Being a Mentor

Most people believe that the mentee benefits the most from a mentoring relationship. However, after speaking with several mentors and being one myself, I know that both sides equally benefit from a mentor/mentee relationship.

More than not, an individual decides to become a mentor due to having a strong desire to give back because as they progressed in their careers, they found the experience with their mentors to be extraordinarily invaluable and key contributors to their success.

What can you gain from being a mentor?

Develop Leadership Skills

A true leader is normally always great at developing and motivating others. Being a mentor is a great way to practice this skill.

Personal Sense of Satisfaction

If you have been through your career journey for some time, you know what it's like to want to continue to progress and succeed. It is likely you had and still have many individuals that have mentored you in a formal or informal manner. Why not be that individual for someone else wanting to follow a similar path as you?

You Can Learn Too

In most mentoring relationships, the mentor is at a higher level in the organization than the mentee. This can be valuable for the mentor as they can now expand their horizon of organizational understanding across more levels.

Your Career Can Benefit

I have not met one mentor, including myself, that steps into a mentoring relationship with the "what's in it for me" attitude. However, because some of the reasons listed above, your career can benefit from being a mentor as you continue to learn and grow yourself through your mentee(s).

Step out there, offer help, and watch your leadership skills enable another to succeeed way beyond their wildest dreams!

Meet the Author – Kelly Charlton

Kelly is the Senior Manager of Marketing and a member of the Leadership Team at ENAVATE, a company providing ERP Software and Services for the wholesale distribution industry and Microsoft partners worldwide. She has provided business operations consulting and marketing expertise in the wholesale distribution industry for ten years. Follow ENAVATE on Twitter (@ENAVATE) or LinkedIn.