A mentor should:1. Listen intently to your issues.
2. Offer you non-judgmental advice.
3. Focus on bringing out your personal best.
4. Avoid imposing their will or values upon you..
What if a mentor knows we are making a bad or “less than optimal” decision? How can they stop us, if they cannot command? And what if they disagree with our other advisors (like our parents)?
To find the answers, I sat down with Jean Lahage Cohen, executive director of the Mentoring Partnership of Long Island. She confirmed that her mentors use a “Socratic” questioning method. If a mentor suspects the protégé was about to make a poor decision, he would fire off questions so the protégé could realize the consequences of his decisions and choices. Mentors should help “think out” decisions.
While her organization helps youth find adult mentors, Cohen recommends that young professionals first adopt “informal mentors,” then have them evolve into full-fledged counselors. “Role models aren’t actively involved in your life,” she says. You can have a role model that you’ve never met.”
Personal coaches—executive, career, outplacement, business or life—make up a large part of the for-profit mentoring world. Executive coaches work with those on a management or executive track. They resemble career coaches, whose clients are either new to the working world or to a particular career. Outplacement coaches are usually hired by a corporation to help the recently unemployed find new work. Business coaches generally work exclusively with small-business owners and the self-employed. And life coaches help with the rest.
Previous Page Next Page
