The Art of Mentoring

Source: Journal of Accountancy

Mentoring is a valuable tool for developing future firm leaders, but, according to psychologist and leadership expert Erik Thompson, it is “often narrowly viewed as supportive or educational rather than as a vehicle for delivering accountability and driving performance.” Thompson outlines three critical skills for effective mentors:

Ask questions rather than provide answers. “Exceptional mentoring is more concerned with teaching people how to think,” Thompson says, “rather than telling them what to think.”

Get to know mentees and build personal connections with them by sharing stories about your own professional development. Leverage this relationship to encourage them to think for themselves. Says Thompson: “Self-confidence grows when people overcome obstacles themselves, not from extra support.”

Develop “penetrating insights” about mentees' “professional blind spots” and then challenge them to overcome these obstacles.

Firm leaders must abandon the view that mentoring wastes time. On the contrary, if done right, it enhances productivity by developing more responsible employees and freeing up the mentor's time for business development and other high-level activities.

For the complete article, read “How to Be a Better Mentor.”

From Journal of Accountancy, American Institute of Certified Public Accountants, November 2010, http://www.journalofaccountancy.com/Issues/2010/Nov.