The rewards of being a Mentor

Recently I was at the 2011 Mentor Appreciation Dinner at the University of Minnesota.  It's a great event to celebrate the mentees and the mentors.  I've been doing this for over 7 years and truly enjoy the interaction with young marketing communication students.

My goal as a mentor is to provide guidance, support and understanding by sharing my experience and knowledge to give this young person a strong start into our exciting business. 

I believe that everyone should try and be a mentor at some point in their professional or personal careers - it's a chance to give back.  People often ask me what makes a good mentor and I've identified five areas:

1) Patience
2) Ability to listen
3) Be willing to give more than receive
4) Ability to engage in relationships
5) Respect

And I think that the third area of willing to give more than receive is of critical importance.  You have to be willing to invest the time and expect very little in return.

However, some days that return is huge.  I received an email last week from a person I had mentored briefly last fall.  This person had been struggling in trying to find a path in advertising.  We chatted and it become clear to me that this person was very passionate about music.  We talked and I encouraged her to pursue her passion and look for a position in the music industry. She did and got a great position with a music company and for that I'm very happy for me.

What she wrote in her note is what made me happy and proud.

"It was your encouragement and words of advice that gave me the courage to drive after my passion and discover my dream career, which promises an opportunity for me to one day also compose music for commercials.  I cannot thank you enough for lending yourself as a sounding board and helping me discover myself."

Wow that is the goal of every mentor to help springboard a person into an area that they want to be in.

So step back and think about - how can you help mentor someone to find their passion?  It just some times and some good listening skills - I know you can do it!