A Guide to Being a Good Mentor

If done right, mentoring can be a highly rewarding experience. It positively impacts both parties involved (i.e., the mentor and the mentee) and nurtures a strong, trusting, and candid relationship between the participants. Mentoring is also a skill good leaders excel in, which is why it’s imperative to include it in youth leadership development programs and workshops.

While being asked to mentor someone can feel like being bestowed an honor, it can also be overwhelming and intimidating for individuals new to mentorship. After all, you’re essentially being asked to become your peer or subordinate’s trusted advisor, their confidante, someone they can rely on for help. How do you show them the ropes and guide them to navigate things without coming across as bossy, unapproachable, and incoherent?

That’s what this guide is all about. Keep reading to learn how you can be a good mentor.

Establish What You Wish to Achieve

Step one: set goals for your mentorship experience. Mentorship isn’t a one-way street. Both the mentee and the mentor are aiming to get something out of the experience, and the process will affect both participants. Therefore, it’s imperative that you understand why you’re doing this, how it’ll benefit you and your mentee, and what you hope to achieve from your experience.

For instance, think of the kind of relationship you want to build through mentoring. Are you aiming to keep it casual, or do you prefer a more formal approach? And how do you plan on establishing boundaries and setting the tone for your relationship?

Similarly, think of the skills you wish to learn through this experience. Maybe you want to enhance your interpersonal skills. Maybe you wish to unlock your leadership potential. Or, maybe there’s a technical area of expertise you wish to sharpen. Determine what you want to get out of this to ensure you can work toward achieving it.

Of course, you can’t set mentoring goals without getting your mentee involved. This means that before you start, you need to have an open and honest conversation with them. Discuss how you intend to go about the mentorship experience, what it’ll cover, and what expectations you have from them. Similarly, ask them to share what they wish to learn from the experience and what their expectations from you are. This will help you both stay on the same page and will also help you reshape your mentoring approach if needed.

Be Approachable

As obvious as it sounds, this is something many individuals entering mentorship roles struggle with. How approachable should you be? What does approachable even mean for your relationship?

Yes, you want to build a connection with your mentee that encourages them to reach out to you without hesitation. However, you don’t want to be available all the time. This means you need to practice boundary setting and effective communication every step of the way.

For instance, let them know you’re there to help them during specific hours or days. You can also specify communication channels. Secondly, take the lead when it comes to building a connection. Your mentee may hesitate to approach you on their own. However, you reaching out to them first and inquiring about their progress can ease things and encourage them to communicate frequently.

Becoming approachable also means adopting an enthusiastic and helpful tone while communicating. Curt replies or to-the-point communication can prevent the development of a candid relationship. Your mentee may hesitate to reach out to you if they feel you’re uninterested in or irked by their queries. Show them you’re invested in their growth by communicating in a friendly and candid manner.

‍Offer Appreciation & Encouragement

A kind word goes a long way! This doesn’t mean you should falsely praise your mentee or end every interaction with “You’re the best!” However, make sure you’re acknowledging their efforts, encouraging them along the way, and celebrating their milestones and achievements with them. Your words of encouragement and appreciation will show your mentee their progress isn’t going unnoticed and will motivate them to do better.

You should also offer positive affirmations after setbacks. This will help your mentee learn from their failures, encourage them to keep trying and inspire them to strive for greatness. Knowing that someone has your back and believes in you is more impactful than you’d think!

Creating Better Mentors Through Our Youth Development Programs

Effective mentorship goes a long way, creating better mentors and mentees. It helps all participants learn new skills, re-evaluate their goals, and work towards growth opportunities.

Youth With a Future is a non-governmental organization that helps young individuals develop core life skills through youth training and workshops. It helps the urban youth become better mentors by developing their interpersonal skills.

Get in touch with their leadership team today to fund their youth development opportunities!

The author of this guest post is a start-up founder, a motivational speaker, and a volunteer at Youth With A Future.