eye contact, body language, facial expression, etc.
- empathy: Empathy is the ability to put yourself in someone else’s shoes; the awareness of the feelings and emotions of other people. The elements of empathy are emotional intelligence, attention, listening, and demonstration of interest through body language.
- ability to give honest feedback: It is a critical skill for mentors. If they shy away from giving constructive feedback, the mentee will never grow. That’s why mentors must feel comfortable with giving honest feedback. A skilled mentor knows how to give negative feedback with a positive twist so that the mentee walks away with positivity and uses the feedback to improve themselves.
(Quellen/ Blog: Mentoing complete; Better up)
For more information we suggest you read through some of our previous articles:
There are different kind of mentors, you might want to clarify for yourself: In which one do you see yourself?
If you want to find out why others have become mentors : read our article-
Are you interested in joining the mentoring Team or have further questions? donßt hesitate to contact us on
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