Purpose of Mentoring
Mentoring is a popular buzz word now as more and more people aspire to climb the ranks professionally and enter unchartered territories in their careers, and particularly when pursuing entrepreneurship. Mentoring starts with the mentee having a good understanding of themselves and this can be accomplished through introspection and reflection. This process is never complete as we all are ever-changing and evolving as we enter different phases of life and understanding of the world around us, therefore mentor relationships evolve over time and phase out as the value and need for the relationship changes.
Stages of Mentoring
Mentoring helps build upon individual introspection, reflection, and evolution as mentors help mentees understand and assess all of the forces surrounding them and how to best navigate them to reach goals. While preparing for the mentoring process starts with introspection and reflection, the next steps are just as important. The four stages of mentoring are as follows:
Stage 1: Initiation
Stage 2: Growth
Stage 3: Separation
Stage 4: Closure
The initiation stage is self-explanatory–it’s the when the mentoring relationship begins. Both the mentor and mentee are entering the relationship with an open mind. The mentor perceives the mentee as a driven, coachable person that they can provide value to. The mentee respects the mentor’s wisdom, experience, and capacity to support and guide them.
The growth stage affects both the mentor and the mentor. Both parties find that they benefit from the mentoring relationship and they are each fulfilled from their interactions. The mentee becomes more self-confident as the mentor helps them navigate their professional journey with using both their insight and individual introspection. The mentee experiences progress in various areas of their development and become more optimistic about their future as they gain a strategic perspective on how they control it.
The separation stage occurs in most human interaction and mentorship is no different. At this time, changes occur that make both parties reassess, redefine, and/or reconsider the value of the relationship for the future. Sometimes it’s due to normal life changes like moving away, familial status changes, or just changes in developmental needs. There’s a reason and a season for everything in life and this can often lead to anxiety when it’s time to move on. However, this is just a normal transition in life. Most people will encounter various mentors throughout their lives that meet the need at that moment.
The closure stage is when the relationship ends as it once was because goals have been met and the relationship has run its course in the formal capacity. Many times mentors and mentees become friends that engage as time permits but the relationship is distinguishably different than before as mentor-mentee.
Are you seeking a Business Mentor? TPM Focus offers mentorship to a select group of clients. If you would like to apply for 1-on-1 mentoring, click here.
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