By Jashan Patel, Talent Solutions Specialist 
 
"Mentoring has played a significant role in my professional journey. It’s provided guidance, support and information to allow me to envision and bring about new possibilities and empowered me to make career decisions and life choices with certainly. 
 
Beyond the benefits to the person receiving the mentoring, such as accelerated career growth, a successful journey, feeling valued and insights into new possibilities, it also has huge advantages to the mentor themselves… 
 
Self-education through others 
 
For starters, if in a leadership position, it allows the mentor to get to know individuals on a more personal level, providing valuable insight into their motivations and drivers. But there’s so much more to it than that. With an open and honest mindset, it enables the mentor to learn more about themselves. It’s very much self-education through others. 
 
Businesses benefit from mentoring too 
 
It allows them to be a conscious organisation, and by operating in purposeful and meaningful ways, they will, in turn, retain employees and attract new talent with shared values. 
 
That’s because mentoring shows that people are valued as individuals and not just as a resource carrying out a function. 
 
The ideal mentor 
 
It may seem obvious, but the ability to listen, be present and coach, whilst possessing a natural desire to help others, are basically the essential requirements. To be an effective mentor, you don’t actually have to know everything, and through the art of questioning, individuals can arrive at their own realisations. 
 
With all the mutual benefits to businesses, mentors and mentorees, it seems obvious that all organisations should be prioritising this as a standard. However, there's a time cost, so businesses must be able to see the value or it’s not going to happen. I strongly believe mentoring is one of the best investments a business can make into its workforce. After all, for most companies, their people are one of their most important assets. 
 
Another ‘blocker’ is that many people believe mentoring is a formal process. However, mentoring can be quite simply grabbing a coffee and having a chat about a specific topic. 
 
Mentoring is about the journey 
 
Through mentoring, you get insights into others, but also into yourself. If you have a thirst for knowledge and self-development, mentoring, from both sides, is well worth getting involved in. To experience the full value, mentors and mentorees must be prepared to be honest with themselves and willing to put themselves out there. 
 
There's a great saying people don't quit an organisation, they leave their boss. However, it’s up to an organisation to establish good values. Mentoring is a top-down approach, and for it to work effectively across the business it has to be part of its DNA. 
 
I believe building leadership and mentoring should always be a top priority. Productive and happy team members are those that feel supported, regardless of their skill level… after all, as the great saying goes, skillset without the mindset will equal upset." 
 
If you have any experiences, tips or insights on mentoring to share with Jashan, he’d love to hear from you at jashan.patel@ir77.co.uk 
 
Tagged as: mentoring
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