Ask a successful businessperson the secret behind their success and many will tell you the importance of having a mentor. A mentor is a trusted person who has experience in that area of business and who will make time to share their experience and guide them through their decision-making, encourage and support them and help them find their path and meet their goals.
Having a mentor or “coach” can be very beneficial for a school student also.
Things a mentor can help you with include:
- Helping you set short and long term goals
- Giving you ideas and strategies on how to work towards these goals
- Answer questions you might have
- Keeping you motivated when you hit low times
- Offer advice and suggestions when you’re unsure of things
- Give positive energy when you’re feeling flat
- Give you ideas for getting started on assignments etc when you’ve hit a wall
- Keep your organization on track by reminding you or touching base with you
- Kick you up the butt when you need it
A mentor is someone who:
- You get along well with and feel you can talk to
- Can make time to touch base with you regularly
- Has some experience of what you’re going through with study and has some good ideas on how to help and suggestions on improving
- Doesn’t criticize or judge you
- Leaves you feeling positive and upbeat, like you really CAN do it
A mentor could be:
- A teacher or former teacher who you relate well to and who is willing to dedicate time specifically to you
- A trusted relative or family friend eg, an aunt, uncle or older cousin, or maybe your Mum’s best friend
- A former student from school who is at least a year older than you
- A counselor from school or church
- A paid mentor or tutor. Some of your friends might have the number of a good one, or most schools have lists of suitable people who live in the area
Whilst it’s not impossible, it’s not usually ideal to have a friend your age as a mentor. Firstly, they don’t have any previous experience with what you’re going through and secondly, they are not likely to be able to take on a leadership role with someone their own age. Having said that, it’s not impossible and if it helps to touch base with a buddy once a week then that’s totally okay, especially if it’s a person who tends to be motivated and has a positive influence on you.
The other tricky one is having a parent as a mentor. I’m not going to say you shouldn’t because relationships with parents vary greatly from person to person. But it’s best to have a mentor you don’t have an EMOTIONAL relationship with, as this will affect the way you’re able to communicate with them. They should be able to be honest with you without the discussion becoming heated and for most parents that’s a tricky thing to manage.
