mentor Archives - The Future Mindset

What To Expect?

Do you want to mentor the right people for you? In today’s article, 5 ways how to be an amazing mentor for the right person. We will discuss the importance of being a mentor but also how you can be a quality mentor for the right person you are mentoring. This article is for coaches, leaders, managers and even parents who want to get the best out of someone they are mentoring. It’s a privilege to be able to mentor someone and I hope you gain the information you need to succeed.

What Is A Role Of A Mentor?

A mentor is someone who has gained knowledge and experience throughout their life. To then share that information with a mentee to help them succeed too. They will provide guidance, skills, emotional support and motivation to succeed.

A mentor will also clear the path for the mentee to follow without them having to struggle to find their way to achieving their goals. A mentor will help the mentee formulate plans, set goals, develop networks, and identify the best resources to learn from.

The role of a mentor is vast and a mentee can gain so much from having one. Learning from someone else’s knowledge and experience can help a mentee to progress so much faster and more efficient than if done all on their own.

Why You Can’t Be A Mentor For Everyone

I’ve always been someone who loves helping people and when I was young I was shocked when someone who clearly needed help won’t listen to the guidance on how to solve their problems.

In life, there are people who want solutions and people who want to dwell on their problems. There are people who relate to you and others don’t. There are people who like you and some you just annoy. Hopefully, you get the point that a mentor is not for everyone it’s for the right person.

When looking for a mentee to mentor. You have to find a mentee that wants to change and wants to listen to your message. Mentors should spend their time spreading their knowledge and experience to people who want to receive their message, not people who don’t.

Learn From The Best

To be a great mentor you first have to be a great mentee. When it comes to mentoring. The mentors with the greatest experience can teach the most valuable lessons. Life experience should not be taken for granted when becoming a great mentor.

By making sure you are the best mentor. You have to gain experience through theory and putting those theory’s to action and gaining the results you can teach others.

For mentees, it’s important to have the right mentor to provide you with the information you need. This doesn’t always mean they have a 50-year-old person it can be anyone who’s just further ahead of where you want to be.

Also being mindful that times change and what worked in the past might not work in the present. So having a mentor that’s five years ahead of you or a mentor that keeps adapting will allow the mentee to gain the best results.

5 Ways How To Be An Amazing Mentor For The Right Person

1.Take Time To Listen

The ability to listen more than you speak as a mentor is crucial for the success of the mentee. The reason being is that the mentee will have a goal in mind they want to achieve. If a mentor is just doing whatever they want. It will eventually cause conflict and the mentee will not listen to your instructions. By listening you help them to be heard but you can also find all the information you need to help someone. You just have to listen first.

2. Show You Care

Showing you care as a mentor helps build trust and respect with the mentee. You do this by being genuine and putting the other person first. The best way to achieve this is through your actions. Going above and beyond to make sure they have everything they need to succeed. A story that Cristiano Ronaldo always talks about is when his mentor Sir Alex Ferguson allowed him to take time away from football to go and grieve the passing of his father. There have been mentors in my own life who wouldn’t think to let you have time off to take care of personal issues. This goes to show the mentor cared about the individual and in return, Cristiano gave everything to his mentor.

3. You Have To Be Honest

Some people can find it hard, to be honest with someone if it will hurt their feelings. As a mentor being honest to your mentee is paramount to their success. As well as knowing what they’re doing right. They also need to know what they’re doing wrong. The feedback they need to receive is an honest review of where they are and what they need to move forward. By knowing your mentee you will know what tone of voice to use when you’re expressing your honest feedback. When you’re honest it creates uncomfortably in the short term but they will thank you in the long term.

4. Have A Clear Expectations

It’s important when mentoring anyone to have clear expectations, to begin with. This sets up the relationship boundaries, intentions and goals that each person needs to follow. If not done correctly then there is a high chance for misunderstanding, a lack of high performance and direction. I have witnessed both sides and setting a clear expectation changes everything in a positive light. It also weeds out people who are not a good match for your mentoring style, the vision you have for them and the working environment. So it’s a win-win for everyone. This means you work with the right people but also you can create an environment for success.

5. Understand That Everyone Is Different

When mentoring people you have to understand that everyone has different personalities, standards and upbringing. Treating everyone the same will allow only a selected amount of mentees to receive your mentorship in its best form. Adapting your approach to each person allows for an effective approach. Also understanding that people start at different levels. Some will need a lot of practice and some will pick it up quickly. Being patient to focus on their journey not comparing to what you think their journey should be.

A Final Word From Future Mindset

I hope you enjoyed today’s article, 5 ways how to be an amazing mentor for the right person. Being a mentor is a great responsibility to have. Seeing the development of another person through your guidance is one of the best feelings in life. I hope the article has helped you on your mentoring journey. If you need any help or guidance with mentoring you can contact me at adam@thefuturemindset.com

Hi I’m Adam

I’ve spent over 10 years coaching and mentoring people within sport and business. I have many life skills that I have developed and I want to pass these skills on so people can find their best self. I believe it all starts in the mind and I write about valuable tools and strategies to help people grow in this area.

Within today’s article, 6 ways a mentor can help you with imposter syndrome. We will discuss how you as a mentor can help anyone overcome their imposter syndrome. In a time where imposter syndrome is becoming more well know and prevalent within society. It is your duty as a mentor to help guide people to regain control of reality and their mind.

How To Help Someone With Imposter Syndrome

At some point, we all face imposter syndrome whether that’s you getting a promotion into a management position and you don’t feel deserving of the role or you get asked to write a book and you don’t feel your message is worth anyone hearing.

From a mentors point of view spotting this in people is an important part of coaching and leading people. It can be hard for people to see their own fault and what holds them back. Looking from the outside in. You can place yourself in a unique position to help comfort and guide people away from imposter syndrome.

Here are some of the ways you can do this.

6 Ways A Mentor Can Help You With Imposter Syndrome

1. Let Them Know They Are Not Alone

Once you have spotted imposter syndrome in someone. Let them know they’re not the only person going through this. By letting them know that you go through it, all the people around you and the successful people you watch on TV, all go through it too.

When we get caught with imposter syndrome we have a tendency to make ourselves feel it’s just us and us alone are going through this. Comforting your mentees to let them know they’re not alone can help a lot in overcoming imposter syndrome. Telling them your own stories and showing them real-life stories can uplift their spirits that it’s not just them.

2. Look Out For Negative Self-Talk

A quick way to spot if someone is experiencing imposter syndrome is by listening to what they say about themselves. For example, saying I’m not good enough to do this or I’m too stupid to do this.

As a mentor, you should calmly and immediately move them away from this negative self-talk. You can do this by presenting them with facts as to why these statements are completely false. Showing them when they have succeeded and what everyone else thinks of them. Slowly absorb and throw out any negative self-talk they have.

From there help them by teaching techniques like how to create a victory list of their achievements and help them remember their successes. This will give them the power to correct themselves when you’re not there.

3. Let Them Know What You Think Of Them

Affirming on a regular basis the positivity you see in the people you mentor. Can stop imposter syndrome from forming in the first place. There is something good in everyone, you just have to look.

By being honest with your assessments it will them overcome self-doubt and help them believe they are worthy of the position or task they’re doing. Make a mental note or write down at least one thing to the person you’re mentoring and let them know.

Watch or listen to how they feel and perform as a consequence of your affirmation towards them. A mentor who doesn’t let their mentee know what they are doing well at. Will allow imposter syndrome to flourish at some point.

4. Eradicate Sexism, Racism And Social Hierarchy

You wouldn’t think these 3 words would affect imposter syndrome but it surely does. Imposter syndrome was first researched with women where women felt their efforts and place in the workplace was at cost of being female. Also, minorities in an organisation have a feeling they don’t belong because they don’t fit in with the majority. This brings out the self-doubt, imposter syndrome feeds off.

That is why you as a mentor or leader have to create an environment where everyone matters and that everyone regardless, of gender, race or social standing that you are deserving of being here.

The old way of thinking of being a man, being white or being from a well off family means of deserving more has to disappear. We know now categorically that women are just as smart as men, that we’re are human with the same mental capacity and just because you are born into a certain family means nothing to what you can achieve. Understanding this you will create an environment that anyone would love to work in.

5. Create A Safe Space For Mental Health

I think now with all the knowledge we know about mental health. Having a safe space where people can talk about their problems and concerns should be of importance.

This is one way you can help someone prevent and overcome imposter syndrome.

I would recommend that you study and seek expert advice when dealing with anyone’s mental health and depending on the size of your organisation. Having a fully trained professional is a great option to have which most sports teams and the biggest companies have now. To simply listen and find solutions together can really help the mindset change from imposter syndrome.

6. Help Them To Self Manage Imposter Syndrome

It’s amazing if you can help someone overcome imposter syndrome but it can be even more empowering to teach them to overcome it themselves. Self-management leads to long term happiness and the power to be in charge of imposter syndrome when it creeps up. Check out 8 ways to overcome imposter syndrome for developing this on an individual basis.

Over To You

I hope you learned from today’s article 6 Ways A Mentor Can Help You With Imposter Syndrome.

It can be a difficult job being someone’s mentor but it’s also a privilege too. It’s our duty to provide the best mentoring possible and helping them overcome imposter syndrome can be one of them.

Are there any other strategies that you know of to combat imposter syndrome as a mentor? Please write it in the comments below.

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Hi, I’m Adam