Video – How To Be A Great Mentor
I’ve always been a huge advocate of the mentoring process and it’s a tool that even big businesses now utilise.
I have been mentoring for well over 5 years and it began as something I started doing with kids in schools. My second mentee was a young man who was having difficulty staying focussed. I was called in to help. His mother was a teacher at the school and she wanted a private meeting with me.
When we met she said she was at her wits end. She’d tried everything to get her son to focus but his grades were low and he just had very little interest in education. His passions were music and cars.
So I finally met the student and we started seeing each other every couple of weeks. At first I just found out more about him and learned about what drove him. He reminded me so much of me at the same age – at that time I was in the same boat, I had no interest in school and I just couldn’t be bothered to study.
I met with him regularly and he gradually made small improvements. The biggest shift came though when one day, I saw a drawing in his notepad. It was the set up of a car stereo system that resembled a mind-map. I said to him ‘that looks great, did you know you can use that skill as a study aid?’
From then onwards, everything shifted. He went from being a D/E grade student to getting B’s and C’s almost overnight. It was a very simple strategy that paid dividends.
His mum was thrilled at his transformation, so much so, that she invited me around for dinner and to meet the whole family. At the time of his exams, his problem was not trying to get his head down to study, but from from the stress of studying so hard.
It’s amazing that such a small thing helped turn him around. That’s why I believe that mentoring can be so powerful. If you have the opportunity to mentor, take it. If someone asks you to mentor them, take it! Whether it be a business associate, student, friend, new blogger, and up coming comedian or even your own mother, you can mentor anyone.
To help you begin the process of being a great mentor, I’ve created this video that highlights 3 essential components. Please feel free to leave your feedback below.
Nice post, Amit! Yeas, you are right that even small things can help a lot.
And it’s really great to help anybody, to mentor them. As I try to help people with my blog articles, I also try to do it offline. And I must say, I like it!
.-= New at Roman Soluk’s blog ..Top 10 tips for life improvement =-.
That true Roman, as a blogger you’re mentoring people through your writing. It’s a great way to do it.
Hey Amit,
Some of the most valuable things I have learned are from my mentors. They’re not perfect people, but they are people who have something extraordinary to offer. I think the trick is to (like Bruce Lee says): absorb what is useful, discard what is not, add what is uniquely your own.
Thanks for that quote from Bruce Lee and I especially like that last part about adding what is uniquely your own. That’s how we forge new paths.
Having a mentor and being one is both so rewarding experiences. I am glad you were to able to help the kid out! Sometimes, just someone believing in you makes a huge difference.
.-= New at Zengirl @ Heart and Mind’s blog ..Why we can not win on 100 things minimalist race! =-.
It truly does Zengirl.
Hiya Amit,
Great work here and I like the tips in the video. Most importantly give them challenges so that they can do better no problem if they failed or did not do the first time…but they will soon learn to be better and best.
Cheers,
Cheryl
.-= New at Cheryl Paris’s blog ..Top 10 Inspirational Sayings You Need To Know =-.
Thank you Cheryl! 🙂
Hi Amit,
You are right. It so important to continually challenge and hold the student accountable. It is crucial that a mentor puts the pupils growth and development above being well liked. One of the unexpected benefits of mentoring is realizing how much it benefits the mentor. When we make it a habit to share what we have learned, it sinks deeper into our own mind. If we teach the pupil to be, kind, patient and persistent we cannot help but ingrain these values deeper in ourselves.
It sure does sink into yourself more when you bestow what you know and have done so through experience. Thank you Rob
Hi Amit. I really enjoyed your video blog post. I think one of the things a great mentor does is being able to point out what the student cannot see that can benefit him or her. You did this when you showed your student that the mind-map drawing could be used as a study aid. This little knowledge helped him approve his grades. I also liked the end of your video where you talk about challenge the student. This is essential to growth in my opinion, and for some reason, the concept reminded me of all the mentors in Star Wars such as what Yoda and Obi-Wan Kenobi would do. 🙂 Thanks for this Amit.
Hey Hulbert, I’m so glad you enjoyed the videos and yes I was obi-wan to that young man! LOL. It’s good to be a yoda to others and as I mentioned it essentially becomes a double transformation.
I think it is great that great mentor doesn’t necessarily say what we want to hear, but what we need to hear. A great mentor is really more of a side thing that I noticed as well. Excellent video blog.
I like that way of putting it baker…not saying what people want to hear but what people need to hear…you could turn to that whole concept into a blog post.
Amit –
I have been a mentor and a mentee and benefited hugely from both. I like the ideas of challenge and accountability as part of being a good mentor. I’ve found that the best mentors are able to push their mentees to do more than they thought possible, stretch their minds and move them forward faster than they thought possible. I also think it is important for mentors to set a regular meeting schedule, listen as much as talk, and look for the learning they can take away. Great post!
Phil
.-= New at Phil – Less Ordinary Living’s blog ..Secrets to your Successful Career – Part 2 =-.
Hey Phil, yep it’s true that a regular schedule is very important so that momentum is kept and the growth consistent.
Oh listen to that British accent. You realize how distracting that is ;)!
Just half-kidding……it’s fantastic to see you on video. What tool did you use to make this video please?
Smooth, very smooth, very logical flow, good consistency of your verbal tone and good intonation too. Please do more of these, Amit.
I like the summary at the end. I have been engaged in a lot of mentoring (giving and taking) and truly believe in it. Good job!
LOL so glad you love the accent. Believe it or not Farnoosh, I just recorded that on my iphone and put it straight on youtube, no editiing or anything like that. 🙂
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Thank you!