Guest Post courtesy of Ironstone
Can Every Leader Be a Mentor?
“Tell me and I forget, teach me and I may remember, involve me and I learn.” I wonder if Benjamin Franklin had any idea how much power his statement would carry for more than 223 years?
When I read this quote, I immediately thought of the power within the statement, yet the lack of power Mr. Franklin wanted to gain by saying it. What exactly is power? Power means different things to different people. I believe power should be defined as the ability to empower others. If you have courage to empower your team, peers, family and friends, you are a powerful person.
Empowerment through Mentoring: Empowering others through mentorship is an undeniable benefit to all parties involved. Mentoring matches less experienced employees with seasoned employees to achieve specific goals, secure engaged employees, and provide your firm with a normal progression for succession planning. The benefits include:
- Open communication
- Identifiable goals
- Recognition of values
- Shared expertise and experience
Who Should Be a Mentor: A good mentor is wise and willing to share knowledge and experiences in order to help another person succeed. Their number one characteristic must be trustworthiness. The success of a mentorship program lies in the relationship between mentor and mentee. A mentor gains satisfaction by guiding others to success as well as obtaining a fresh perspective from the mentee. Therefore, the mentor must keep an open mind to modern ideas and advanced technology.
Who Needs a Mentor: In actuality, everyone needs a mentor! In today’s competitive landscape a mentoring relationship can give you an edge personally and professionally. Having someone provide knowledge, support, insight, and guidance will differentiate you from others. A mentor can aid in shortened learning curves, provide new ideas, identify opportunities, and be one of the most important keys to success.
Create a Mentorship Program: Create a mentorship program with just a few basic vital steps that will ensure you start on a solid foundation. Both mentor and mentee will contribute to the success of the program with their valuable skills and knowledge.
- Establish expectations of each other
- Determine how often you will meet
- Set goals/agenda for each meeting
- Evaluate progress
Benefits of Mentoring: Company leadership should embrace, promote, and value mentoring programs to realize a return on investment, according to Harvard Business Review writer Anthony K. TJan. He advises that business leaders develop a structured and staged approach to mentoring. For example, new employees should have a “buddy” to help them learn the ropes. Employees with just a few years of experience should be matched with a career mentor to help them grow in their position.
Benefits of implementing a mentorship program are truly endless. You can expect employee growth and engagement, decreased turnover, higher employee satisfaction, and increased production levels.
“A lot of people have gone further than they thought they could
because someone else thought they could.”-Unknown
Photo Credit: ©iStock/Getty Images/Thinkstock
This post provided by Ironstone, connect with Ironstone on LinkedIn. View the original article here.