I recently had the honour of participating in the Mentorship Forum Middle East in Bahrain. One question came up repeatedly: how do I find the right mentor?
Let’s start by defining a mentor to clear any false expectations that might jeopardize the relationship between a mentor and a mentee before it even begins. A mentor is a person who has professional or life experience and is willing to share it with a mentee over a period of time to help develop their skills, competencies or goals.
Unlike coaching, mentoring is not a licensed profession that comes with a manual and a set of instructions or tools. Therefore, it is crucial first to find a “good mentor” and second to find the “right mentor” for you and your specific needs at this stage in your life.
A good mentor is usually a trustworthy person. The mentees have to be able to share their full uncensored stories in confidence. It is where real change and progress happen. This individual also has to be a good listener, patient and tolerant of other people’s points of view as usually; mentees are younger and with less experience. It is vital for them to feel listened to carefully and without prior judgment or agenda. A good mentor has to communicate well and be willing to share their experience abundantly and positively. Not to forget the importance of remaining professional, punctual and accessible. Volunteer work does not have any privileges, no matter how senior and busy a mentor is they should not permit themselves to be late for meetings or cancel pre-planned arrangements.
You would be surprised how many organizations have put together mentoring programs without carefully structuring them or thinking them through. Unfortunately, the company’s agenda and the fast track of a mentee’s career are usually the most common criteria for a person to be chosen for a Mentor’s role.
This led to the birth of more structured external mentoring programs that carefully select candidates by implementing internationally-tested matching algorithms blending the human touch with the power of AI seamlessly. This combination ensures the highest probability possible for a compatible and quality mentoring relationship. Some of the methods used include relevant experience, communication styles, attitude towards staged real-life scenarios, etc. There is no right or wrong; there is what is suitable for you, a reason often overlooked.
