Successful collaboration means that all team members respect each other and help newcomers achieve the goal by professional advice and support. Mentoring means inspiring and sharing your own experience to help future specialists be confident in themselves, their skills, and also, knowledge.
But how to become a trustworthy mentor, people will be grateful for the precious information and necessary guidance? This article will give you basic principles you can apply to establish a satisfying relationship with your mentees.
How to Build Positive Mentor Relationships?
Get to Know Each Other
The first meeting may be awkward but try to establish contact and calm the situation. Speak on trivial matters, find the common language, explore commonalities, and start serious business only after that. Open-minded and sincere people attract others. It will also help to develop a casual setting needed for an effective teaching-learning process.
Establish Goals
The mentoring activities are based on achieving short and long-term goals. The key point is understanding the purpose of the mentoring and the expected results. The defined agenda makes the mentoring process clear and successful. Decide what you want, and you will get even more with the right mentor and positive connection.
Mind Multifaceted Respect
This tip relates to various aspects of the mentorship relationship. Firstly, we speak about mutual respect between mentor and mentee. The second thing concerns time: people should respect one another`s schedules and deadlines. Mentors and mentees also have to value and accept each other’s feedback.
Cooperate
Working together will help the mentor see the mentee`s weaknesses and improve their skills in the process of task completion. Furthermore, the constant support and constructive feedback will build a positive mentoring experience. The following steps shall contribute to the successful outcome:
- Identifying concerns
- Brainstorming possible solutions
- Selecting a plan
- Discussion and implementation
- Celebrating together desired results
- Communication
Formal meetings may not be enough for forming a good relationship. Remember that you talked about your preferences at the first meeting, so you can discuss them at any moment during work. These small personal touches will diffuse tensions and form a trustworthy atmosphere.
Keep It Going
When your formal mentorship is over, it does not mean that you shall terminate support and guidance. Keep in touch with each other by informal meetings, coffee breaks, and other ways that will give you the opportunity to communicate and share something new. Mentorship is not about formal teaching but a positive experience and useful knowledge.
Mentorship Missteps You Should Be Aware Of
So, try to recognize these mentorship missteps and get rid of them immediately to build positive mentor relationships:
- Taking credit for your mentees’ ideas and climbing the career ladder on their projects
- Forcing your mentees to complete your projects instead of allowing them to self-develop
- Making your mentees adjust your schedule that slows down their work
- Preventing your mentees from addressing other mentors that limits their learning and recognition
- Accepting your mentees work with repeating mistakes without correcting them
What Are The Benefits of Mentoring Relationships?
There are three main advantages of a successful mentoring relationship:
- Mentees become competent and develop under the mentor’s guidance.
- A safe and supportive environment enables mentees to be creative and experiment with projects or tasks.
- The positive environment at work will make your college’s best friends and office – a second home.
Conclusion
Strong team relationships are based on mutual understanding and self-respect. So, mentoring should develop naturally and be an integral part of a healthy staff. Also, statistics suggest that 76% of people find mentors important for personal success. Positive mentor relationships make people happier at their work that favors progress and productivity. It also boosts your employer branding as well.
