Six qualities of a great mentor

At every stage of life, we need someone to show us the right path. But over the past few years, the idea of mentor has changed. Everyone is going for a mentor, who can help them to follow their dreams. One of the major reasons behind anyone's failure is not having a good mentor. There are a lot of people ready to become your mentor but you need to be selective while choosing a mentor. Look for all the required qualities and keep searching until you find the best one. A mentor can be your manager, co-worker, or anyone who has been your source of inspiration. They will be the one who will guide, help and support you through thick and thin. By sharing their valuable experience they can lead you towards success. Mentoring is a responsibility, a commitment that your mentor must give you. There lies a huge difference in a layman’s advice and a mentor’s.

Where to find them? 

It starts with educational institutions, where you meet teachers, students and seniors. You might be inspired by some of them. Keep in touch with them. There are times while surfing the internet you might come across someone who can be inspiring. Approach them, they might help you in future. It can be your boss at first job, your professor or anyone with required qualities. There are many communities of mentors or there are websites who provide mentors in your field of interest. Keep track of people and stay connected.

What are the qualities of a mentor?

A good mentor will answer all your queries and suggest you the best solution possible. Here are five qualities that distinguish the mentor from rest of the advisors.

1. Experienced:                                                                                                                                                      The person must be experienced in your field of interest and have a record of their own success and failures. They should be familiar with industry's pros and cons in order to guide you better. Your mentor must share his wisdom and experience when you are planning to expand or merge or even trying to do a new experiment. 
2. Supportive:                                                                                                                                                     Things take time and so will your start-up. There might be chances your business will fail. At this time your mentor will stand by your side and will encourage you to move on and work harder. They must be able to generate positive surrounding around you even during work pressure or difficult situations. A good mentor will always calm you down when nothing is going according to the plan. 
3. Honest:                                                                                                                                                             Not everyone will speak on your face but a good mentor will always be honest in his/her opinion.  They will always give you honest advice whether it is about your career or business. You only grow when someone criticizes you. Your mentor will be that one person and they will provide you with constructive feedback. But when needed, he will encourage you for your hard and good work. 
4. Always ready to share his/her knowledge:                                                                                   A good mentor will always be willing to share his/her expertise and skills with you. They must tell you what will and will not work as they have been in this industry. Sharing of knowledge and experience for the mentor and mentee relationship is important. It will also help in the development of the business.
5. Always ready to listen:                                                                                                                               A mentor should have the ability to sit and listen to the mentee. This will give the mentor a clear picture of your problems.  They must listen to your ideas, suggestions and must be patient. He/she should not always keep lecturing you as this might not help you in the real market. 
6. Able to see the coming opportunities and disasters:                                                                A mentor is an experienced individual, who can easily figure out any problem or any opportunity. He will help you in avoiding business pitfalls and challenges. He will suggest you the best ideas to grab the opportunity which you cannot see. 

A mentor will take a genuine interest in your business.  A mentor must be self-reflective, curious and always ready to face the upcoming challenges. Keep in mind the following points before selecting a mentor.