Each month, Studer Family of Companies highlights one of our Standards of Behavior and Core Values. This month we are highlighting Mentorship.

Last November Bert Thornton was a keynote speaker at EntreCon. During his session he shared 10 Success Tactics from his book "Find an Old Gorilla: Pathways Through the Jungle of Business and Life." I highly recommend this book to everyone. One of his success tactics is to “hang around the right people” and he specifically points out the importance of finding a mentor.  

Mentorship is a relationship in which a more experienced or more knowledgeable person helps to guide a less experienced or less knowledgeable person.  According to Bert, a mentor is someone who will help you through social, political, cultural and spiritual aspects in your life and business. S

Studies show that many employees will leave a company or organization within the first 90 to 120 days, which make mentorship so vital in our organization.  We have the ability to mentor a new employee from day one and reduce the chances they will become unhappy and leave.

Quint’s book “The Great Employee Handbook outlines” ways you can help mentor new employees, increase their job satisfaction, and help them develop into quality contributors at our organization. You can find these tips in Chapter 18.

Quint recently wrote an article on what it takes to be a successful mentor and lists guidelines that mentors should follow. I wanted to list them here: 

— Mentors should be willing to share their knowledge, expertise and skills. They understand where the mentee is, they relate to the time when they were there themselves, they show sincerity and freely give away what they have learned. Mentors are not afraid of giving a way that has helped them be successful.

— Mentors walk the talk. They demonstrate the same behaviors they are teaching. These include things like the fact that the mentor may still not be where they want to be. Mentors are human and not perfect. It is not fair to mentors or mentees for the mentor to be put on a pedestal.

— Mentors care. They take the role of a mentor seriously. They're like a guide on a mountain climb: They want to make sure the tools and skills are in place. They are committed to the mentee's success.

— They are positive. The mentee can feel the enthusiasm of the mentor, both spoken and unspoken. Mentors are cup half-full people who help the mentee see the opportunities when facing obstacles.

— Mentors do not see themselves as finished products. They have committed themselves to ongoing learning. A good mentor admits when they are still learning in the mentor-mentee relationship. They will often learn right along with the mentee.

— Mentors help the mentee hold up the mirror and provide constructive feedback and guidance. Mentors help the mentee leverage their strengths. A mentor will also benefit from the learnings as it will help them hold up their own mirror.

— Mentors have done it and or are doing it. They are respected in their organizations and the community. Mentors teach from experience. A good mentor does not ask a mentee to take steps they did not take. They share their own self-awareness and development plan and their own goals.

— Good mentors also help the mentee find other mentors. A mentor will also have gaps but due to their experience and network, they connect the mentee with other resources.

— A good mentor shows they care. They explain even when feedback is not positive, it is because they care and our committed to the mentee's success. They connect to the why.

We all have the opportunity to make a difference in the lives of others through mentorship.