20 Benefits of Mentoring for Your Career

• Jan 15

Rarely in life can someone get ahead simply by relying on their own devices. And even if they could do so, the question remains of whether they should. After all, when someone attempts to “go it alone”, they do so without the valuable insight other professionals and peers can provide. In fact, the most successful individuals have had help along the way in the form of mentorships. Such include the likes of Bill Gates, Oprah Winfrey, and even the ancient Greek philosopher Aristotle. Undoubtedly, there are many benefits of mentoring, both for career professionals and personal growth. So, it makes sense that those who form a strong teaching relationship do well overall.

If you’re wondering whether to seek a mentor to help guide you along your own journey, the answer is almost undoubtedly “yes”. Setting up this sort of relationship is a free resource with incredible growth potential. Here, we’ve listed twenty of the key benefits of mentoring you can expect to find with the right guide. That way, if you’re still on the fence, you can move forward informed and more knowledgeable.

The Key Benefits of Mentoring

1. Clarification of Career Goals

Sometimes, individuals have clear aspirations but lack the vision to attain them. Other times, they might not even know what their goals are in the first place. Perhaps they have a muddled idea of wants and dreams but no method for giving them voice or shape. One of the first and most important benefits of mentoring is guidance that helps give definition to overall goals.

In an ideal relationship, a mentor will have relevant experience and understanding that far outweigh that of the mentee. In fact, that’s the entire basis for mentoring – seeking an informed opinion from a trusted source who’s navigated similar situations before. So, when it comes to goal setting, mentors are invaluable for their ability to clarify, shape, and point others toward the right ends.

Of course, this also doesn’t mean a mentor steps in and determines what their mentees’ goals are. Rather, much as Socrates led others to answer their own questions, they help pave the way for their protégé to set appropriate goals for themselves. And to that extent, it’s beneficial to remember mentors act as guides, not dictators.

2. Developing a Plan to Accomplish Goals

Naturally, helping clarify a protégé’s goals only scratches the tip of the ice burg for the roll of a mentor. Because that first act of guidance leads automatically to the second – determining how to achieve aspirations. After all, knowing what you want to accomplish is nearly pointless without understanding a way to make it happen. So, once more, the mentor plays an invaluable part in helping shape this process.

Many factors play into developing the roadmap, including:

• Industry
• Longevity of the goal
• Difficulty and intensity
• Barriers
• Necessary training or development
  
  

So, the actual way forward will naturally vary for each individual. Yet, again, that’s why having a mentor to guide this sort of process is such an important advantage. Mentors work one-on-one with protégés, so they can carefully craft the plan to that person’s exact needs and abilities. That way, rather than finding an online, generic guide to goal planning, they develop a tailored route together.

3. Establishing Stronger Professional Connections

Connections are, in a sense, a virality. The more professional relationships you build, the more you pass along and gain access to at the same time. After all, every individual has their own network of connections built over the course of their career. So, integrating these into the mentoring relationship is almost guaranteed.

Because mentors likely boast a robust network of colleagues and peers, they have multiple options open when it comes to their protégé’s formation. For example, a mentor with close ties to the CFO of a major organization can help a mentee looking for experience and insight into the world of accounting. That’s just one generalized instance. However, it adequately represents the power of connections in the mentoring relationship.

Of course, the mentor shouldn’t abuse those relationships, shouldn’t exploit them unnecessarily for the sake of their protégé. But it rarely hurts to introduce two people who can help each other and foster the start of a beneficial relationship.

4. Increasing Confidence in Abilities

One of the most natural results of any mentorship is greater confidence. After all, instruction is a key part of this relationship, and increased competence leads to higher confidence. Mentors should regularly provide opportunities for their protégés to learn without fear of failure or retribution. That way, even when they don’t succeed, it results in a beneficial learning experience.

Mentors often have keen insight, so they can point out different areas for improvement and praise those things already done well. And while every person grows and learns differently, they can help facilitate personalized activities that bolster and encourage the learner.

Put simply, whether in success or failure, mentors have the privilege and responsibility of creating a space where their protégés can learn and flourish.

5. Enhancing Communication Skills

Naturally, the most important stone in the foundation of mentorship is communication. The relationship cannot work without it, because everything hinges on the ability of both parties to interact truthfully with one another. And to that extent, each person must be able and willing to speak openly. If the mentor isn’t honest with critiques and praises, the relationship won’t progress. Likewise, the mentee must understand how to discuss their own fears and hopes for goals. That way, they can navigate difficulties and challenges together.

Of course, this benefit of mentoring spills over into other areas as well, since communication is a skill needed in most settings. In fact, the very act of establishing this sort of relationship helps both parties learn how to better communicate.

6. Creating a Space for Encouragement

Even as a mentor should point out different ways protégés can work to improve, they must also understand when to offer encouragement. Sometimes, that’s exactly what a mentee needs in able to feel confident in their abilities and strive to achieve their goals. So, mentors should never be too far from a good word to those they help.

Ultimately, the mentor has the responsibility for creating a welcoming environment where the learner feels respected, heard, and understood. It almost sounds a bit like counseling – which, of course, mentorship can be in some regards. However, that doesn’t mean they can afford to ignore flaws and potential obstacles. But even in critique there’s space for encouragement. The tone and manner matter, and in a healthy relationship, mentors will understand how inspire and motivate the other through their words.

7. Identifying Areas for Development

Among the benefits of mentoring, identifying areas of development remains critical. After all, the role of a mentor is not simply to tell another that they’re already doing everything they need. It’s to give guidance and insight that the mentee otherwise wouldn’t be able to register on their own. So, professional development is almost a hallmark of a healthy mentorship.

Because of their connections and experience, mentors often have resources to aid in this sort of process. Sometimes, this might mean teaching the learner through their own knowledge. Other times, it could be pointing them toward classes or certification opportunities that could benefit their journey. Regardless, mentors should have the ability to identify areas of development for their protégés and offer them helpful resources for accomplishing that training.

8. Gaining Access to Different Viewpoints

One of the most important lessons in business and life is that your way of doing or viewing things isn’t the only way. And the sooner someone recognizes this, the better off they’ll be. Whether it’s a result of experience, culture, age, or some other factor, different people have alternate ways of understanding the world. One of the benefits of mentoring is that you’re likely exposed to variations on the way you think about something. After all, mentorships exist because someone has more experience – and sometimes, this means a more enlightened view.

Again, that doesn’t necessarily mean they’re way of seeing things is the right way. It could simply be a different way their protégé hasn’t previously encountered. Opening learners up to new lines of thought is one of the best things a leader can do. In fact, this is at the very heart of learning itself. So, without it, protégés likely won’t cover much ground.

9. Creating a Safe Space to Share and Celebrate Success

Ultimately, the success of the mentee is the success of the mentor. So, it only makes sense that wins should be shared and celebrated within the relationship. And to that extent, mentoring offers a safe space for individuals to celebrate their progress and achievements after working hard to accomplish them.

This might look different from one mentorship to another, because the individuals themselves differ. However, recognizing these successes is a prime way of motivating and encouraging an individual to continue striving for their goals.

10. Learning from an Experienced Voice

If not clear already, we’ll note it again – mentoring offers the perfect opportunity to learn from those who have experienced similar situations and journeys. That is, after all, the crux of the relationship – gaining wisdom from those who walked the same path. So, whether it’s for personal or professional purposes, mentoring is a great way to glean insights, encounter new lines of thought, and formulate methods for accomplishing goals.

11. Preventing Mistakes and Bad Decisions

Unfortunately, some things in life have to be learned the hard way – making a poor decision and suffering for it. However, because others have come before, each of whom made their share of mistakes, protégés have the opportunity to learn what to avoid beforehand. In other words, the shared stories of a mentor’s missteps can help prevent the learner from encountering the same problems.

Of course, because the world changes every day, there are always new lessons to be learned and fresh mistakes to be made. But if the mentoring relationship can help keep a preventable problem from arising, it’s one less bump for the protégé to worry about on the path forward.

12. Developing Confidential Accountability

Accountability is often seen as a sort of dirty word – it’s something we know we need but rarely want. Still, it’s an essential part of creating safe workplaces and staying on track with goals. In essence, accountability can cover any number of activities or situations. It might mean accountability for business leaders’ ethical decision making. Alternatively, in terms of mentorship, it might mean accountability for staying the course and growing. Regardless, it’s a necessary part of both life and professional careers.

Fortunately, confidential accountability is one of the hallmark benefits of mentoring, because the experienced individual helps course correct and keep the learner on track. As mentioned before, this ultimately requires truth and the ability to communicate. So, unless both members of the relationship are willing to afford those things, accountability won’t work. But in an ideal mentorship, there should be no fear, since it stays between the two individuals.

13. Cultivating a Relationship of Trust

The most necessary component for communication, accountability and encouragement is trust. Without it, the mentoring relationship cannot function the way it needs to. And for that reason, mentors themselves need to be individuals worthy of that trust. So, not just any successful individual has the right to mentor others. They must be upstanding, exhibiting the best qualities of leaders and care for their protégés. Only if these elements exist can the mentoring relationship truly flourish as intended.

Of course, trust isn’t built overnight. This ongoing process can take months or even years to fully cultivate. However, instilling an environment where that sort of relationship can grow is one of the first things a mentor should seek to establish.

14. Guidance Toward Potential Opportunities

Whether an option for continued learning or career advancement, mentorships offer a unique opportunity for personal guidance and growth. Again, this relies largely on the experience and connections of the mentor, and can differ from one relationship to another. However, because the leader is intimately familiar with the abilities and goals of their protégé, they can help point them toward potentially beneficial experiences.

Of course, this shouldn’t reduce the role of mentor to a job coach or placement agency – they’re much more than that. However, as a part of what they can offer, it comes as a great help.

15. Escaping the Trap of Confirmation Bias

Every person exhibits some sort of bias, whether they’re aware of it or not. And sometimes, the only thing we can do is recognize the ways we show that bias and attempt to recognize when it colors our decisions. One of the benefits of mentoring is that it provides a partner of sorts who can point out when bias creeps in and distorts our understanding of things. But in the same way, the mentor has a large responsibility not to abuse their role and attempt to persuade the protégé of their own way of thinking according to their own bias.

Essentially, the mentor and protégé work together to eliminate confirmation bias – at least at the individual level. That way, the mentee keeps from making decisions based only on evidence that supports their pre-held ideas.

In other words, mentors and mentees can act as a sort of check and balance for one another, benefiting both members of the relationship.

16. Developing a Sense of Humility

Whether someone’s completely new or been in their industry for decades and seems to know all there is, humility is essential. Because no matter how things might appear, there’s always more to understand, more to learn. Developing a sense of humility is one of those benefits of mentoring that strikes at the core of a person rather than just their abilities or knowledge. It’s something that becomes more ingrained and experienced.

After all, asking for someone more experienced to help you along the way is, in itself, an act of humility. In a sense, it’s that first step away from pride and acknowledging that you might not have all the answers. And of course, as someone grows throughout the mentorship, an interesting paradox occurs. They recognize that they don’t have all the answers while also learning more of them.

17. Creating a Space to Speak One’s Mind

Naturally, cultivating a relationship of trust, accountability and encouragement affords a space to speak your mind freely and safely. Again, this might sound a bit like a counseling session – a way to delve deeper into your own psyche. And perhaps to an extent, it may be. But similarities aside, this aspect of the mentoring relationship is one which really cements the bond between teacher and protégé.

Often, and unfortunately, business relationships involve a bit of strategic dancing around subjects to gauge where people stand and end up on top. Even in the most benign relationships, this can occur. However, mentoring offers an opportunity for someone to speak their mind freely in a way which doesn’t impact their corporate standing or potential for advancement. And because of this, mentors can better help guide their students toward appropriate solutions and opportunities.

18. Learning to Listen

Despite what many people think, listening is a skill that takes practice and careful cultivation. Perhaps an older, biblical adage speaks it well – “Ever listening but never understanding”. Simply hearing is rarely enough. Listening, on the other hand, requires active engagement with the conversant. It means paying close attention, engaging with them. And unfortunately, truly listening is more difficult than it seems in our fast-paced, hyper-stimulating world.

Mentoring offers the chance to become a better listener, because it puts two people together in a relationship that relies almost entirely on actual listening. The protégé won’t truly gain ground if they don’t comprehend what their teacher is guiding them toward. They won’t reach goals if they’re always thinking of the next thing to say instead of paying close attention to the other person. So, by virtue of the relationship itself, mentoring offers a chance for both participants to engage in active listening and sharpen that skill.

19. Discovering How Others Perceive You

Perhaps one of the most fulfilling and difficult benefits of mentoring is the discovery of how others view you. Because mentors have to offer truthful evaluations and observations, it’s the chance to truly dig into the heart of who the mentee is, both as a person and worker. Often, advancement requires change. And that transformation demands truthful observation.

For example, an undedicated worker can’t become more committed unless that trait is pointed out and worked upon. A self-centered person sometimes needs that flaw pointed out in order to become more others-focused. The point is, a mentoring relationship is the perfect situation for this recognition to happen. Because it’s within the confines of trust, accountability, and growth – after all, those are the primary objectives.

Overall, understanding how others perceive you can be both encouraging and disheartening. Discovering strengths and flaws in yourself is a tumultuous process, but in the pursuit of personal and professional growth, it’s invaluable.

20. Learning How to Mentor Others

Finally, one of the most satisfying benefits of mentoring is that the protégé also discovers how to become the mentor. The skills and knowledge they learn from their teacher can then be passed down to others who, like themselves, hope to grow and accomplish their goals. The mark of a successful mentor is that their student eventually does the same for others.

Discover More Benefits of Mentoring

Ultimately, mentoring is a process that needs to happen between two people. After all, the benefits of mentoring don’t come through an impersonal online class or article. However, we also recognize that not everyone is ready to make that commitment and jump in. So, to get you started, we have a short course to give you a taste of what real mentoring can become.

Our online course, Shadow a CEO, puts you in the role of a protégé, learning from the leader of a successful company called Central Products. This business simulation helps you understand the basics of a mentorship, seeing it play out in a lifelike setting.

So, if you’re still on the fence after reading the benefits of mentoring, try this option to help determine your next steps.

Article written by Braden Norwood

Last updated January 15, 2024

• Career Tips