Mentorship is a technique which has been around for many years, but it’s one which is also very under-utilised in many ways. 

You might think that mentors are only used when a young or inexperienced employee begins working for a company, but there are many different situations when a mentor might be a fantastic route towards success and confidence. 

For instance, if a member of staff is about to take on more responsibility, having a mentor who is experienced in the new task is a good source of information in case they become stuck or unsure of what to do. If a member of staff is going through a difficult time and their confidence has taken a knock, a mentor can be a great option for boosting them back up again and helping them feel more in control of their workload. 

There are endless reasons why a mentor might be a good fit for a specific employee during their working hours at their office desks, but it really comes down to choosing the right mentor for the job too.

What Are Coaching And Mentorship?

There are very subtle differences between coaching and mentorship, but they both allow an employee to have a specific person to go to when they have worries about a job role, they’re not sure what to do, or they have questions. This can be a safety blanket to help boost confidence and allow them to learn on the job, far quicker than they would do otherwise, and usually with far fewer mistakes. 

Check out this video which talks about mentorship in the workplace. 

So, now we know what mentorship is, how could it be a useful time management technique to use, to help you get more done in the time you have at your office chair?

1. Mentorship helps you to learn how to manage your time from successful people. You can then take on their hints and tips, watch how they work, and find ways which work for you, using all of this information you’ve gained
2. Having a mentor gives you the confidence to overcome workplace stress and worrying about how to do a task correctly because you have someone to task if you’re struggling. By doing this, you’re more able to take control of your workload and ensure that you use techniques such as to do lists, scheduling, and perhaps even the Pomodoro Technique
3. You have someone specific to ask questions to, which may save time on trying to work something out yourself. By doing this, you’re getting accurate, correct information and you’re not making mistakes, which you then have to go back over and correct.

As you can see, mentorship isn’t only a fantastic training approach and confidence booster, but it’s also a way to manage your time better in the modern contemporary office environment. 

Finding The Right Mentor 

Of course, it all comes down to finding the best mentor for the job, and someone who fits with particular employee best. Everyone has a different personality and in order for a mentor and mentee to gel, there needs to be a common understanding. 

As an employer, you’ll know your employees well and that means you can identify the right type of personality for a mentoring role, and someone who has the right amount of experience to go alongside it. 

A mentor needs to be someone who is approachable and helpful, but they also need to have a wealth of experience, with the ability to explain things in a clear and actionable way. It’s no good having someone who can do a job but isn’t able to explain it well. In that case, mentorship just isn’t going to work. 

On the other hand, if you can find someone who has a natural flair for helping others, you’ll find that mentorship in the workplace works very well with time management too, allowing productivity to creep right in!