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Success Advice

What You Give and Receive Through Mentoring

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I’ve always believed that the relationships and lasting connections formed while mentoring are the ultimate reward. On one hand, a mentee gets the direct benefit of advice from a seasoned professional and can make career strides that might not have otherwise been possible without guidance. The pride of watching a junior grow and thrive is incredibly fulfilling; after all, it’s been well-established that it’s better to give than to receive.

However, this doesn’t mean mentees are the only ones rewarded for being part of a mentoring relationship. Mentors find that the more they give to their protégés, the more they get back as well. Mentoring is a two-way street, and being an effective teacher to a younger colleague will allow you to receive just as much as you give.

What You Give: Better Communication Skills

Mentors can do no better than to help their students develop strong communication skills. The world is driven by interpersonal relationships, and knowing how to connect and engage meaningfully with others is an ability that benefits everyone, no matter where they are in their career.

Good communication is consistently ranked as one of the most important skills an employee can have. It’s at the core of everything they do. Even if they sit at their cubicle all day long, they still spend the majority of their time talking to people over the phone or by email. 

Ideal mentorships provide judgment-free zones for mentees to work on these essential traits. While mentors should certainly take the lead in guiding and teaching their students, it’s important to recognize their progress and eventually treat them more as equals than pupils. This encourages students to have more confidence in their interactions, leading to improved networking skills and an overall greater initiative in their work. 

As such, they’re more likely to form a bond with your company, which will result in less turnover. Since the cost of replacing an employee is, according to Employee Benefit News, approximately $15,000 each, this is critical.

“We make a living by what we get, we make a life by what we give.” – Winston Churchill

What You Receive: New Perspectives 

Generational gaps naturally lead to significant divergences in thinking. This is especially true for recent generations who grew up surrounded by the constant advancements in technology. Compared to generations who grew up before computers, they have a different perspective. 

Whatever the case may be, both you and your mentee are unique people with a variety of experiences that have shaped who you are and how you work. Even though you’re the one teaching, there’s plenty you can learn from mentoring a junior employee. In particular, the act of mentoring can reveal bad habits or outdated methods of thinking that you might be unwittingly carrying around. They say it’s hard to teach an old dog new tricks, but mentoring younger workers challenges traditional structures and ushers in innovation.  

Engaging with a mentee means that you have to think critically and be mindful of what you’re saying. Does the advice that you’ve followed in your career still apply, or has the landscape changed so much that it’s no longer relevant? Can your advice be adjusted, or do you have to approach it from a totally new angle? Listening to your younger mentee can help you gain a new perspective on the insights you’ve picked up throughout the years.

What You Give: Support in Times of Stress and Anxiety

While efforts in recent years have been deeply focused on removing the stigma of discussing mental health in the workplace, it remains a subject that is uncomfortable for some to broach. As a result, one in five workers who suffer from mental health issues can end up suffering in silence, according to Kaiser Permanente.

Mentorships are special relationships that circumvent the typical authority dynamic. It’s not uncommon for a mentor and mentee to become close friends to the point where both parties feel completely comfortable sharing personal information and expressing fears and doubts. 

With this in mind, mentors should strive to be a source of support and encouragement. 

As someone with years or even decades more experience than a mentee, you can assuage the worries of younger workers. Failures or missteps can feel devastating to them, but you can provide a long-term perspective that will help them realize it’s not the end of the world.

Mentoring a colleague can also relieve stress and anxiety for the mentor. Studies have demonstrated that mentors find their interactions with their juniors to be therapeutic, showing that these kinds of bonds can help destigmatize stress and anxiety for everyone involved.

“A mentor is someone who sees more talent and ability within you, than you see in yourself, and helps bring it out of you.” – Bob Proctor

What You Receive: Greater Success Throughout Your Career

When all is said and done, the benefits of mentoring are quite tangible for both you and your mentee. According to a study by Forbes, mentors were six times more likely to earn promotions than those who did not mentor; likewise, mentees were five times more likely to earn promotions than non-mentees. This just goes to show how vital strong, interpersonal relationships can be in a person’s growth and improvement, especially in their careers.

I’m always inclined to say that my own growth is a byproduct of mentorship, but the personal and professional development it gives you, even as you get further into your career, is nothing to scoff at. By focusing on giving your time and energy to others as a mentor, you’ll not only discover the joy of being a part of a person’s development, but also fully realize your own growth as a worker, leader, and person.

Have you ever had/been a mentor? If so, share your thoughts on mentorship with us below!

Tim Gentry is a Washington, DC-based business consultant who currently advises the software companies Perfecta and tagSpace. A thought leader in value-chain disruption and protection measurements, he is also Northeast Regional chair of Young Presidents' Organization (YPO), a global leadership community of chief executives.

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Success Advice

Why You Shouldn’t Discount A Brick And Mortar Store In 2025

We’re constantly told about how stores are closing down and how shoppers prefer online options, but is it worth questioning this theory?

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How to grow a brick and mortar store
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In 2024, you’d be forgiven for thinking that physical shopping is a thing of the past. We’re constantly told about how stores are closing down and how shoppers prefer online options. But is it worth questioning this theory? (more…)

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Success Advice

How to Alter Your Business Approach With Technological Advancements

Keeping up with technological trends has become a challenge for almost every business owner.

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altering business approach
Image Credit: Midjourney

Technology’s evolution has impacted everything, and business is no exception. Keeping up with technological trends has become a challenge for almost every business owner. Entrepreneurs unable to do so are being wiped out of the market.

There is no doubt that AI (Artificial Intelligence) and ML (Machine Learning) have taken over the business world. These technological advancements are impacting decision-making, success percentages, and other entrepreneurial aspects.

Adapting to these developments is integral to business success. Let’s explore how you can accomplish these milestones.

Embed the strength of AI and ML.

AI has modified business operations in major ways. For instance, companies have employed bots for customer support. These bots go through an effective learning process via Machine Learning before being able to answer like humans.  

Bots can also perform detailed data analytics and make business moves with high success percentages.

ML is used more for the analysis of data chunks and generating successful predictions. This simply means that business owners do not have to worry about large-scale financial losses. 

In terms of deployment and usage, a reputed company like Netflix employs machine learning for decision-making.

Blockchain is increasing the count of business opportunities

Tampering of financial transactions is quite common and causes severe monetary damage to customers. With the rise of digital payments, this risk has increased. 

Blockchain is used to elevate your experience for monetary transfers. It combats penetrating events to extract confidential customer information. 

Most business sectors are using block chain but finance and supply chain management sections have a higher count. These two corporate sections have several monetary deposits and withdrawals taking place. 

In terms of percentage, approximately 72% and 5% of finance and supply chain firms have implemented block chain successfully.

Dedicate Yourself to Continuous Learning and Individual Development

You invest in learning some of the very important skills, including digital marketing, financial management, and how to gain customers as an entrepreneur.

You need to set up your knowledge base about doing business on Coursera and Udemy with the basics that are necessary for the business, building further by networking with experts through webinars.

Besides, Agile methodology will introduce elasticity to your company: this review and feedback system with further correction regularly will allow for enhancing efficiency and promptly reacting to the market.

Developing key skills to achieve goals

Running a business successfully is not only about having niche/domain knowledge. Business owners need to have communication / soft skills as well in addition to niche information.

Here are some key technical/domain-related areas that business owners should have a strong grip on.

Data Storage on Cloud: These days, companies do not store their data on physical servers. Therefore business owners should know how data is stored/edited/removed/updated via AWS, Azure, Google Cloud, and other platforms.

Data Analysis/Interpretation Qualities: These days, data is as precious as gold. Business owners with data analysis abilities make correct predictions. As a result, their ventures grow in volume.

Development/Coding Knowledge

Programming knowledge gives business owners an edge whether the application is developed in-house or outsourced. It assists in getting updates deployed and handling application underperformance without getting professional support every time.

Hacking proof framework

There is no benefit of having an advanced automated system if can be penetrated. Successful business owners have above-average knowledge of cyber security and hacking attempts. They are able to choose top-notch anti-hacking software without much of an ambiguity.

Communication Abilities/Soft Skills

Here are some key communication qualities that business owners should have:

Communication/Conversation: Business owners should use to-the-point sentences in both written and oral communication.

Issue Resolution Abilities: Business owners should be able to drill down to problems and solve them. This is done successfully only if an entrepreneur has in-depth business domain knowledge.

Agile Implementations

It is mandatory for business owners to have knowledge of iterative/agile models. With such a competitive environment, it is impossible for business owners to succeed without adopting an agile framework.

Create a productive well-crafted Business Strategy

A productive business venture starts with a clear vision. The first factor making a business successful is the idea behind it. It helps with endless growth and combating competition successfully. Katherine Philips once mentioned that business goals are inevitable if goals are set concretely.

  • Goals should be based on smart achievements instead of complexity. Focus on the value that each one of them adds. 
  • Business objectives should not be vague. Key indicators should be constructed to measure the success/failure of each milestone.
  • Be realistic when setting goals. Do not aim at impossible milestones since they can be demotivating.
  • Milestones/goals need to be time-bound. Set a completion deadline for each one of them. 
  • Business goals should not be alien. Owners can think out of the box but not be obsolete / unrelated.

Create a productive well-crafted Business Strategy

Business owners cannot succeed without having a network. Some tips help in this case. Attend conferences and professional gatherings to connect with other entrepreneurs.
Here are some other related points business owners should pay attention to.

  • Attend meetings and conferences to stay updated with trends and meet business owners who already have well-set ventures. This helps in enhancing the learning curve of new / growing entrepreneurs.
  • Being a part of business communities/groups is very productive. When one shares opinions and discusses decision-making tactics, it helps in preventing errors and enhancing success rate.
  • Even the most experienced business owners have mentors as learning never stops. Take part in mentorship programs so there is an assurance that you are following the correct roadmap.

Conclusion

There is absolutely no doubt that business dimensions have evolved with technological advancements. Successful entrepreneurs have grabbed these changes in due course of time and continue to evolve. On the other hand, people following old paths and conventional steps fade out of competition. In a nutshell, keep an eye on the processes and practices you follow as these factors decide success rate.

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Success Advice

Understanding the Power of Yes and No: How to Create Boundaries For Success

These words have a significant impact on how our success unfolds

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Creating legal boundaries
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The two smallest yet most powerful words in life, “Yes” and “No,” have a big impact on our growth on both personal and professional levels. In addition to affecting the choices we make every day, these words have a significant impact on how our success unfolds. (more…)

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Motivation

From Couch Potato to Go-Getter: A Step-by-Step Motivation Plan for Everyone

By understanding what motivates you, you can turn your dreams into reality

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How to be motivated
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Are you tired of feeling like a couch potato? Do you want to transform your life and become a go-getter? You’re not alone! Many people struggle with motivation, but the good news is that change is possible. (more…)

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