Of the many ways to progress your career, for most of us, becoming a professional business mentor, won’t be something we’ve considered.
But it can be a great way to set you apart from the crowd, giving you a practical opportunity to share your experiences, whilst helping to develop someone else’s career along the way.
A business mentorship offers individuals the opportunity to gain expert advice from someone in their industry. And whilst the benefits to the mentee can often seem obvious, the mentor themselves can also gain a great deal from the relationship.
Here are five practical benefits of becoming a business mentor:
1. Pass on your expert knowledge
When you’ve been working in an industry (or role) for a number of years, it’s easy for the knowledge you’ve acquired to become undervalued by your peers. But for someone lacking experience, who’s just starting out, it could prove to be invaluable.
What’s more, it’s easier to learn from people who’ve had similar experiences, making it a much more personal way to learn. To put it simply: it’s a great way to pass on what you know, and to make sure all of that vital information doesn’t go to waste.
2. To develop your skills
Whether it’s by learning a range of new skills, or by polishing the ones you already possess, mentoring can be a great way to improve your managerial style. For example, listening to your mentee’s needs and answering their questions will greatly improve your communication skills in a practical way.
Aside from your communication and interpersonal skills, mentoring will also help you develop a number of other assets, including time management, the ability to be objective, setting targets, giving constructive feedback, and your overall man-management ability.
3. To improve your CV
The recognition you gain from your peers when mentoring can also benefit the development of your own career. If you apply for a new job in the future, you have a simple and practical way to demonstrate your knowledge and work ethic, especially if you’re applying for an upper management position.
Some mentorship schemes offer accredited management training as part of the course, which means you’ll also have a certification to validate your new skills.
When you’re looking for career progression, these qualifications could prove to be an important commodity, which not only demonstrate your accomplishments, but your positive mindset too.
4. To gain a new perspective
When you’ve been working in a role for a long time, it can be easy to get stuck in your ways. If you have a high pressure job and a busy schedule to maintain, the latest business trends can easily pass you by or not seem applicable for your business.
Your business mentee provides a new pair of eyes to an industry, giving you the opportunity to gain a new perspective. In other words, as much as your mentee stands to learn from you, you may be surprised by what you can learn from them.
5. To uncover a hidden talent
Aside from being a way to develop and progress your own career, business mentorships can be a great way of finding talented and likeminded individuals within your industry. If you’re in a position to hire people, your mentee might prove to be a future ideal hire.
