As mentioned in other LevelNext blog posts, the rewards of being a mentor can come in many forms.
Professionals who embrace mentorship have long since acknowledged the benefits of helping others towards their own goals and aspirations.
Like your Mom always taught you, it’s always better to give than receive. But in giving back, you’re also setting yourself up to receive some pretty sweet karma.
In this article we explore 10 meaningful reasons why mentorship should be a consideration on your radar.
Being a mentor will increase your communication skills.
Interactions with your mentees will vary due to a variety of factors. Those factors can include the traits of the individual, what their current role and responsibilities entail, their goals, or their present day skill sets just to name a few.
As you regularly conduct meetings with your mentee and discuss opportunities, options, strategy, and objectives, you’ll increase your own ability to collaborate and become better equipped to communicate successfully in other arenas of your life.
Being a mentor will increase your knowledge
As you interact with mentees, you’ll likely be revisiting experiences that you may have had during your career. As such, you just might have to recall skills and/or strategies you once utilized, but haven’t considered in a while. In addition, you may have to research or learn new methods to best empower your mentee. In either case, you’ll reap the benefits of added knowledge, refreshed or new.
Being a mentor increases leadership ability
The role of a mentor is a role of leadership. The investment of time you’ll spend with your mentee will also serve as a platform to improve your leadership skill and indluence.
As you work with your mentee, think back upon leaders who inspired you along the way. How did they do it? Now is your chance to utilize mentorship as a vehicle to raise the bar on your own leadership capability and impact.
Being a mentor can help you receive recognition
As a mentee is empowered with clear direction to a greater ability to achieve, it’s quite common for the mentee to give credit where credit is due. As a respected mentor, you may receive recognition which enhances your professional reputation and leads to additional opportunities in various capacities.
Being a mentor will expand your network
Networking is a valuable tool for any professionals who choose to embrace it. By making introductions and seeking connection opportunities where appropriate for your mentee, the value you may provide can open up unexpected doors for both parties. In addition, as you become a trusted advisor, you may be introduced to subsequent mentorship opportunities and meeting new people.
Being a mentor allows for you to give back
Knowing you have made a positive contribution to a mentee’s life is fulfilling work. We all know the emotion that comes from paying-it-forward. By giving back to the rising generations, you just might experience your most enjoyable labor.
Being a mentor enables you with better perspective
It’s easy to fall into patterns and specific regimens as we focus on work responsibilities. Mentorship opens new possibilities and unlocks fresh perspectives as you interact with a mentee, explore unique circumstances, and potentially discover or consider strategies which you otherwise would not. Exposure to new elements will likely increase your overall perspective, and creative thinking.
Being a mentor adds to your qualifications
Regardless of the current level of your own career, mentorship can be an attractive element on your resume. The mentorship experience proves to hiring managers that you can be trusted and are serious about providing value and helping others develop within a team setting.
Being a mentor can help better your business
Just as added perspective through being a mentor may have an empowering effect personally, your mentorship experience can enhance your company’s effectiveness and cohesiveness. Your ability to lead and establish best practice work habits can serve to bolster company culture and output.
Being a mentor can improve your confidence
Feelings of success can be contagious. When you empower your mentee to succeed, you’ll also feel a sense of self-worth that can make you feel confident as you navigate through your own career development. Seeing the results of your positive impact will impact your own outlook toward your abilities and potential.
Mentorship, and the results of successful mentor/mentee relationships, are typically not a one way street.
At LevelNext, we celebrate mentor and mentee successes as collaborative victories. Let’s get some wins together.