top of page
Writer's pictureSikhCareerGrowth Org

Mentorship - Its Challenges and Benefits

Updated: Aug 2, 2022


Mentorship is the influence, guidance, or direction given by a mentor. Mentoring is a process for the informal transmission of knowledge, social capital, and the psychosocial support perceived by the recipient as relevant to work, career, or professional development; mentoring entails informal communication, usually face-to-face and during a sustained period of time, between a person who is perceived to have greater relevant knowledge, wisdom, or experience will act as a mentor or a person who is perceived to have less will act as the protégé(mentee). The purpose of mentoring is to connect an individual who has a lot of knowledge and experience to share and connect them with someone who hasn’t gained the same knowledge or experience. By having someone who knows more than yourself share advice, offer guidance, and be a sounding board for thoughts you stand to benefit from experience beyond your own. Whether in your career or life, having a mentor is crucial to one’s continued growth and development.


Everyone at some point in their life needs to lean on someone they trust for advice or assistance. No matter who that person is, a friend, co-worker, teacher, these are examples of why mentors are important for not only our personal lives but our professional ones as well. Mentors help to guide, direct and shape your present situation and future opportunities based on their life experiences. Mentorship is important for growth in all aspects of life, the mentor-mentee relationship is vital to the continuous evolution of both. It involves one-to-one coaching. Such direct contacts help in developing long-term professional relationships between the managers and the employees through coaching, guidance, and counseling and it can also identify strengths and weaknesses. It is essential in the provision of coaching that the mentor acts as a coach to the trainee and provides or assigns complex tasks/ jobs to the trainee and reviews his work to develop confidence, succession planning, retention of employees and career advancement.


So, now the question arises: what are the benefits of mentorship and the challenges faced by it?? Mentoring is more than the transfer of advice, knowledge and insights. Professional as well as the personal satisfaction of sharing their skills and experiences with a willing learner, being involved in mentoring also provides some tangible benefits that can reward mentors professionally. Some key benefits for mentors include the recognition as a subject matter expert and leader, Exposure to a fresh perspective, ideas and approaches. Other advantages for mentors are the opportunity to reflect on their own goals and practices and the development of their personal leadership and coaching styles.


There’s no doubt that mentoring provides numerous benefits to mentors, mentees and the organization. But even the best programs and committed participants can encounter challenges. So, the first challenge that is faced in mentorship is to schedule a meeting because one can make multiple excuses and postpone the mentoring meeting. It takes excessive time and energy commitments as the flipside of the above challenge. Unrealistic expectations and assumptions can wreak havoc on a mentoring relationship. Obstacles that one can encounter during mentorship such as unfair manipulation on the part of mentor-mentee, resentment, and jealousy from others, and ineffective mentoring pairs.


MY PERSONAL EXPERIENCE WITH MENTORING:-


I enjoyed getting to know the mentees as well as my new role as a mentor. The pros far outweigh the cons of being a mentor. Some of the key points that were raised were, being amiable, learning, guiding, helping, etc.. So being a teacher is not an easy task. I am going to share my experience as a tuition teacher. The teaching profession brings lots of responsibilities and challenges. Teachers have the responsibility of teaching students based on national curriculum/guidelines within your specialist subject areas, planning, preparing, and delivering lessons. Encouraging student’s participation in lessons and in other school-related activities.


CHALLENGES:- The challenges faced by me during tuition that I have to adjust with younger students of primary classes to middle school students. The biggest challenge is that I have to maintain discipline during class. My motive for teaching village students was that I would share some knowledge with them. Children from rural Punjab have problems in speaking, listening, reading, and understanding English as a language. So, my family and I started teaching students the basic knowledge of English and some of my students started speaking English and understanding which is the happiest moment for me that I can teach something to students that could be unforgettable for them. So, this is all about my teaching or mentoring experience.


To sum up it’s important to remember that the mentee has taken a step forward in opting for getting mentored as he wants to improve. In selecting you as his mentor, he has reposted a great amount of confidence and faith in you. It’s up to you to guide the person in a pragmatic and logical way to his destination using your sources, experience, expertise, and contacts. We hope that this will help you in understanding the complexities of these growth-oriented initiatives and make you aware of the approaches that will surely help you in getting success in your life and jobs.


By Navdeep Kaur: Student BA - Psychology


Disclaimer: Kindly note that the above blog has been submitted by members in their individual capacity.



19 views0 comments

Comentários


bottom of page