Manager Skill: Develop Effective Management Skills Via Business Mentoring

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If you’re keen to develop your skills as an effective manager, why not consider recruiting a business mentor to assist you?

Potential mentors are everywhere.

They could be successful senior managers in your own organisation, or directors or managers in other companies.

They could be colleagues you’ve met at conferences or networking events, or local entrepreneurs that are achieving amazing things with limited resources.

They could even be ex-colleagues or associates who have moved on to other opportunities.

Choose a mentor that inspires you.

Ideally, pick someone who will challenge you and help you learn new habits to make you a more successful manager.

Your ideal mentor should have reached a more advanced stage in their career, and therefore be in a position to share the benefit of their experience and learning.

They should also be someone you trust.

A mentor will help you to explore and devise solutions to some of your most challenging management problems, so it’s important that they treat the relationship with the sensitivity and discretion it deserves. Although you may be anxious about approaching a potential mentor to ask for their support, you’ll usually find that they’re hugely flattered and delighted to be able to help.

The role of a business mentor

There are several ways in which a business mentor can assist you in improving your performance as a manager. These include:

Listening

Offering you time and space to talk about your work and role is critically important. It helps you to reflect on your management practice, and gain fresh perspectives or insights that may not have previously occurred to you.

Being a role model

Successful, accomplished mentors are inspiring. They have knowledge, expertise and experience to share, which can help you to work towards your own career goals and aspirations.

Advice and guidance

A mentor can provide advice and guidance to help you deal with tricky management situations. They will share a range of tools, techniques and ideas to help you address challenges in the workplace.

Skills development

Mentors can help you develop new skills and competencies to enhance your effectiveness as a manager. They can set specific challenges to encourage you to put new learning into practice – and then evaluate the impact and effectiveness of new approaches.

Moral support

Being a manager isn’t always easy. Sometimes you need encouragement and support from someone who understands the challenges you’re facing. As well as providing important moral support, mentors will help re-energise you, enabling you to continue striving to be the best manager you can be.

The mentor/mentee relationship can sometimes feel very unequal, and most of the time, this is probably true. The role of the mentor is to share their knowledge, skills, experience and resources to help you succeed. In this sense, you are often getting more from the relationship than you’re giving.

However, this is part of the deal. It’s your job to absorb all the advice, guidance and support your mentor is prepared to offer, and then use it to improve your management effectiveness and advance your career.

Before you know it, someone will approach you to ask ‘Will you mentor me?’  And of course, your answer will be ‘Yes.’

Ever been mentored? Or been a mentor? What were the results?

Please share your views in the comments below.

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