Mentor Qualities
What I believe to be the top 5 Qualities of a good mentor
In preparing the participating students for the role of a mentor, I have provided 5 qualities of a good mentor, explaining why they are each important and tips on how to demonstrate these qualities.
- Be there and Listen
· Jackson 5’s “I’ll Be There” speaks of one person’s availability and presence for another. Being there for another person speaks volumes, more than words or any other action could possibly convey. Human beings become emotionally bonded to the people they frequently encounter and get to know. Mentors should not underestimate the power of the communication that comes from the simple interaction with mentees.
· Tips:
1) Be accessible to mentee
2) Make time and interaction with mentee a priority
3) Be approachable to mentees
2. Get to Know Mentee
· Mentors observe mentees in various situations, listen to them, and show interest in their dreams and aspirations. They are especially attentive to the mentee’s fears and personal challenges — acknowledging them as real but refusing to let the mentee see them as insurmountable. To obtain an insightful understanding of mentees, mentors need to have a personal relationship with them.
· Tips:
1) Deliberately study and learn about your mentee
2) Identify and label mentee’s talents and strengths and then communicate them
3) Look for patterns in mentees that occur across various settings, relationships, etc.
3. Encourage and Support
· When a mentor is friendly, open, approachable, and consistently encouraging, mentees are more at ease with risk-taking, more assured that they can succeed, and more comfortable asking for advice and assistance.
· Tips:
1) Seek opportunities to offer support, praise, and encouragement
2) Supportive mentors are genuine, consistent, warm, and accepting
3) Encouragement and support is foundational, but may not be easy to practice
4. Display Dependability and Trustworthiness
· Talk is cheap. Excellent mentoring demands consistency and reliability; it occasionally requires self-sacrifice. Good intentions mean little when they are not backed up by behavior. With trustworthiness, say what you mean and mean what you say. Caring enough to confront enhances the mentee’s sense of trust.
1) Make following through with commitments to your mentee a priority
2) Demonstrate trustworthiness with consistency, reliability, and integrity
3) Maintain confidence and protect mentee disclosures
5. Embrace Humor
· Last, but certainly not least, mentors with a knack for good humor is often perceived as fully human, approachable, and fun to be around. Humor normalizes the experiences of mentees, minimizes their fears, and reminds them that few things in life are really catastrophic. One of the best uses of humor in a mentorship is in helping mentees not take themselves too seriously.
· Tips:
1) Laugh at yourself often as a means of modeling humility and perspective
2) Teach mentees to mix work and laughter
3) Avoid using humor to belittle mentees or trivialize matters important to them
