Mark S. Brown

Servant leadership is a popular topic in leadership subjects, but also applies to teams. Make your actions serve the team, and the team will be more successful. Here are four ways you can improve your service:

1. Focus on Collaboration. Give up some of your independence, and become more inclusive. Integrate everyone into the team tasks, and increase the buy-in for the team goals. If you can find solutions that are driven by cooperation instead of competition, your team will increase its work effectiveness.

2. Eliminate the Gossip. Internal politics, rumors, and gossip are all destructive forces within a team. When a discussion turns to rumors, find a way to extinguish the negativity. Refocus the energy on the team goals.

3. Develop Team Spirit. Keep the team attitude positive. Develop loyalty to the team, not to an individual. Give recognition and praise. Celebrate the victories along the way.

4. Give of Yourself. Be generous with your time, your effort, and your skills. Add value to the other members. Share your expertise, and work to develop the team skills. Make the team’s success your personal goal for success.

 

A successful mentoring relationship is based on a plan. If you are just meeting your mentee occasionally without a specific plan, you are not as effective as you can be. A great mentoring relationship is built on plan to help, grow, lead your mentee.

If you don’t have a plan, consider these three points to get started.

1. Sharing – What meaningful experiences do you have that would benefit your mentee? How can you convey the story of your experience so that it connects with your mentee so that they understand the significance?

2. Development – What area of development does your mentee need that you can provide guidance? What knowledge, skills, experiences do they need? How can you help them develop in this area?

3. Coaching – If you only tell your story and your opinions, your effectiveness will be limited. A person is more likely to follow through on a plan if it is their plan. Ask questions of your mentee. Listen to their aspirations, and let them create and commit to their own growth plan.

Finding the right blend of these three areas will be different for each person, but excluding one of them will limit your effectiveness as a mentor.

 

Mentoring programs are sometimes offered by organizations, groups, or companies. These programs differ in their approach. If you are looking to become a mentor, there may be different options for you.

1. Formal mentoring: Check to see if your company or an organization you belong to has a formal mentoring program. Formal programs offer the benefit of usually having some training and coaching material you can use in your mentoring sessions. This can range from initial training to a detailed week by week plan for you and your mentee.

2. Informal mentoring: Many organizations set up mentoring relationships without providing any support and training. The only benefit you receive from this type of program is pairing between you and your mentee. Usually this match is selected based on the needs of the organization, or on providing mentors with specific backgrounds to targeted mentees.

3. Independent mentoring: If your organization does not offer mentoring, you can always go the independent path. With this scenario, you will need to find your own mentee. You are able to find a person that can benefit from your specific experiences, and also someone that is receptive to learning from you. Like the informal mentoring option, you will have to plan and develop your own mentoring curriculum.

These three processes vary greatly. In fact, you will find huge variation even within one of these categories. Ultimately your success will not be based on which type of mentoring program you are in, but on what you bring to the mentoring relationship.

Th first step in becoming a mentor is evaluating the types of programs available in your organization.

All mentors want to be good, but few people are really great mentors. What does is take? Before you decide to be a mentor, consider if you are ready. To be an exceptional mentor you should review the following:

1. Your desire to be a mentor is truly based on wanting to help someone grow. Don’t step into a mentoring role just because you want to add it to your resume, or to your work experience, or because you think your current position requires it. If your motivation does not come from your aspiration to add value to other people, then defer your mentorship.

2. You have relevant meaningful experiences to share. One key component in mentoring is sharing your experience with your mentee. The key is your experience should be relevant, and beneficial. For example, I have no artistic talent, and no formal training in painting. If I were to attempt to mentor an oil painter, I probably would not help them expand their potential in creating art..

3. You are able to dedicate the time needed. Time is one of our most precious resources. If you make a commitment to be a mentor, you need to understand the time commitment you are making. A mentoring relationship requires that you spend time as a coach, a trainer, a listener, a friend, and a teacher. Setting aside 30 minutes a month for a mentoring discussion will not be very successful.

Being a mentor can be a very rewarding experience. A successful mentoring relationship benefits both the mentee and the mentor. If you want to be a successful mentor, plan on being prepared.