Becoming a Mentor: How it Can Benefit Your Career

Can you think back to when you first started your career? It may feel like ages ago, but it’s a good sign of how far you’ve come in terms of your progress and achievements. Like most people who’ve enjoyed long and successful careers, they’ve been through the growing pains, the hardships, and the mistakes that us humans are bound to experience. But with experience comes knowledge and it’s something worth sharing for people who are just starting to scratch the surface.

There are plenty of benefits that a mentee can gain from working with Bruce Frame business mentor such as increased confidence, expanding their professional networks, and making smarter decisions overall. But mentorship is a two-way street and it’s not only the mentee that benefits from the learning process, but the mentor as well.

So why not take it upon yourself and become a mentor? There’s a lot to gain with mentorship that can benefit you on a personal and professional level. If you’re interested in sharing your knowledge and experience, then there’s no better time to do it than now.

Here are a couple of career benefits that you can enjoy when you guide the next generation to the path of success.

Positively Influence a Person’s Career

If you feel like you’re not qualified to become a mentor, stop right there. You can most definitely influence a person’s career in many ways by showing them the ropes. Sharing your knowledge can feel empowering to a mentee, especially when they’re feeling down and out. As a mentor, you can highlight the pitfalls you’ve encountered and show your mentee how to best avoid them.

It can feel very fulfilling to see your mentee climb up the ladder. Being able to contribute to someone else’s growth is a reward in itself and is a testament to your own success. You’ll be able to oversee the careers of people that come from different industries and you may even pick up small nuggets of wisdom that you can apply to your profession.

Enhance your Leadership and Management Skills

Every successful person has strong leadership and management skills. It’s what separates them from the pack and sharpening these qualities is a lifelong process. By mentoring an individual, you’ll learn how to connect better with others and motivate them to go out and get it.

Chances are you’ll speak to your mentee in a different “language” which creates a situation where you’ll need to find ways to communicate more effectively. As a leader, you’re required to take initiative, be adaptable, and solve problems based on the bigger picture which puts your skills and experience to the test.

Expand your own Networks

While you may already have an established network at this point in your career, it never hurts to expand your connections. That’s why most experts advise to “always keep an open mind” as you’ll never know when you’ll come across some newfound knowledge. This can prove extremely useful if you’re mentoring people from different generations. For example, a Gen X mentor with Gen-Y connections can learn a lot about social media and technology. Keep in mind that your mentee(s) are the decision-makers of tomorrow, and can pave the way for you to meet new people and expound on your already vast knowledge.

Influence your Colleagues

Mentors do an excellent job of leading by example. By mentoring people within your own organization, you’re showing a strong commitment to employee development. This in turns impacts your reputation within your company and you’ll gain even more support from your peers. You’ve spent decades harnessing your craft, so why not take advantage of it and influence your colleagues to striver for bigger and more meaningful goals?

Give back to your Industry

Many business leaders view mentorship as cyclical duty — an entrepreneurial way of “paying it forward” if you will. Essentially, you’re giving back to your industry by molding future leaders that you can proudly pass the torch to. Their success becomes your success and this mutual process of knowledge-sharing can have a significant impact on your organization’s future endeavors.

Jenny Paul

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