What is Mentoring ?
If you’ve lived, then you’ve learned and will probably have a story to tell. Mentoring is the perfect way to share your hard earned wisdom to become a trusted advisor to those who can directly benefit from your knowledge, expertise and unique perspective.
Mentoring is not just the exclusive preserve of multi-national corporations and global CEO’S these days. We can all benefit from this type of activity and leverage from others. Mentoring is a means of supporting another individual to become all they aspire to be. Mentors bring objectivity, distance and access to other networks as well as know-how.
Not surprisingly, online mentoring programmes are growing in popularity too.
If you want to accelerate your success online then mentoring and coaching not short-cutting is the way forward.
What’s the difference I hear you ask?
Short-cutting is when you get sucked into all the hype about how you can become an overnight success by taking a certain programme or buying a particular product that will catapult you into the champions league of online marketers. You get carried away by a clever sales pitch, buy the product and then get stuck in the implementation phase because you haven’t yet acquired the mind-set or know-how of authentic success.
You don’t yet know how to be an online marketer or a profitable business owner.
You don’t know how to move in the right circles and stand out.
You’re masquerading as a winner yet feel like a fraud.
Short-cutting is a losers game.
It will drain your energy whilst you attempt to keep up with all the latest technological developments and gain a presence on every social media site, wipe-out your start-up cash reserves in days not months and have you questioning your sanity and crucifying your confidence.
Mentoring and coaching on the other hand can make all the difference between floundering at rock bottom and flying with grace.
As a mentor and business coach I gravitate between a multitude of roles from teacher, counsellor, confidante, facilitator, sounding-board, sponsor, expert, advisor, critic and devil’s advocate.
Infographic courtesy of http://www.smf.org.uk/
Mentoring Skills and Characteristics Include;
- Being non-judgmental
- Having a motivating, encouraging and empowering style
- An optimistic outlook
- Bags of empathy
- Effective listening and questioning abilities
- Being open and honest
- Patience and a sense of humour
- An ability to evaluate ideas, explain concepts and maintain personal boundaries.
Values That Underpin An Effective Coaching and Mentoring Relationship
Starts with recognising that people can change, grow and develop whatever their background, circumstances, age and experiences.
It is also about understanding the ways that people learn and taking an empowering approach to personal development so mentees can integrate their learning quickly, develop competence and self reliance.
It’s about dissecting past experiences, reflecting on them as a valuable insight to learning and truly understanding then applying such learning to new situations.
Cooperation and collaboration are key principles at the heart of a great mentoring and coaching relationship.
How can Mentoring and Coaching Benefit You?
- Help support you with key transitions in your life such as moving to self employment and starting your own business.
- More cost effective as you don’t make the same mistakes and accelerate your growth.
- Accountability, getting you out of a rut or the thinking stage and making something happen.
We all need the support of others to accelerate our growth so if you’re ready to for change and want to transition to the work you love to do then get in touch.
