July Question of the Month - Join the conversation and receive a badge

melissa.garcia

A few qualities of some of the best mentors I have observed or had the luck to work with include:

• Transparency with their guidance and feedback
• Deep empathy
• Respect and trust - for others and by others
• Accessibility - the willingness to make time for mentoring and maintaining a mentee relationship
• Active listening - this might be the most important as the mentors I have had always make time to listen/hear me out

T C

Trustworthy

rosegarretson

Discerning.

KPH

Passion

(for investing in others and for the subject matter)

LookW

Drive

Kathy PPT

Teacher

Christopher Tirro

Direct

I didn't want to use Brutally Honest - so Direct works here just as much. I find it super important to get the exact type of feedback from a mentor - the honest direct kind. It does me no good to have to decipher what they're telling me - I want to know exactly what I should do/work on/build on etc.

Joe Goetschel

Honesty

Someone needs to call us out when it's needed!

Candace Williams

Trust!

Matt Johnson

Caring

I worked with a guy who, when discussing how long we could ask people to stay out on the road, would ask questions like, "Wait, how long has it been since that person saw their spouse?" or "That guy has 3 kids, are we sure none of their birthdays are during that time?" It was really incredible. Lew Crawford (retired), if you're out there, I'll never forget those days.

Deanna Vandermeer

INVESTMENT

Some of my best mentors, over the past 38 years, are the ones who were invested in my success and who have truly cared about my well-being. I have been fortunate enough in my career to have had four AMAZING women who believed in me, trusted me, respected me and valued my input. The honestly have helped me become who I am today. I truly owe a lot to these four wonderful women. I also now find myself in the mentor role and I believe in paying it forward. A good mentor should believe in sharing their relevant expertise or knowledge and is patient with their mentees. I hope that my mentees know how much I am invested in them and that I am always listening and am here for them.

Jilene

A coach. Successful coaching includes instruction, patient guidance, observations to suggest adjustments as needed, accountability, available as a resource, and standing back to allow you to put what you've learned into practice. This cycle repeats as long as both parties remain committed to the mentor/mentee relationship, or until the relationship shifts to that of peers.

Soniya Deshmukh

Catalyst

NickStaffordPM

Pusher

In my albiet short mentoring experience, I have found in a lot of instance people need to be empowered and made to feel anything is possible in order for them to swing for the fences. Giving someone a little boost along with thoughtful advice can help go to the next level, and provide you great feedback in the process.

Shimanta Roy

Enthusiasm

A mentor can inspire, motivate, and provide courage to handle difficult or complex situation by sharing own enthusiasm with the team.