Whether you're a mentor or an apprentice, you must have a personal vision, specific objectives, and a good understanding of current reality. It's worse to be a poor mentor than not to do it at all. Mentors need certain skills to help their mentees grow. Here are the 10 non-negotiable mentoring skills you need In “Skills for Successful Mentoring,” by Dr.
Linda Phillips-Jones, this is the first and most important skill that mentors should try to develop. Active listening means paying your full attention to the person in front of you, making sure not only that you listen to them but also that you understand what they are saying. The organization Emergence International proposes that successful mentors should be able to build authentic relationships with their mentees. The American Speech, Language, and Hearing Association (ASHA) is the national professional, scientific, and accrediting association with 228,000 members and affiliates, who are audiologists, speech-language pathologists, speech, language, and hearing scientists, audiology and speech-language pathology support staff, and students.
Mentoring isn't just about answering questions and giving advice; it requires a unique set of skills and practice. And remember, Finkeldei says, that having a mentor is not about becoming the person, but about “aspiring to have their skills and to acquire the knowledge that they have”. But what about the process of creating a mentoring program? How do you ensure that it is effective and meets the needs of both mentors and mentees? This can be a great way to improve your own communication skills, and it can also be useful in other areas of your life.
