In a world that moves so quickly and where resources need to be better cherished, inventing the wheel as a professional development model seems wasteful. Being a mentor not only helps to develop the skills of your mentee, it also allows the Mentor to strengthen their own leadership skills. Based on thousands of volunteer hours during my life, I have learned first-hand the value of mentorships. In fact, the system of mentorship may be the best tool to help us to prepare and navigate the future. Gathered from my own experiences I would like to present to you a list of the top 10 reasons why being a mentor has the potential to enhance your life.
10. You gain a deeper appreciation for the value you have to offer: “You control your own life, your own will is extremely powerful” (J.K Rowling).
9. You get to purposefully explore someone else’s perspective without passing judgment: “Successful people become great leaders when they learn to shift the focus from themselves to others” (Goldsmith, 2007).
8. You get to revisit your past mistakes and challenges to mine for golden nuggets of advice to pass on to your mentee; thereby demonstrating the value that making mistakes has had on your life: “Surround yourself with people who compliment your weaknesses & share your passions - success will follow” (@richardbranson).
7. You get to practice the art of self-evaluation: “The more senior and more experienced we become, the more delusional we get” (Goldsmith, 2007).
6. You get to help build confidence and stave off self-doubt in your mentee by believing in them: “People who believe they can succeed see opportunities where others see threats” (Goldsmith, 2007).
5. You gain an outlet to share your strengths by allowing your mentee to grow: “As a man changes his own nature, so does the attitude of the world change towards him” (Mahatma Gandhi).
4. If you remain open-minded you stand a good chance that your mentee can teach you new things: “I can do things you cannot, you can do things I cannot; together we can do great things” (Mother Teresa).
3. You get to face the fact that one individual can never have all the answers: “Success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts” (Winston Churchill).
2. You don’t allow yourself to become complacent and satisfied with your life: "I have noticed even people who claim everything is predestined, and that we can do nothing to change it, look before they cross the road" (Stephen Hawking).
And the number one reason why I believe that being a mentor enhances your life:
1. You get to formally practice the art of relationships: in a world that is so connected, relationships are one of the hardest things we get to do as humans: “Life’s most persistent and urgent question is: ‘What are you doing for others?'” (Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.)
If your daily intention is to strive to be a better person, you may find value in offering your skills and time as a mentor as a more humanitarian way to reduce your limits to personal and professional growth (Senge, 1990).Thanks for reading this blog.
Laurie Dillman, Leader, Poet, & People Gardener
References
Goldsmith, M. (2007). What got you here won’t get you there. Hyperion.
Senge, P. (1990). The Fifth discipline: The art and practice of a learning organization. New York, NY: Doubleday/Currency.
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