Finding someone to talk to about your ambitions, goals and ideas is difficult if you work in a smaller business. Finding time to develop the skills you need to run your business effectively is even more difficult. That’s why so many managers and business owners turn to a mentor for help when the going gets tough or you just cannot see the wood for the trees.
Having a Business Mentor is the catalyst for helping you to find the answers for yourself. Rather than actually telling you their view and perception of your issue the mentor is more likely to ask challenging and thought provoking questions enabling the you to ‘see’ what you need to do.
Mentoring is forward looking and focused on the action you are willing to take to get what you want out of your work, your career your business. The process of being mentored enables you to see different alternatives and to take a step back and actually examine your goals and values and how these impact on your ability to manage. This leads to greater Self-awareness, Focus, and Accountability.
You can use your mentor in different ways depending on your needs. They can be your own personal trainer to enable you to achieve your goals; your trainer in communication and life skills; your sounding board when making choices; your motivation when strong actions are called for; your unconditional support; your coach in personal development; your assistant when creating an extraordinary project. And most importantly, the professional mentor is your partner in helping you have all of what matters most to you.
Sometimes you just need to learn or enhance a skill such as giving a presentation. If you need to present to your customer you will need coaching now not when the next course comes up. Most people find that three or four hours of coaching and they can design and develop their presentation and practise the delivery till they are satisfied they will make the best impression on their client.
A mentor will normally agree a contract with the client that meets their individual needs and schedule. For example we offer a 30 minute complimentary “is this for you” session? Assuming you are happy to carry on we would then conduct an initial one-hour session to create a mentoring strategy. This session will often use personality profiling to help us get a better understanding of how you like to do things and a learning styles inventory to identify how best you learn. We would then plan with you how often you will want to meet to achieve your goals.
The important point is that you bring the agenda and the mentor brings his or her experience and wisdom to create a partnership that moves you forward.
If you would like to be a mentor or want to know how to choose one download our Useful Guide to Mentoring
If you are an experienced senior manager and just want a refresher you can download Mentoring Essentials
