Post #78 The Power of Leading
How many others have you mentored during your lifetime? A mentor is one who leads, provides advice based on experience and one who can influence (see Post #75). Read this to understand why mentoring can significantly expand your knowledge base and increase your education.
Sharpen your Communication Skills
Mentoring someone else requires you to tap into different skills than you would use working solo. For example, you may read a problem or a question and instantly know your solution approach. But, have you ever thought about how much time it would take to explain your thought process? In other words, thinking in one thing; communication via words is a different thing. Having to explain an approach in words, which is obvious to you, will bring about a new challenge for you. And giving yourself challenges, is after all, what life is about.
Explain Complicated Concepts
Let’s take this concept a bit further. Suppose you encounter a problem that you don’t know immediately know how to solve. The first thing you may do is ponder and brainstorm an approach that makes sense. Then, you try your approach and maybe fail a few times before solving. In this case, have you thought about the words you would use to clearly explain your solution? Solving is one thing; articulating a complicated solution will challenge you on a whole new level.
Improvise on the Spot
Another reason to become a mentor: it forces you to improvise. Mentoring others will throw unexpected questions and problems at you. How would you react if you’re put on the spot with an unfamiliar question or problem? If you are a mentor, it is almost a guarantee that others will challenge your knowledge and experiences. Your mentees will widen your perspectives and provide opportunities to think in creative, new ways. Mentees are almost like little children learning to speak; they bring up questions that you would not have otherwise addressed.
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