“In order to be a mentor, and an effective one, one must care. You must care. You don’t have to know how many square miles are in Idaho, you don’t need to know what is the chemical makeup of chemistry, or of blood or water. Know what you know and care about the person, care about what you know and care about the person you’re sharing with.” — Maya Angelou
A teacher cannot be successful without mentors to listen and guide. Inc. Magazine posted an excellent article on the importance of mentors and why we need one (at least one!) in our lives throughout our career. Here is my take on the 10 points as applied to my job:
1. Mentors provide information and knowledge. My mentors assist in areas of content, pedagogy, and interactions with peers. I have been fortunate to have one consistent mentor for my entire career, and grateful for others who have entered my life and guided me along the way.
2. Mentors can see where we need to improve where we often cannot. Find mentors who are willing to have the tough conversation. Hard to say and tough to hear. Don’t let the first sentence out of your mouth to be an excuse. Listen. Process. Learn. Know the advice is coming from someone who cares and wants you to improve.
3. Mentors find ways to stimulate our personal and professional growth. This occurs through conversations and resource sharing. Mentoring is not all about our professional life. The best mentors also help guide the boundaries we need between work and family. Sometimes a gentle reminder (or not so gentle, in my case) is required.
4. Mentors offer encouragement and help keep us going. Crucial! We all have those days when it seems everything is going wrong. Do you have that one person who will listen to your wandering thoughts? No pity parties, just processing through what happened and then back at it!
5. Mentors are disciplinarians that create necessary boundaries that we cannot set for ourselves. The article used the term “tough love”. I have been the recipient of this over the years. Find your person that will care enough to say the words.
6. Mentors are sounding boards so we can bounce ideas off them for an unfiltered opinion. When your mind is a jumble of thoughts and you need someone to help sort them out, who is your first stop?
7. Mentors have trusted advisers. The good. The bad. The ugly. Find the person you can trust.
8. Mentors can be connectors. A great mentor has a wealth of experience and can point you in the right direction.
9. Mentors have the experiences you can learn from to prevent making the same mistakes beginners make. Some of my most powerful mentor moments occur when I make a mistake and then “debrief” the situation. Hearing past experiences helps me to plan and learn for the future.
10. Mentors are free, which makes them priceless in more ways than one. True story. No price tag could ever be placed on my mentors.
How long does a professional need a mentor? For life. Find your tribe!