[Flash] Who Will Mentor Our Mentors?

My answer? Your Mentees.

Ideally, your meaningful managers and smart leadership programs are also mentoring your Mentors.

Mentoring is a skill. It’s not a gift or an innate talent. People aren’t born mentoring others; they develop this skill like they develop their delegation or strategic thinking skills.

But even if your managers and leadership programs fail to deliver, trust your Mentees to mentor your Mentors.

Why? How? Mentoring is experiential. People learn to mentor others by mentoring others.

When people ask me, “How do I improve my mentoring skills?” I respond, “Mentor more.” 

Recently we completed a nurse excellence mentoring program by inviting the participants to report on their experiences in a virtual celebration.

Here are some highlights from the Mentors who shared their results and insights:

• I learned that a Mentor doesn’t need to have all the answers; being present and engaged is what matters.
• I enhanced my accountability, communication, and listening skills.
• Discussing various issues with my Mentee helped me critically think about my past experiences and identify those that would make a difference for her.
• Working with my Mentee, I found a renewed love for my job.
• I discovered the need as a Mentor and a leader to be grounded, practice integrity and truth, and lead from my heart.
• I learned the importance of being open to continual change.
• Helping my Mentee work toward her goal inspired me to work on mine.
• I developed my peer mentoring competency.
• I practiced helping my Mentee bridge his leadership knowledge gaps. 
• Mentoring helped me re-ignite my passion for nursing and my commitment to improve and progress in my craft.

The growth these Mentors experienced didn’t result from a training or a workbook. It happened in the thick of a mentoring relationship.

If you need to bolster Mentors in your organization, assign them to your Mentees!

© 2021. Ann Tardy and Mentor Lead. www.mentorlead.com