The most successful professionals have something in common: they have had the help of a mentoring that showed them what was missing and was essential to take off their careers.
From Richard Branson to Mark Zuckerburg, the founders of the companies that have changed the world took off their project thanks to the help of a mentor who accompanied them in their first steps.
But not just big companies. The 92% of small entrepreneurs recognize that participate in some type 土耳其电话号码表 of mentoring has a direct impact on growth and survival of their business.And 100% of elite athletes and artists have developed their full potential within mentoring groups.
Would you like to know in depth what mentoring is and what it is for ? In this post, I explain in detail what mentoring consists of , examples and tips to choose the most suitable mentor to achieve your professional goals.
ARTICLE INDEX
What is mentoring?
Mentoring vs Coaching
Mentoring vs Counseling
Examples of mentoring program
What is Mentoring for? Main benefits
Increase your knowledge
Expand your network of contacts
You acquire a more global and strategic vision
Save time and money
Increase your confidence and security
Boost your natural abilities
Accelerate results
Types of Mentoring
Mentoring one to one
Mentoring for new team members
Two-way mentoring
Group mentoring
Tips for choosing a mentoring program for entrepreneurs
Mentor compatibility
An active mentor
Structured content
The magic of the group
Practical mentoring
Technical tools
Personalized attention
In conclusion
What is mentoring?
Let’s start with the definition: a mentoring is an intensive training program where the expert acts as an advisor to another less advanced professional.
The mentor contributes his experience and knowledge to achieve a professional transformation of his men tee.
He is both a guide, a counselor and a coach. Or as I like to define it: your older brother in the 警报消息 world of work. It gives you a view from above, giving you an external perspective and a fresh look at your challenges.
➡️ Mentoring vs Coaching
But to understand what mentoring consists of, it is important to clarify that it goes beyond personal coaching. It consists of a methodology based on learning with the guidance of a mentor.
A structured and effective method that requires precise steps: analyze, set objectives, define strategies, learn theory, put into practice, measure and optimize.
➡️ Mentoring vs Counseling
It is also important to differentiate mentoring from business consulting . A consultant will only be concerned with meeting the objectives of the business he is advising.
But in a mentoring program, the efforts are based on you as a person. In arming yourself with new skills, approaches and tools to meet your professional goals.
The mentor makes sure you manage your challenges optimally and put yourself in the right frame of mind to meet your goals.
➡️ Examples of mentoring program
At the beginning of the post I named the most famous example of mentoring: Mark Zuckemberg has always recognized the essential help of Steve Jobs in the first steps of Facebook.
In fact, Mark had some exciting words for the founder of Apple when he left us in 2011:
“Steve, thank you for being a mentor and friend. Thank you for showing that what you build can change the world. I will miss you.”
Another recognized example is that of Bill Gates, who was mentored by Warren Buffet, or Yves St. Laurent who was mentored by Christian Dior. But don’t think of mentoring as a modern learning method.
European painting developed thanks to artistic academies mentored by great artists (the most famous perhaps is that of Rubens) and the great Greek philosophers founded their own schools where they mentored brilliant new thinkers who changed the history of the West.
What is Mentoring for? Main benefits
Now that you have cleared your doubts about what mentoring is, it is time to explain how it can help you.
✅ Increase your knowledge
The most obvious benefit: you will learn new skills. From theoretical knowledge in areas that are not your specialty, to tools that improve your productivity or new market trends.
✅ Expand your network of contacts
A mentoring is going to expand your network of contacts exponentially. Do not think only about your mentor, also your colleagues (if it is a group mentoring). And much more: your own networks of contacts. You will meet people to ask for help, experts, suppliers, partners and yes: customers.
In my experience, the networking that is generated during mentoring is one of the keys that takes professionals to the next level.
✅ You acquire a more global and strategic vision
Many times projects do not take off due to a lack of method and comprehensive vision. Mentoring will allow you to validate your business model and structure it in a way that is scalable.
A mentor helps you organize all your ideas and establish a step-by-step path plan to achieve the objectives of your venture.
✅ Save time and money
Every project meets stones along the way. The good news is that because the mentor is a few steps ahead in experience, you will have already faced a similar situation. They can advise you on methods and strategies to move smoothly, help you reach your goals faster, and avoid common (and costly) mistakes along the way.
✅ Increase your confidence and security
Sometimes all you need to make important decisions is confidence. A mentoring works as a great sounding board in which to bounce and validate your ideas. You will have a safe environment to ask questions and get advice.
Goodbye to the feeling of being alone before challenges.
✅ Boost your natural abilities
Another of the great keys to the development of your career. The mentor will detect your natural abilities and will give you guidelines to develop them. Because the key to success is not to compensate for your weaknesses but to enhance your strengths.
And surround yourself with people who add value to what you need.
✅ Accelerate results
Mentoring programs are designed as project accelerators.