Being a mentor means entering into a very personal, long-term relationship with someone in whom you see great potential. Every mentorship experience is different; no two mentorship relationships are the exact same. That said, there are three universal qualities that almost all great mentors possess. If you’re a mentor, and you’re looking to up your game, you may want to sharpen your abilities to achieve these top 3 qualities great mentors possess.
Top-Rate Confidence
Insecurity in a leader makes for a messy mentoring relationship. If you’re uncertain of yourself as a mentor, then there’s no way you can be a positive role model for someone else, who is likely more unsure of him or herself than you are.
Top-rate confidence is undoubtedly one of the top qualities that all great mentors possess. They’re confident in their own skills and abilities—but, more importantly, they’re confident in the potential and future of their mentees. A strong mentoring relationship depends on this level of confidence to thrive and serve its purpose.
Stellar Listening Skills
Dispensing advice based on your own experience is far easier than listening to your mentee’s experiences and building off of that to come to more helpful conclusions.
Plus, when you listen to your mentee, you get the unique chance to build a strong, meaningful relationship with them. The longest lasting mentorships—and the most mutually beneficial ones—depend heavily on proper communication, and proper communication only comes from employing stellar listening skills.
A Positive Attitude
Nobody wants to be mentored by someone who never looks on the bright side of life. Negative Nancys and Debbie Downers need not apply to be mentors.
The greatest mentors of all time have had this one incredible quality in common: even in the darkest of times, they’ve been able to see the silver lining; they’ve been able to see the light at the end of the tunnel and charge toward it with almost reckless abandon.
You see, when you’re a persistently, perpetually positive person, that spirit is contagious. Your mentees want to be around you and soak up that positivity. In turn, they radiate that sunshiney glow out to everyone they know. Before you know it, your positive attitude has touched not just the life of your mentee, but also everyone within their sphere of influence. Pretty soon, the world is a brighter place for having you in it and you will have these top 3 qualities great mentors possess.
