WEBVTT

00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:05.579
JustLearn. Mentoring is not making a copy of yourself. Useful guidance helps

00:00:05.579 --> 00:00:11.158
another person make better choices within their own circumstances, including choices you

00:00:11.158 --> 00:00:15.343
would not have made. This edition uses synthetic narration.

00:00:15.343 --> 00:00:19.725
Begin with the other person's aim. A person asks for guidance and

00:00:19.725 --> 00:00:24.107
you immediately see a familiar route: the qualification you took, the role

00:00:24.107 --> 00:00:28.490
you pursued or the habits that served you. Your experience may be

00:00:28.490 --> 00:00:32.872
valuable. It is not yet clear whether the destination belongs to them.

00:00:32.872 --> 00:00:37.254
Ask what they want, what constraints they face and what kind of

00:00:37.254 --> 00:00:41.636
help they are seeking. They may need an explanation of options rather

00:00:41.636 --> 00:00:46.019
than a recommendation. They may want feedback on an approach you have

00:00:46.019 --> 00:00:50.401
not used. Start by understanding the decision before making your biography its

00:00:50.401 --> 00:00:50.766
template.

00:00:50.766 --> 00:00:55.725
Describe the conditions behind your advice. When sharing experience, include the context

00:00:55.725 --> 00:01:00.684
that made it useful. Which resources did you have? What opportunities were

00:01:00.684 --> 00:01:05.643
available? Which responsibilities could you set aside? A recommendation becomes easier to

00:01:05.643 --> 00:01:10.603
evaluate when its assumptions are visible. Invite the person to identify what

00:01:10.603 --> 00:01:15.562
does not fit. Do not interpret every difference as resistance to learning.

00:01:15.562 --> 00:01:20.521
They may know something important about their circumstances that you do not.

00:01:20.521 --> 00:01:25.480
Good guidance can include a strong opinion while leaving the reasoning open

00:01:25.480 --> 00:01:28.373
enough for someone else to assess it.

00:01:28.373 --> 00:01:32.753
Leave ownership of the choice where it belongs. A mentee does not

00:01:32.753 --> 00:01:37.132
owe you the career or life that would validate your advice. If

00:01:37.132 --> 00:01:41.512
they choose differently, ask what informed the decision. You may disagree and

00:01:41.512 --> 00:01:45.892
remain willing to help them think through the consequences. For practice, review

00:01:45.892 --> 00:01:50.272
one piece of advice you often give. Add the circumstances in which

00:01:50.272 --> 00:01:54.652
it may not apply and one alternative worth considering. The aim is

00:01:54.652 --> 00:01:59.032
not to become so cautious that you offer nothing. It is to

00:01:59.032 --> 00:02:03.412
make your experience available as a resource rather than an instruction that

00:02:03.412 --> 00:02:07.792
carries a hidden demand for loyalty. Mentoring succeeds when the other person

00:02:07.792 --> 00:02:11.807
becomes more able to exercise judgment, including when you are absent.

00:02:11.807 --> 00:02:16.767
A question to take with you. Am I helping this person think,

00:02:16.767 --> 00:02:21.727
or mainly helping them resemble my own path? First published by JustLearn.

00:02:21.727 --> 00:02:25.033
Read the original article at justlearn dot online.