Everyone deserves a mentor

By Victor Kuarsingh

Do you remember a great teacher you had in school?  Perhaps you have fond memories of a caring and understanding older sibling, relative or a parent.  No mater whom it was, you may remember the time, care and interest they took in you;  helping you grow as a person.  Well, often, that type of relationship can be considered one of a mentor and mentee.  For those lucky enough to have had such a relationship, it can mean the difference between success and failure.  Such persons likely saw past your your limitations, understood your capabilities and helped you realize your potential.

Such a relationship need not be limited to the home, school or amongst family.  Mentorship is a skill and aptitude that is able to build up and grow employees within a business as well.   For this blog, we will focus on mentorship in the workplace.   Why do we mentor?  Why should one care? What is the benefit?  All good questions to be addressed in this short blog.

First, just like ourselves, most people were not born with the refined skills they possess as they moved throughout their careers.  Skills, methods and patterns are learned, adopted and taught over the course of time.   Some people are more able to build skills based on their own ability to absorb  information and adapt;  whereas others may need more assistance.  No matter whom we are, even if we are the more self sufficient type, we should realize that people are more than capable of growing, if given the chance and receive the right mentorship.

Each skilled leader should realize that talent within their organization is ripe for growth and advancement, if only provided mentorship to unlock that potential.  So why do we do this?  Great leaders realize that one of their jobs is to grow talent.  Its the duty of each leader to understand their role in building organizations, of which, building better managers and contributors are an essential part of those duties.  

So is duty the only reason for this role as leaders?  No.  Often leaders are in positions where they need to advance a business, improve operations, grow capabilities and achieve other key objectives of the business.  To achieve these goals, one must realize that they only have 24 hrs in a day.   Even if one could personally achieve  super-person status, able to spend almost every waken hour working, you will still run out of time and can never put in more that 24 hours in a single day, and more realistically 10-14 if you forgo most other activities.   The only real way to truly grow an organization is to focus on building other leaders who can expand the impact of your group or function.  In this model, what was once one person’s output now becomes a team’s output.   Suddenly, with proper mentorship, nearly a limitless amount of hours, only capped by the number of people one has working with them, can be spent improving an organization and reaching business goals.

What is the benefit?  Well as discussed in the previous paragraph, organizational success is of primary benefit.  However, if one looks at the selfish aspect of  the equation (which many often do), there is another benefit as well.   A leader’s ability to increase scope and take on new challenges can be tied to good mentorship and making your team self sufficient.   Great leaders are always building an organization that dose not need them.  Why, because this unlocks the leader to continue to grow while the success of their team is realized by a well mentored team.

So in summary.  Why should you mentor as a leader?  First, because its your duty.  Second, it will allow you to achieve your business goals (unless you are a singles tennis player, in that case, you are a lone wolf).  And thirdly, you automatically put yourself in a position to advance and take on more.