Aspiring leaders need more and better mentoring than they’re getting today.
Great Mentors Focus on the Whole Person, Not Just Their Career
Aspiring leaders need more and better mentoring than they’re getting today. According to a recent study, while more than 75% of professional men and women want to have a mentor, only 37% have one. What’s more, most of the people currently acting as mentors aren’t having as dramatic an impact as they could because they’re too narrowly focused on career advancement instead of mentoring the whole person. How to do it better? Start by sharing both personal and professional stories. Ask questions about the person’s upbringing, passions, and ambitions. Explore how they want their story to end. Teach them how to fish — that is, reflect and solve problems for themselves. Unpack their toolkit. And remember that the best mentors also lead by example.