“HOW TO”

How To Be A Better Mentor

by Ali Khaled Alhashmi

Organizations these days know how important it is to help make it easier for new employees to
integrate themselves into the workplace. But, as much as organizations value mentors these days,
mentors do also have to do their fair share of improving. It’s not just about teaching someone the
ropes, after all.
Put simply, being a mentor comes with great responsibility, and here’s how you can be
better at it.

1 FOCUS ON IMPROVEMENT, NOT APPROVAL

Your job as a mentor isn’t to limit what people can do;
it’s to help them rise above their limitations. Teach
them that with improvement comes with approval,
and not the other way around.

2 LISTEN MORE. LECTURE LESS.

Being someone’s mentor doesn’t always mean you
do a lot of lecturing. You’re not a teacher, after all.
Instead, a better approach would be to help mentees
figure things out for themselves by asking them the
right questions. Of course, the occasional point-blank
advice will do. But, ideally, you’ll want mentees to
come into their own instead of teaching them how to
do everything.

3 DEMAND ACCOUNTABILITY
It’s true that mentees need a little bit of motivation
every now and then. But, more often than not,
what they really need is someone who holds them
accountable for their actions. Like a personal fitness
trainer, but for the workplace.

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 “HOW TO”

4 MAKE TIME
This should already go without saying, but it’s still
worth mentioning. And by making time, we’re not just
talking about Skype, emails, texts, and calls. We’re
talking about actual face-to-face interaction. Even
asking how their day is and if they need help every
now and then meets a lot.

5 SHOW THEM AROUND

Social integration is a key part in mentoring someone.
You just don’t teach mentees about their work; you
teach them about the workplace and the company
they’re working for. Take them around and introduce
them to people. If you can, show them other parts of
the organization. Who knows, in doing so, you might
just help them find where they truly want to be.

6 TRY TO RELATE AND IDENTIFY

WITH THEM.
Don’t be afraid to share your own personal stories,
especially about work, with mentees. Identifying with
them makes you more relatable as a person, which
can be really encouraging.

7 BE CONSTRUCTIVE AND FAIR WHEN

HAVING DIFFICULT CONVERSATIONS
Your knowledge and perspective will prove valuable,
even though it may sound harsh at times. But, being
direct to the point, yet keeping things constructive
and fair, is a whole lot better than beating around the
bush. Sometimes, you just have to tell mentees what
they need to hear so they can improve.

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 “HOW TO”

8 HELP THEM BECOME BETTER

VERSION OF THEMSELVES
In line with helping mentees come into their own,
do also remember that they are not you. They have
different perspectives and preferences. So, work on
helping them become better versions of themselves,
and not become you.

9 KEEP AT IT

Mentoring is a two-way street, and they can’t just be

the ones who’s excited and committed to learning
from you. Be enthusiastic, or at least, available, and
more importantly, try your best to be consistent to
help keep the momentum going.

Mentoring is great for both the mentors and mentees. Among many things, it can help you impart your knowledge
to others while taking back some yourself. But, more than anything else, it helps you get in touch with who you
were when you first started, reminding you how far you’ve come and how far you’ve yet to go.

About the Author

Ali Khaled Alhashmi is a Human Resources specialist with more than 20 years of
leadership and professional development experience. He brings a rare ability to apply an
entrepreneurial approach to organizational challenges, delivering transformational and
sustainable change to large and small businesses alike. He is well known as a catalyst
for transformational change, spearheading the use of innovative human resources
management techniques combined with digitization to deliver lasting results, particularly
with employee engagement.

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