The Mentoring Relationship Is The Right Time To Give Back To Others

One thing is for sure great leaders have great mentors. Great mentors teach and provide guidance as well as lead by example and encourage others to do the same. When they empower new leaders they instill in them the virtue of becoming present and available to others too. In this context, the mentoring relationship becomes directly involved in quenching leaders’ thirst to give back. In giving back a reward system is built incentivizing every party involved and eliminating any chance of someone opting out.

First-time mentees often think they are not giving back to their mentor since they are not paying for their mentor’s time. However, the reality is that mentors have no interest in financial rewards. Nevertheless, mentors certainly appreciate mentees showing gratitude for impacting their lives and improving their careers. Mentors may be happy if you mention their help in public and thank them. However, the essence and the epitome of giving back to a mentor is achieving and succeeding in what they helped you with. This begins by setting clear goals before starting your mentoring session, applying what you have learned as skills in the right direction, add your newly acquired skills to your resumé, and reaching out to new professionals and organizations with your new you.

Having gone through the process of mentorship, it is about time that the mentee’s job in giving back can be achieved through mentoring others because “true leadership must be for the benefit of the followers, not to enrich leaders” as renowned author on leadership, John Maxwell puts it. The natural feeling of wanting to serve others is the first step in gaining effective servant leadership traits. Exploit every networking event to transform it into an opportunity to talk about your experiences first as a mentee and later as you wish and imagine how helping others must be. Once you are approached by a mentee with a clear goal, make sure your meeting schedules lead him through a continuous process of getting him to accomplish his goal and get inspired for more. Just like you used to listen and learn from your mentor’s guidance and advice listen and learn what your mentee has in mind and provide the right guidance That makes an impact on his life accordingly.