Why You Should Mentor a Junior – and 10 Mistakes People Make

More and more workplaces are making mentoring programs a priority. Their increasing popularity should be no surprise; mentoring relationships benefit everyone involved: the company, the mentee, and even the mentor!

Even if your company doesn’t offer a formal mentoring program, you should consider finding a junior at your company to mentor. The Roman philosopher Seneca said, “While we teach, we learn.” You’ll find that you actually improve your own knowledge in your field through taking on a mentor. He or she will challenge you to look at things from new angles and go more in depth into topics you haven’t explored before.

Also, mentoring helps you to develop vital leadership, teamwork, and communication skills that are necessary to move up the ladder at work. Often, higher-ups will take note of the relationship, and it may make them more likely to consider you for a promotion over someone else who hasn’t taken initiative in this manner.

And most people find that they enjoy taking on a mentoring role, increasing their confidence in the workplace as well as their job satisfaction. So what’s stopping you?

When setting out to establish your first mentoring relationship, you can benefit from understanding the mistakes that others have made before you in order to get the best experience possible. Here are the top 10 mistakes that mentors make.

1. Only focusing on the positive. Yes, being supportive is an important part of being a good mentor, but more importantly, your mentee needs honesty. If he or she can rely on you to provide constructive criticism and feedback, your mentee will be able to excel faster, providing greater value to you and the company. The key is to be constructive. Just because you are offering advice on how your mentee can improve doesn’t mean you can’t be kind while you do it.

2. Not listening. Some mentors spend too much time trying to share their own experiences. Certainly, this is an important part of the process, but you also want to assess what your mentee needs for development and be aware that he or she is entering a workplace that is very different from when you started. As a result, your mentee is facing many different challenges than those you faced in the beginning of you career. Take the time to really listen and understand what your mentee needs from you.

3. Providing a solution. This may sound like a weird mistake. After all, don’t you want to help your mentee overcome problems? Certainly, but it’s best to help guide them to the solution. It’s like the old adage: give a man a fish and you feed him for a day; teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime. You want to arm your mentee with the tools necessary to come up with a solution on their own the next time a problem arises.

4. Not following up. Many mentors believe it’s a privilege for their mentee to receive their guidance, so if the mentee doesn’t set meetings, they don’t even bother to find out why. As a mentor, part of your role is to hold him or her accountable. First try addressing the issue with the mentee, and if you can’t get through, try talking to the head of the mentoring program or HR. Your goal isn’t to get your mentee in trouble, but you may help prevent more long-term trouble at work by tackling any possible issues in this informal setting first.

5. Not accepting criticism. You may be an expert at your job, but you’re likely new to the mentoring relationship. Don’t be afraid to ask your mentee directly for feedback on how you can improve. Encourage honesty. This relationship should be a two-way street.

6. Not being clear on your expectations. If you schedule a mentoring session to discuss or work on a certain topic, tell your mentee so that he or she can better prepare. This will help your mentee to get more out of what you are trying to teach – and also make it a learning experience rather than just a stress-inducing one.

7. Not being respectful of your mentee’s workload. You don’t want the mentoring to come at the expense of their job responsibilities. Even though they are a junior, they still likely have a lot on their plate, so be understanding if a cancellation is necessary. And encourage your mentee to speak up if it’s getting to be too much.

8. Having all the answers. Although you’re a skilled and experienced professional, you don’t know everything, so don’t be afraid to send your mentee to someone else for help. Helping them learn where to turn is just as valuable as being able to provide them with the information yourself.

9. Not learning from your mentee. Even though he or she is your junior, that doesn’t mean your mentee can’t teach you a thing or two. Find out what their strengths are and take the time to learn from them.

10. Not maintaining the relationship long-term. Even if one of you leaves the company, you can continue to serve as a mentor. Having an outside opinion can sometimes actually be more valuable. Plus, both of you will be expanding your network and connections in your industry.