The Role of Mentor

Now we come to the third and final role that we play. This role is that of Mentor. I’ve heard it said that what you intend to teach you learn best.

What if we were to seek to teach one or two other skills? What if someone else took the same level of interest in you?

How much knowledge would everyone gain?

Successful people understand that one person can only obtain so much knowledge and experience on their own. Successful people understand that success requires the skills and knowledge that can only come through time and that to expedite the process one must have a mentor.
If you think my concept is off and that experience is not all that important let me tell you a story about my dad and the game of golf.

For as long as I can remember my dad has loved to play golf with my brother and I. For years we have played as often as possible and the outcome on the scorecard has been the same. My brother and I would take the top two spots. For the past couple years my dad and I have had the privilege of playing golf together once or twice a month when weather permitted. Over dozens of rounds of golf I began to see a pattern emerge. He made the same mistakes over and over and over again. I watched as the small improvements would be made, but at the core he could not truly identify where the problem existed. In many ways the more he played the worse it got. There seemed to be a wall that he could not get over. I wanted to help, but my game is nothing to write home about. So we kept playing with the same outcome.

A couple of months ago my father was invited to play in a golf tournament through work. He hesitantly accepted and began to assess his game.
If you did not know the risk of embarrassment is a powerful motivator.
Dad hired a golf coach. He went lessons and in fact identified and corrected some of his biggest
mistakes in less than one hour.

This demonstrates the value of a mentor.

This demonstrates our need for a mentor, but this article is not about having a mentor, that was discussed in the Role of Student. This is about being a mentor to others.

You have been blessed with skills and resources. You have abilities that others would benefit from having and it is successful people who share them.

As you share your skills others will share with you. This exchange of knowledge and as the old saying goes… “Knowledge is Power”.

So if we take this to the relationship dynamic that we have discussed in this series we are tasked to identify a third person or group of people to include in our lives.

We have a mentor teaching us.

We have peers walking the journey of life with us.

Now we must find someone or a group with whom we can share our knowledge and experience.

Here are 3 things to keep in mind when you are looking for someone to mentor.

1. What is the character of the person?
2. Does the individual want to learn?
3. Is the individual willing to do the work necessary to learn?

Many may ask why the character of the person matters. The answer to this question is explained by the image of a mirror. You see when you chose to mentor someone the work that they do and the way that they carry themselves in public will be viewed as a direct reflection of you as a person.
Make sure that the person you are mentoring represents you well. And remember this is an inverse relationship. You represent them as well, so be sure to carry yourself with high character and integrity.

Here is my encouragement to you.
Find a mentor
Find a friend
Find a student

By finding these relationships you will find the success you are looking for in life and you will find so much more.

Go forth “WAYmakers” and change the world around you!

-M-
@Mhabuda
@ACTspeaking