What Are The Qualities of a Great Mentor?

Do you have the qualities of a good mentor? If you’re thinking about becoming a mentor, it’s natural to wonder whether you’d make a great one and if you’ve got what it takes to guide your mentees to achieve their career goals. That sounds like a big responsibility, but if you’ve got the qualities a mentor should have, you’re already well on your way to smashing it as a mentor.

Of course, mentors need a certain amount of knowledge, skills and experience to pass on to a mentee, but there are other ‘soft skills’ and qualities that the best mentors possess. Read on to see if you’ve got what it takes…

11 Qualities of a Great Mentor

From good listening skills to enthusiasm and the ability to motivate someone else, there are lots of different qualities of a great mentor. Here are a few of the most coveted mentor skills and qualities:

1. Experienced

First on our list of qualities of a good mentor is experience, expertise and a desire to share that with someone else. As a career mentor, you’ll need to have a few years’ experience under your belt to be able to pass on your wisdom to your mentee. By sharing your path and the challenges you’ve faced along the way, you’ll be able to guide your mentee to achieve their goals and provide answers to their questions based on your actual lived experience.

2. Positive Attitude

Positivity is one of the key qualities of a great mentor. You want to make the mentoring experience one to remember for your mentee and turning up with a positive attitude is the first crucial step.

Think about your body language to make sure you’re coming across as open as possible (even though you might be meeting via a screen) and do everything you can to make the atmosphere positive and therefore effective. Provide honest but constructive answers to your mentee’s questions and don’t be afraid to inject a sense of fun and a little humour into your sessions.

3. Enthusiastic

If you’ve got knowledge and experience to share, it won’t get very far if you aren’t sharing it with enthusiasm. You’ve likely decided to become a mentor because you want to help others and because you’ve had a successful path in your career so far, so that passion needs to come across.

Enthusiasm and optimism are especially important when your mentee feels particularly lost or frustrated with their journey. Your positive attitude could be what pushes your mentee forward to overcome their challenges and get back on track toward their goals.

4. Approachable

Mentors should be approachable, friendly, warm, and welcoming. You need to connect with your mentees. A strong mentor-mentee relationship is vital for both parties to find the partnership rewarding.

Take a little time to get to know your mentee’s preferred learning style and what makes them tick. This will allow you to better adapt your approach to make your sessions as comfortable and productive as possible for them.

5. Good Listening Skills

Good listening skills are one of the most important mentor qualities of all. The ability to listen properly and actively is a vital soft skill, not just for mentoring, but for life in general.

Great mentors will devote an equal amount of energy to both listening and talking. You need to fully understand what your mentee is saying, noticing the gaps in what they might be holding back, for you to be able to nudge them closer towards their goals.

6. Confident

Self-confidence is another of the must-have qualities of a good mentor, but there’s a fine line between confidently sharing your inspiring story and proving your ego. An effective mentor will be able to critically review and challenge their mentee, without them feeling intimidated or discouraged.

7. Gives Honest Feedback

The ability to deliver honest, constructive feedback is one of the mentor skills and qualities that shouldn’t be underestimated. It can be tricky to suggest to someone that they need to pull their socks up a little bit or that they might need to change direction to achieve their goals, but honesty is always the best policy.

Remember, they’re paying to hear what you really think they should be doing, so sometimes you’ll just need to tell them straight. If you need a little help with giving feedback, check out our guide on how to deliver constructive criticism.

8. Able to Motivate Others

The ability to motivate others is definitely one of the key qualities of a mentor. You’ll need to motivate your mentee to challenge themselves and step outside their comfort zone, safe in the knowledge that they have your support every step of the way.

If they need an extra nudge, pass on that ‘comfort is the enemy of progress’ attitude – it could be the exact motivation they need.

9. Willing to Share

Mentors must be willing to share their career experience and life lessons to guide and inspire their mentees. Openness is one of the best qualities of a great mentor.

If you’re struggling to know what to share, take a step back and remember how you felt at the start of your career and the kind of guidance you would have benefited from – those are the nuggets you should be passing on.

10. Honest and Trusting

Trust is a key foundation of all human relationships and one of the best qualities a mentor should have. Mentees need to trust their mentors to be able to share their fears and vulnerabilities while knowing they’re in a safe space.

Be honest about your own fears and how you’ve channelled them throughout your career. Mutual honesty should be at the heart of your mentoring partnership.

11. Patient and Empathetic

Last but by no means least on our list of the qualities of a good mentor is patience. Amazing mentors are people who don’t give up easily and who don’t expect instant results. You’ll need a good dose of empathy to understand your mentees’ experiences and frustrations, as well as patience and trust in the process.

Goals take time to reach. Success won’t happen overnight. But that’s okay – it’s what the mentoring journey is all about.

Become a Mentor

Think you’ve got a few of the top qualities of a mentor?

Join us as a Career Navig8r, helping others realise their full potential and make positive steps towards their career goals.

It’s easy (and FREE) to create a profile on our platform. List your skills and experience, set your availability and hourly rate and start giving something back while topping up your income.