While it seems the benefit in a mentoring relationship should belong to the mentoree, often (and rightly so), the rewards occur on both sides of the relationship. The mentoring relationship can be a rewarding role for BOTH the Mentor and the Mentoree. As a business mentor, you can help a mentoree reach her goals and you can be a sounding board as she develops and grows her business skills.
A mentor can also support and empower the mentoree to identify issues and discover the solutions for themselves. Since 1997, the HerBusiness (formerly the Australian Businesswomen’s Network) has provided opportunities for experienced men and women to be business mentors on its mentoring program.
Here are three of the main benefits of a mentoring relationship:
1. Make a difference to someone new in business and you make a difference to yourself
During my years in business, I have been lucky enough to have people lend me a helping hand when I was stuck or didn’t have access to information or contacts I needed. Sure, I needed to speak up and ask for the help, but when I did, the help was forthcoming and generous. As we gain more experience and mature as business owners, I believe that it’s time to pay it forward. When posed with a business issue, being able to call on your experience allows you to demonstrate what you have learned and to pass on those insights. We can learn from helping others and from sharing our experience we gain more clarity about how we’ve achieved what we have.
2. Hone your leadership and communication skills
The role of mentor is one of a leader. As a business mentor, you can guide and support your mentoree to make business decisions, empower them to find their own solutions and to produce results. Your ability to communicate, to ask questions, to educe knowledge, to impart information – all these communication skills are life skills that any business owner can continue to improve.
3. Enhance your own learning and education
We never stop learning. Every time the MentorNet Program (the Australian Businesswomen’s Network mentoring program) comes around, I sit in on the business planning module and have an ‘AHA’ moment, whether that moment is one of revelation (that we’re on track with our goals) or alarm (that we’ve lost direction and need to correct our course). Being a part of the mentoring process allows you to revisit your own business and to make changes and improvements. And, often the mentoree will present an issue that you have not yet had to tackle and the learning about that aspect of business will be one that you can share. For example, as technology changes and the way we do business changes, be prepared to have to learn new skills and do business differently – possibly guided by a mentoree that is more tech savvy than you!
We asked three mentors their perspective on the mentoring relationship and why they took on the role of MENTOR:
“I have a passion to help others and watch them succeed, through providing education and guidance as well as suggesting new ideas and concepts. MentorNet has been a fantastic platform to help with that passion. I was also hoping to consider the true role of a mentor and hone my personal mentoring skills. There is nothing quite so alarming as when you are working with the mentorees on their own business strategies, goals and plans and realising that your own strategies, goals and plans are not as well developed. Hence during the MentorNet program, I have worked solidly to ensure that I listen to every module presented by the experts and work through each activity. There is always at least one new idea or concept (and usually more than one) that emanates from each module and I make sure I add this to my plan.”
— Bruce Whiting, Business Artisans
“ [As a mentor I was hoping to get…] mostly the internal satisfaction of having made a difference for someone wading through new waters and, probably more confidence and trust in myself. I also looked forward to increasing my knowledge base by learning from other mentors, the mentorees and the various business experts who were guest speakers on the program. I think the most powerful thing I’ve learned from participating in MentorNet is how powerful and resilient ‘women with a mission/passion’ are. In addition, I achieved a powerful personal insight in realising how similar all forms of business are. My business is in direct sales and I had a perception that the skill development needed and challenges faced were very different – I learned that was not true at all.”
— Sharon Whiteman, Richer Lives
“Each of the women in the ‘pod’ that I mentor are inspiring and powerful in their work, business and life. They each bring a unique vision and creative expression. The energy in the group is very supportive, with a lot of useful cross-pollination of ideas, plus sharing of practical solutions for business challenges that we all deal with.”
— James Burgin, Brand Within
“It doesn’t matter what you offer to your mentorees – advice, information or tools to facilitate their learning, they will only listen and assimilate information into their own world when they recognise its value. The trick is being able to help them see the value of what you are offering, while not taking it personally if they choose not to use it.”
— Ruth Moncrief, Insight Action
Invitation: Mentor on the HerBusiness Mentoring Program
If you have been in business for five or more years, you may qualify to be a HerBusiness mentor. The HerBusiness mentoring program is an award-winning national mentoring program. It uses web and digital technology to deliver mentoring to women business owners. There is no need to travel outside of your office or home. This mentoring program is delivered from where ever you are located via the internet. If you’d like to apply to be a mentor, emails us here.
