How to Mentor Someone

Mentoring is more than just imparting wisdom.

A good mentor can make a great difference in someone's life. A good mentor helps, guides, shares knowledge, and enjoys doing it. Mentoring, when done right, benefits both the mentor and the mentee. If you have the chance to mentor someone, congratulations, and read on to see how you can mentor effectively.

Things You'll Need

• someone who wants you to mentor them

Instructions

1. With your mentee, determine what the mentee is looking for help with. Mentoring is a purposeful activity, not just two people spending time together.

2. Decide to meet or talk together at least once a month. You could go out to lunch, go for a walk, or talk over the phone.

3. Establish a relationship based on mutual respect and open communication. Your mentee needs to feel that they can say what's on their mind. Remember, you are here to help them.

4. Ask probing questions. As the mentor, you know something that the mentee does not. It may be the case that the mentee does not even know the right questions to ask. In this case, you need to bring up the topic yourself.

5. Over time, hold your mentee accountable to improve. Your mentee wants to improve. That's why they came to you in the first place. But often people get stuck between "knowing" what to do and "doing" it. You need to hold them accountable to making progress.

6. Mentoring relationships end for a variety of reasons. When yours comes to an end, encourage your mentee to reflect on where they've come. You'll probably find you've learned a lot too!