Reasons Why You Should Consider Being a Peer Mentor
I once sat in an inspirational talk by the former CEO of Accenture Clive Butkow. He gave a lot of tips that day, and one of these was “use other people’s brains”. How I interpreted this as, was find a mentor. Find someone who has taken the journey before who will help guide you in the business journey. I thought it was awesome advice, but where does one find a mentor?
If you are an entrepreneur with a few years’ experience you could also be a mentor. We always think mentors need to be someone more successful or have far more experience than us. This isn’t true. Business owners need more than one type of mentor, and a peer mentor is one. According to http://www.mentorscout.com, “a mentor is a coach, guide, tutor, facilitator, counselor and trusted adviser. A mentor is someone willing to spend his or her time and expertise to guide the development of another person.”
Here are three reasons that may help you make a decision to become a peer mentor:
- By mentoring, you are giving back. Empowering someone else is one of the best gifts you can give to someone. I think mentoring exemplifies the message in the following proverb: give a man a fish, and you feed him for a day; teach a man to fish, and you feed him for a lifetime
- You will learn a lot. This is especially true when you mentor someone from a slightly different background or industry from yours. They see the world differently, and they will share experiences with you which you may not have come across before. It will give you a different perspective which will also make you grow.
- Mentoring is very rewarding. There is nothing more satisfying than when someone has taken advice from you, and you see the change it makes in their lives, business or mindset. The rewards come in small bit sizes, but are really satisfying.
Many entrepreneurs are looking for mentors, and you could be one. Why not take that step today?
Nokwazi Mzobe, CEO of Matoyana Consulting.
