Mentoring is seeking guidance and advice from someone with experience, success, knowledge or expertise in a field, skill, career, life stage or situation that you would like more success or knowledge in. This person or mentor may simply have skills, traits, characteristics or values that you admire and would like more exposure to or advice on how to emulate and possesses the wisdom only experience can provide.
Put another way, mentoring is most often defined as a professional relationship or personal development relationship in which an experienced person – the mentor – assists another – the mentoree or protege/protégée – in developing specific skills and knowledge that will enhance the less-experienced person’s professional and personal growth. This relationship can be professional/formal or more casual/informal and is a process between two individuals, where one has greater experience and expertise than the other & offers advice & guidance as the other goes through the learning & growing process.
Most often people find a mentor to assist them with their career or business, however mentoring can be used in any number of ways or areas in order to achieve the success you desire. A mentor is that one person who can guide you, help you, take you under his or her wing, and nurture your career quest or flourishing personal future.
Creatively Divine Success Coaching can mentor you and assist you in the following ways:
• help you deal with a problem with a co-worker, your boss, a relationship or life situation
• alert you to new opportunities – career or life
• help you find out how to learn new skills that are required for your job, career or life
• advise you about whether to accept a job offer or make a major life change
• reveal insights into things you don’t know
• uncover blind spots you can’t see and increase your self-awareness
• point out strengths you haven’t developed or yet recognised or know how to capitalise upon
• show you how to develop disciplines and enable you to build habits that serve you
• unveil potential often seen by your mentor (and others) but unacknowledged or not seen by you
• show you the resources you have that add the greatest value to others
• mentor you in the areas of – relationships, spiritual growth, personal empowerment, families, small business, hypnotherapy, coaching, kinesiology, natural therapies, mechanics, managing people, public speaking, training and developing teams and individuals, health and wellness, transitions and much more
A mentor is a powerful role model, someone who will build a relationship with you, someone who will teach and advise you and enable you to become a wise and effective human being. A mentor has experience greater than your own and a track record of success in whatever he or she does. So, before selecting a mentor or approaching someone to be your mentor, it is important to become very clear on why you want a mentor. Decide if you are looking for someone to offer specific advice or if you just want a channel to your industry’s influential elite. Maybe you just need a sounding board or wish to learn how to live life to your fullest potential in every aspect.
It is a good idea to understand or become aware of your own personality and communication style so that you can determine which kind of mentor would best complement you, your goals, your desired outcomes and your needs. You may select to be mentored by someone who is your opposite (an extrovert to your introvert, for example), or someone in whom you see yourself (and vice versa). It is often beneficial to engage a mentor who is unlike you in some important way because our tendency is often to gravitate toward those with whom we have a lot in common. However, when seeking out a mentor, it is wise to seek out people who have strengths that we lack or would like to build upon within ourselves.
Important points to consider when selecting a mentor – he or she:
• may have goals that are similar to your own and possibly in the same or similar career as you
• has time to give to the relationship
• has varied life experience
• has skills, values, beliefs that you would like to emulate
• has the kind of life and/or work you’d like to have
• is someone you truly respect
• may be a former boss, employer or professors/educator
• may also be an older family member or friend, neighbour, spiritual leader, community leader
• can be part of the network of your friends and colleagues, or officials of professional or community associations you belong to or may even be someone you have never met
• is willing to work with you and understands what you require as well as sets make you aware of the parameters of the mentoring relationship
• is a good listener, can level with you, be blunt when necessary, honest and speak truth to you
• can serve as a sounding board at critical points throughout your career
• can provide guidance on career management that you may be unable to get from other sources
• can help you identify and avoid business pitfalls and work through the challenges ahead
• may also save you valuable time and money by helping you craft a road map to success
• will have a strong character and traits worth emulating
• is authentic, empathetic, creative, caring and invested in your personal and/or professional growth
• can provide constructive criticism or a reality check when required and at other times administer a well earned high five or pat on the back
As an individual seeking the services of a mentor, you are the one who will benefit the most from the relationship and so you must find the time to fully participate in the relationship with your mentor. On the flip side, your mentor benefits from the mentoring relationship with the opportunity to strengthen his or her leadership skills.
If you would like more information or would like to engage Dave as your mentor, please call 0424 900 427 or email us through the contact form on this site.