10 REASONS WHY BEING A MENTOR IS ESSENTIAL TO YOUR CAREER PROGRESSION
Mentoring is an opportunity to self-develop, expand your skill set and practice continual learning. And according to research mentors are 6x more likely to be promoted compared to their co-workers.
1. Improve Communication and Personal Skills
It’s all about good communication, empathy and building rapport. The key skills to learn are about asking open-ended questions and active listening. Being a better listener has many flow-on effects on your career and personal life.
2. Motivation
Providing insights and encouragement to others can be a powerful motivator. Many mentees comment on how the encouragement of others gave them the impetus to push forward often changing their career trajectory. Many go on to develop leadership skills that they were initially oblivious to prior to the mentoring relationship.
Employees who serve as mentors report greater job satisfaction and commitment to their organization. There have been several studies that link mentoring with career development and growth. In a 2013 study, Rajashi Ghosh and Thomas G. Reio found that mentors were more satisfied with their jobs and committed to their companies than non-mentors.
3. Gaining new perspectives
As a mentor, you are imparting knowledge and your own experiences and those you have witnessed. Yet, mentoring is a two-way street as in the discussion you will expand your knowledge base and gain new perspective.
4. Promotes Self-Reflection
By sharing your experiences, you are reliving what worked for you. Your mentee is interested in what you did, what dilemmas you faced and why you chose to make those decisions. Sharing your perspective validates your strengths and may even surprise you with how good you were at your job.
5. Boost Confidence
Making time for others who want to learn from you reinforces any doubt of your worth. Transferring what you have learned in the past and helping others is exhilarating.
6. Networking & Reinforcing your Relationships
Mentoring is more than just asking great questions, listening and sharing experiences. It is about giving your mentee access to great resources, which in this case is your network. Introductions to other key players can help open their mind and creates opportunities.
For you this will help to reinforce your role as a mentor in the marketplace and cement many of your relationships.
7. Keeping Up to date
You cannot be an expert in everything, and many mentors use the relationship to stay up to date. This can manifest in many ways. One example is in the latest technology and apps.
