Are you mentorable?

Are you mentorable?
Are you mentorable?

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Ever felt the need

Ever felt the need to talk to someone about certain areas of your career or personal life?

Often we all need advice from time to time. However, finding the right mentor can change the trajectory of your life. As important as it is to find a good mentor, it is equally important to be a good mentee. 

Education professor, Richard Reddick,

Education professor, Richard Reddick, uses the word “mentorability” to refer to the ability of mentees to benefit from mentoring. 

Success does not just have a mentor tell you or show you what to do. It’s a two-way relationship.

Mentoring is an open and reciprocal partnership between mentor and mentee.

 

Evaluate yourself as a

Evaluate yourself as a mentee.

Periodic reassessment is a crucial part of the process. Reflect whether you are committed to the relationship and constantly strive to be a better version of yourself.

Here are the 5

Here are the 5 principal characteristics of mentorability shared by Victoria Black, director of a peer-mentoring and coaching program at Texas State University. 

You value their time.

Show your mentors that you respect their time by arriving on time. Then, prepare for your meetings, and come with your queries. 

Give your mentor your complete attention when you are together and try to respond to them proactively. Often mentors complain that carelessness about time is the root cause of failed pairings.

You’re open to whatever

You’re open to whatever you can learn from your mentor.

While you may not get what you want or expect from your partnership, it can still be immensely valuable. 

Your relationship may not be fruitful, but that doesn’t mean you didn’t develop. On the contrary, you’ll come out of it with new information, a new skill, a new perspective. 

You’re clear about what

You’re clear about what you’re looking for from a mentor.

Specific articulation of your expectations and objectives will let you receive the guidance you’d like. You need to expose your problems and limitations to mentors. 

The mentors want you to be real with them and not sugar-coat your experiences. 

You can accept the

You can accept the feedback.

You should be ready to receive your mentor’s feedback and then decide whether or not you want to take it. If you do not like it, examine your attitude and introspect to find out what is bothering you. 

If you decide not to follow their guidance, it’s still important to express your gratitude. Thank them and briefly politely explain your decision.

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