What is mentoring?
Aiming to help you with your career, a mentor is typically someone with experience in the industry you work in. A mentor will look to guide you in the right direction, helping you to solve work-related problems and encourage professional growth.
At the heart of mentoring is the relationship between the mentor and the mentee. Based on mutual trust and respect, this relationship can have a powerful effect on your success at work.
In terms of business mentoring, this definition relates to professional growth and the development of work-related skills. The premise of mentoring is that the mentor has more extensive professional experience than yourself, and offers their support, advice and encouragement to help you maximise your potential.
How can a mentor help?
A mentor is there to help you grow and become the best version of yourself that you can be. This could be through helping you with personal or professional goals, challenging ways of thinking, or sharing valuable lessons.
A mentor should help to boost your confidence as well as challenge your way of thinking. You should feel comfortable discussing and exploring new ideas in confidence while taking the opportunity to assess both your own and your business's needs.
How a mentor can help you and the exact role of a mentor will depend on your reasons for hiring them. Some people hire mentors to help them in their careers. This means they will focus on your professional development. Some people hire a mentor to help them with their personal development. Others hire a mentor to help themselves and the business they own or run. In this case, a mentor will look primarily at your business and offer guidance to develop it further.
For whichever reason you decide to hire a mentor, there are certain things they are likely to do to fulfil their role. This can include teaching new or coaching existing skills, facilitating personal or business growth through sharing resources and networks, and challenging you to move outside of your comfort zone. They should create a safe space where you can learn while offering guidance and support.
What you can expect your mentor to do
Some of the ways your mentor may be able to help can include:
- offering an outside and unbiased perspective on yourself and your business
- helping you by sharing their own experiences
- listening in confidence about any worries you have about the business
- offering ongoing support and encouragement
- providing honest and constructive feedback
- sharing contacts to help further your professional development
- helping with decision-making and suggesting alternatives where they see fit
What doesn't a mentor do?
Mentors can help with a lot of things, but what can't they do?
- give technical business advice
- offer a training service
- take responsibility for the decisions and/or the success of your business
- provide a counselling service
- be available 24/7
Of course, every mentor works differently and this list is not finite. It is always recommended that you find out as much as possible about a mentor before committing to regular meetings.
What are the three types of mentoring?
There are various types of mentoring available depending on your needs, so it is recommended that you investigate each one to decide what will work best for you.
One-to-one mentoring
Potentially the most popular mentoring model, the one-to-one approach sees one mentor working with one individual. This allows for a personal relationship to build and is favoured because it offers individual-focused support and attention.
Group mentoring
This model can be helpful if you and your colleagues or friends are looking to be mentored in the same field. It may be that you and your friends are planning to launch your own business, or maybe you have some like-minded connections in the industry – either way, group mentoring can bring you together in an environment of learning.
Training-based mentoring
A training-based mentoring model is linked directly to a specific training programme. Often a company will outsource mentoring to help train staff. As this type of mentoring is only tied to one particular area of learning, some people find it a little restrictive.
Other types of mentoring
Another popular service within the mentoring umbrella is 'mentoring and befriending'. Used outside of a business environment, this type of mentoring helps groups and individuals fulfil their personal potential and helps them make the most of life. Mentoring and befriending is most often used with the following groups of people:
Young people
Some young people lack a reliable support system and may benefit from a mentor. The mentor in this relationship aims to become somewhat of a role model. Helping the young person feel motivated in all areas of their life is of great importance for the mentor as well as being someone objective they can talk to when problems arise.
Offenders
When offenders leave the justice system they often fall back into old patterns and many re-offend. Mentors can offer support during this time and will aim to help offenders find employment and reconnect with society.
Older people
Befriending older people offers friendship to those who may be lonely. Mentors become more like friends in this setting, giving the individual someone they can rely on and talk to when others aren't around.
Distance mentoring
Also known as 'virtual mentoring' where the mentor and mentee interact online or by phone.
What is the difference between coaching and mentoring?
Often the terms 'mentor' and 'coach' are used interchangeably, but there are subtle differences between the two (especially in the world of business). The key difference is that coaching is more function-focused, while mentoring is more relationship-focused.
Other differences include:
- Coaching is usually short-term. A business coach is only likely to be involved with you on a short-term basis until you achieve the desired outcome.
- Mentoring is usually more long-term. A mentor will work with you over a relatively long amount of time to progress your development, this can be anything from nine months to a year or even longer.
- Coaching tends to be performance-driven. The purpose of business coaching is often to improve your performance within a certain job role – this could include enhancing skills and developing new ones.
- Mentoring is more development-driven. This means that the mentor will be looking to develop you and your business both now and for the future.
I dedicate around seven hours minimum each week to personal development and I also have a mentor. This work has given me more confidence, self-awareness, inspiration, career opportunities and a determination to make the most of my life.
What can a business mentor help with?
Each mentor will have specialisms. It's important to find one suited to your needs. If you're launching a new magazine, for example, you will benefit from a mentor who has experience in the publishing and magazine industry. Equally, if your business isn't as efficient as it could be, seeking help from a mentor who is well-versed in efficiency will be useful.
There is a variety of areas in which a business mentor can help, including the following:
Business reviews
If the mentor is looking to help you develop and grow your business, the first thing they are likely to do is a business review. This will involve them investigating every aspect of your business to see where it performs well and where it could do with improvement. Far from pointing out the flaws in your business – a mentor should offer an insight into potential areas for development.
When we are in the same environment day in and day out it can be difficult to see the wood for the trees. This is where a fresh set of eyes can come in handy. A business mentor may be able to spot things you hadn't considered before and may challenge the way you view things.
Recruitment
A business is only as good as the people behind it. If you find it hard to recruit the right people, or you simply need some impartial advice when it comes to hiring – a business mentor could help. A common trait in mentors is that they know a lot about working within a team. This means they know what personality types work well in a business and how to pick the right people at the hiring stage.
They may also be able to offer advice about the recruitment process itself, from writing up the best job advert to the interview structure. While it won't be their job to make the decisions at the end of the day, they can offer guidance to help you decide.
Retention
Once you have the right people in place, chances are you'll want to keep them there. Staff retention is key to a successful business and is an area mentors can often help with. Helping you to create a positive and communicative working environment, a mentor can suggest team-building ideas and ways to improve any areas of contention.
Managing people is often the hardest part of running a business, so a mentor with people skills can be hugely beneficial. Ultimately, however, you know your staff best, so it's important for the effort to be a collaborative one.
Professional development
Whether you're keen to develop yourself professionally, or you want to help develop the careers of those working for you – as a business mentor, progressing professional development is their key prerogative. It's important to discuss your ideas for the future with them so they can establish how best to help you. Usually, they will offer advice based on their own experience and will work with you to come up with an action plan to put your skills into practice.
Growing the business
If your business has hit a roadblock in terms of growth, you could benefit from seeking outside help. A mentor with experience in developing and growing businesses will be able to review the way you work and find out how you can improve to grow your business.
Alternatively, you may run a business that is growing quickly, but you are a little unsure of how to cope. A business mentor can offer support and help you create a plan for the future while establishing how to make the most of your growing business.
It is important to help the mentee devise actions to enable them to move forward to develop to their full potential. This is done as a two-way process by effective questioning to get mentees thinking and working together to produce actions.
What are the benefits of mentoring?
Hiring a business mentor can have many benefits for both yourself and the business you run, some of which may be unexpected. Take a look at the following list for some examples:
You will gain practical advice
The best thing about getting help from a mentor is that it tends to be practical advice you can implement immediately.
You can learn from their experience
Mentors usually have experience in the same working environment as you, meaning that you can often learn what to do and what not to do from their personal experiences.
You will have your natural strengths and talents encouraged
Your mentor should be quick to recognise your strengths and will encourage you to develop them to the best of your ability.
You will receive constructive feedback
A mentor is unbiased, meaning that they can look at you and your business objectively and offer constructive feedback.
You will have someone to bounce ideas off
Sometimes the most helpful thing about having a mentor is having a sounding board for your ideas.
You have the potential to expand your network
Many mentors are happy to introduce you to people they know in the business or invite you to networking events.
You will be encouraged to network and promote yourself
Your mentor may not only introduce you to people they know but also encourage you to host your own networking events and think of ways to promote yourself.
You will have the chance to improve your productivity
Mentors can help you manage your time more effectively so you achieve a better work/life balance.
You will have someone to vent to
Sometimes your mentor is the only person around you who understands the trials you face as a business owner – and in times of frustration, this connection can be comforting.
You can realise your potential, both personally and professionally
The aim of mentoring is for you to ultimately realise your potential and when this happens it can boost your confidence in other areas of your life.
Many mentors offer a consultation before you make any sort of commitment. This initial meeting allows you to sit down with the mentor to discuss your aims, find out more about them and ascertain whether or not they are the right match for you.
