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The Perks of Being a Mentor

By Mai Alowaish posted 12-18-2019 11:50 AM

  

I often think of mentoring as a chance to “Sharpen the Saw”, as Stephen Covey refers to it in his “7 Habits of Highly Effective People” book. He explains the habit as one’s need to cultivate and renew, in order to move on an upward spiral of growth and change, of continuous improvement. This 7th habit, sharpening the saw, struck a chord with me, especially in my latest experience in the DAA mentoring program.

While a mentoring relationship is first and foremost to benefit the mentee, I experienced how mentors have just as much to gain in experience, confidence, and knowledge; and in my personal experience, it entailed self-reflection, developing leadership skills, and learning what is new.

Self-reflection

Even though mentoring was not something I set out to do, surprisingly, it has turned out to be one of the most valuable and fulfilling experiences. When a mentee came to me with a question or a problem, I always tried to give advice with examples from my past experiences, for more context. This part of mentorship has challenged me to step back and gain perspective on my past experiences. I became more aware of the non-problems and insecurities that held me back in the past. The mistakes and the lessons, all became vivid as I told the stories to my mentees, explaining how and why I evolved throughout my career.

Leadership Skills

Mentoring offers the perfect chance to learn and embrace the essential skills of leadership. A crucial element of mentoring is teaching, which usually entails assuming a position at the front of a lecture room or hall and imparting your knowledge to others. Assuming such a role requires practical leadership skills to connect with your audience and keep them interested in what you’re saying, stimulating empathy and emotional intelligence. That’s when a mentor becomes a leader. 

Mentorship challenged me to come up with creative ways to motivate my mentees and also support and guide them in decision-making and communication instead of trying to impose change on them.

Learn What’s New

The mentoring process demystifies the changes in what’s being learned recently in colleges. As we mentors have been disconnected for a while from the classroom, mentoring connects us back and allows us to see what the students now learn in class or did for their projects. Learning about all these analytics degrees that did not exist back in my time, helped me empathize and better connect with the younger workforce and job applicants who are fresh graduates.

I learned that sometimes, a teacher becomes a student. The mentees are a rich source of information when one gives them an ear. As such, mentoring helped me grow into an informed leader.  

Besides these benefits I listed above, I have also expanded my professional network from the constant interaction that mentorship demands. My mentoring also allowed me to build lasting relationships with my mentees! 
All things considered, I learned that being a mentor can be a fulfilling experience, as long as you take the time to reflect on your own life and consider your own lessons as you take the journey into mentorship.

I will follow up soon with another post on some tips that influenced my mentorship and experience to have a positive and fruitful relationship with my mentees.

Please read this follow up blog post on Tips for a Fruitful Mentorship Experience
#Mentoring

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Comments

01-28-2020 03:13 PM

Thank you @Lydia Cerrada ! Glad you found this helpful. 

I just posted some tips for mentors on this follow up blogpost that should help new mentors start off on the right foot​! 

01-17-2020 01:57 PM

Great post, Mai! Thanks a lot for sharing!! I was hesitant to enroll in the mentoring program but after reading your thoughts on it, I believe you are completely right. You can learn a lot from mentoring others :)

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