7 Mentoring Skills All Great Mentors Have 

What does it mean to be a great mentor? A guide, counsellor, support system and so much more. But what skills do great mentors have? Check out our list of top skills all great mentors have below and see if you have the potential to change someone’s life by being a kickass mentor.

7 Must-Have Skills of a Mentor

1. Active listening

Mentees need somebody to share their thoughts, concerns and ideas with. Being an active listener can help you understand them better and ask thoughtful questions. Active listening demonstrates interest in your mentee’s life, helping you develop a trusting relationship.

2. Open-mindedness

Being open-minded is an essential skill for a mentor to have. Be willing to adapt and remain neutral and unbiased. While you have a lot to offer your mentee with your plethora of knowledge and experience, you also have the opportunity to learn from them, contributing to your own personal development. 

3. Great Communication

Your ability to communicate effectively with your mentee is essential to exchange thoughts, provide constructive feedback and maintain boundaries. Being on the same page about the methods and modes of communication will positively impact your mentor-mentee relationship.

4. Empathy

Great mentors are able to put themselves in someone else’s shoes, sharing their guidance and advice without bias or judgement. To be a great mentor, show empathy to help build trust and authenticity with your mentee.

5. Relationship-building

The ability to build meaningful relationships is an essential skill of a great mentor. Use this skill to your advantage to create a relationship with your mentee that is based on mutual respect and understanding.  

6. Knowledge and Experience

One of the key reasons to be chosen by a mentee is your industry expertise. Your knowledge and experience allow you to understand the potential challenges of your mentee’s chosen career path and provide insights that could help them perform better at their jobs.

7. Passion

Last but certainly not least, your passion to transform someone’s life forms the basis of your mentoring journey. Most of the necessary skills for mentoring can either be learnt or enhanced – but this is only possible when you are willing to put time and effort into helping your mentee to navigate their career journey. And surely, it is worth it!

How To Improve Your Mentoring Skills

Have a knack for mentoring but unsure if you’re completely skilled to be a mentor? Well, as we’ve covered, you can always improve your skills to be a kickass mentor. Here are a few tips for improving your mentoring skills:

Ask for Feedback

Assessment of your skills is the first step to knowing where you stand. You could ask for feedback from your peers, colleagues and mentees. This will help you better understand your strengths and identify any areas for improvement. In fact, seeking feedback from your mentee demonstrates trust and will improve your mentoring relationship.

Take a Skills Workshop

Once you understand the gaps in your skills, it’s time to take action to bridge them. Look into relevant skills development courses and workshops you could attend – it’ll help demonstrate your own commitment to your personal and professional growth.

Network

Networking is a great way to improve your mentoring skills. Consider joining mentoring networks, where you’ll be able to gain tips and insights from other mentors. Be active in conversations and you’ll soon find yourself exchanging ideas and resources. 

Be Self-Aware

There’s always room for improvement and the ability to recognise this as a mentor is a great skill to have. Take the time to reflect on your performance as a mentor so far. What successes have you had? What have you learned along the way? What could you do to improve? 

What Skills Do You Gain From Mentoring?

There are a number of benefits to being a mentor and you can use mentoring to improve or even gain new skills, such as:

• Patience: Building a mentor-mentee relationship takes time and you might encounter meeting delays or cancellations, as well as your mentees’ different learning styles or schedules. This will all take time and patience.

• Problem-solving and critical thinking: Your mentee will be looking to you for guidance and support and this might include helping them to solve an issue. Understanding these issues, analysing them and finding solutions might require you to ‘think outside the box’ and this can help you enhance your problem-solving and critical-thinking skills.

• Conflict resolution: You and your mentee won’t agree on everything and that’s okay. You might find yourself at odds but being able to de-escalate any potential conflict can help you in your own professional development. 

• Soft skills development: It goes without saying that being a mentor is the perfect opportunity to practice your soft skills. You’ll use your communication and listening skills, as well as providing empathy to your mentee.

Ready to be a mentor?

Could you relate to the above mentioned skills? Feel you can make a difference in someone’s life too? Become a mentor with Career Navig8r today. Sign up here and join a growing community of mentors and mentees collaborating for career growth and professional development.