Newsletter 2

Mentoring – The Wisdom Pathway  

The following article is provided by Mentors & Business Coaches International. 
They can be contacted on www.mbcint.com

A mentor is not merely a teacher.  A teacher imparts information.  A mentor on the other hand is not obsessed with information.  A mentor is obsessed with the mentee’s success.

A mentor is not your cheer leader, he/she is more than that.  Your mentor is your coach.  Your mentor doesn’t let you become complacent with what you are doing right, just the reverse.  Your mentor works with you to determine how you can do things better.

Your mentor is not necessarily your best friend. Your best friend is comfortable with your weaknesses.  Your mentor on the other hand, will work with you to turn these weaknesses into strengths.

Your friends are comfortable with your yesterday.  Your mentor is comfortable with your future.

Your mentor sees your enemies before you do.  Your mentor not only gives you warning but also gives you encouragement to face your fears.

Your mentor is the only sure way to move forward towards your vision.  Without a dedicated mentor you’ll never have a dedicated future.  Mentors create wisdom.   Dedicated wisdom creates dedicated success.

Adapted from a presentation by Mike Murdock - titled 'An Obsession for Wisdom'

Why Mentoring?

A mentor believes in and always sees more in you than you do yourself. As such, individuals and organisations are starting to recommend mentoring as an effective strategy to alleviate challenges, not only for new inductees but also for long term employees. For mentees/proteges, this relationship has the added benefit of providing constructive feedback from people you admire and trust. For the organisation, mentoring is the most productive, cost effective method of maximising available personnel resources.

So what's in it for you personally?

• Expanded personal mindset;
• Enhanced negotiation skills;
• A successful role model;
• The benefits of the mentor’s experiences;
• Renewed motivation;
• Increased focus on, and assistance with, your career planning (including mobility and promotion);
• Improved interpersonal skills;
• Different viewpoints and ideas;
• Strategies to gain awareness of your strengths and how to best utilise them;
• Strategies to identify your weaknesses and how to turn them into positives;
• A greater sense of purpose and workplace satisfaction;
• A supportive environment within which successes and failures can be evaluated;
• The development of professional approaches and self-confidence;
• A "sounding board" for discussing workplace issues and problems;
• An objective source of encouragement;
• Increased visibility through access to wider networks than would otherwise be available;
• Empowerment; and
• Independent assessment of performance.

Once trained, as a mentor you will gain:

• Enhanced counselling and interpersonal skills,
• Personal satisfaction from helping a colleague develop towards their maximum potential,
• A enhanced sense of professional recognition,
• Recognition and an awareness of your own skills and practices,
• Leadership development,
• A fresh perspective on workplace issues and challenges,
• Opportunity to trial new ideas,
• An opportunity to share knowledge and wisdom gained through your own experiences,
• Renewed enthusiasm for your role as an experienced employee,
• Exposure to views and ideas of others, and
• Insight into issues at levels other than your own.

From a business viewpoint, the organisation will benefit through:

• Relatively low financial outlay;
• Improved communications across functional boundaries;
• Maximum use of its human assets;
• A more productive workforce;
• Motivated staff resulting in increased performance and productivity;
• Increased morale;
• A training and development program that is tailored to the specific needs of the organisation as well as that of the individual;
• Identification and development of people with potential to take on a higher level of work and/or management positions;
• Transfer of learning and experience;
• In-house development of skills and knowledge directly related to the organisation’s business;
• Opportunities for senior managers to take on a specific leadership role;
• A heightened awareness of, and greater emphasis on, organisational goals beyond the executive levels;
• A larger pool of potential leaders;
• Provision of cost effective personal development for those involved;
• Support networks for employees in times of organisational change;
• Progress towards diversity and equal opportunity in the workplace;
• Managers with enhanced people management skills; and
• A framework for the development and acceptance of the broader culture of mentoring.

To find out more about becoming a mentor or being mentored please email info@achieving-excellence.org