If you’re in a leadership role, you didn’t get there on your own. Someone at some point poured into you and helped shape you into the person you are! Having a mentor can make all the difference when it comes to being an effective leader. Being a mentor helps pay forward the help you’ve been given and the lifetime of knowledge you’ve accumulated.
Mentoring others makes you a better leader because it helps you
- Teach a wider range of skills
- Motivate new leaders
- Keeps you grounded
Mentoring teaches more than the obvious. Mentoring an up-and-coming leader requires more than basic skills. Mentoring someone to do a task in and of itself is a great thing to do. Passing on traditions and skills has been a form of teaching for generations. Mentoring someone in leadership surpasses practical skills and includes esoteric skills that go beyond the technical aspects of a trade. Mentoring leaders teaches the psychological and inter-personal skills that make great leaders.
Mentoring motives new leaders. Part of the role of leadership is motivating others. Getting them excited about the possibilities and feeling confident about what they can accomplish. Mentoring new leaders is the epitome of motivating. Sure, you’ll have to cover the challenges of leadership- which are many, but overall you can help motivate a new leader to be their best. This in turn, motivates you and helps remind you of the benefits of being a leader as well.
Mentoring keeps you grounded too. Being in leadership should be humbling. Serving others is what leadership is all about. Being a leader has perks and advantages, but it also has tough realities those who aren’t in leadership don’t have to face. Mentoring others keeps you grounded and reminds you that leadership is an important responsibility and that the well-being of those you lead is in a leader’s hands.
Mentoring is a wonderful way to sharpen your leadership skills and transform you as a leader. Teaching up-and-coming leaders, the nuances of their roles can help them become better leaders in a shorter amount of time. Remember those who taught you along the way and be sure to pay it forward to the people you are fortunate enough to impact. Your teaching time can be learning time for you too because your mentee will surely have something new to teach you as well. Celebrate your mentees and help them achieve their best by mentoring them and pouring into their futures.
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