Skills and Qualities Mentors need to be effective in their Role - Essay Example

Skills and Qualities Mentors need to be Effective in their Role Unit Mentorship is an important facet of the modern way of directing an individual towards realization of their potential. Many organizations, institutions of learning as well as individuals in a family setup have sought to develop themselves through mentorship. The development of the mentee is the main issue under focus. Therefore, the mentor ought to develop skills and qualities that facilitate their relationship with the mentee. The mentor is not the source of the mentee’s answers but provides them with guidance on the best approach of getting the answers. While the mentee is the major beneficiary of the relationship, the mentor also stands to benefit from personal experiences as well as that of the mentee. Mentorship is not any easy; the mentor should have proper skills that would help them to handle the dynamic needs of the mentee. On the other hand, the mentor should have attributes that allow them to establish and maintain a relationship with the mentee. Mentoring in ophthalmology is quite interesting; this is because the specialist as well as the mentee interact in a specialization that they have interest with. A mentor should be a specialist in the area that they provide mentorship. It is not enough to have the will to be a mentor but one should have the capacity to have a higher level of experience and knowledge than the mentee should (Davies et al., 1994). For example, having an ophthalmologist to mentor nursing students in ophthalmology helps the students to have a person that is informed and can direct them on seeking more information on this specialty. The basic roles of a mentor includes providing support, listening to the mentee and providing the way forward, helping the mentee clarify their goals, providing guidance, and passing knowledge and experience to the mentee. This cannot be achieved if the mentor lacks prowess and specialty in the area of mentorship. In addition, a mentor should be passionate in the field of mentorship. Having a mentor that harbors a negative attitude towards the field of mentorship will demoralize the mentee and the objectives of the mentorship will not be realized (Gray, Smith 2000, p.1543). Therefore, an ophthalmologist that loves what they do and loves their career can perfectly play the role of a mentor to students undertaking the course. Such a person will be a source of inspiration and more so a role model. The mentor should have the desire and willingness to help the mentee by devoting their time, energy, and knowledge. An effective mentor should be ready to take responsibility to teach and guide the mentee in what they know and how they can develop professionally. A mentor should have a personal initiative and the ability to remember their professional path that is shared with their mentee. They also seek to have experiences from other people in the same line so that they can compare note and help their mentees realize their goals. For a professional endeavor like in ophthalmological nursing, the mentor can sometimes go a step ahead to devote some of their resources in order to ensure that they guide the mentees appropriately. In this regard, an effective mentor is one that is willing to have the interest of the mentee without being coerced. Such an effective mentor does not take the mentorship as a light endeavor; they take it seriously and have the willingness to commit their time, sharing their knowledge and expertise with the mentees (Shaw 2012). In order for the mentor to remain positive and objective during the process of mentorship, they should have the desire to help. Enthusiasm is a necessity in a mentorship program. An individual that is enthusiastic about a certain field, find it easy to share their knowledge and expertise with others. Such individuals can serve as good mentors in that particular field and not others. Mentors that lack enthusiasm are likely to give up at some point hence they may not deliver. Likewise, the mentees can develop a negative attitude towards such a mentor hence they will not gain much from them irrespective how much they know about the field. Enthusiasm can be transferred from the mentor to the mentee; a mentor that exhibits it is likely to make the mentee catch it (Rueywei, Shih-Ying & Min-Lang 2014, p.500). The mentee gets to see the meaning of having an interest in the field. This helps them in making decisions on further specializations. For example, under the mentorship of a nurse that has specialized in ophthalmology, the mentee is likely to like the field because of the way the mentor presents it. The mentor will definitely use many examples that are linked to their specialty hence making the mentee to have a positive attitude towards that particular specialty. Enthusiasm that emanates from the mentor is transmitted to the mentee. A mentor should have respect and should be a respectable individual. Respect is a very important quality since it helps the mentor to establish a relationship with the mentee that is mature and objective. When respect thrives between the two, the mentor will always adhere to what the mentor says. A mentor in some instances can take the position of a role model. Since the mentee would like to be like the mentor, they will have respect towards them. On the other hand, an effective mentor should command respect by behaving, talking, and doing respectable things. A mentee looks into filling the role taken by the mentor in the future; therefore, for effective grooming of the mentee to do so, the mentor should be a respectable person (Egan 2002, p.56). Apart from the respect that the mentor commands from the mentee, they should overall be respected by colleagues and other distinguished individuals. Their contributions in the field of interest should be appreciated. For example, colleagues as well as other students in the university should respect a senior nursing student that endeavors to mentor junior students. Failure to command this respect, the individual is not taken seriously and the same will be transferable to the mentorship, where the mentee takes the mentor lightly. A mentor sets a good example to others. This quality sets aside a mentor from the others. Someone that exemplifies excellence in a given field and provides the best available model fits as an effective mentor. Through being a good example to others, the mentor motivates others. An effective mentor consistently endeavors in doing what is right and is always on a path of finding better ways of approaching things. In a hospital set up, an effective mentor goes an extra mile of developing initiatives and interventions that would ensure that they handle situations effectively (Spouse 1996, p.132). They can do this by consulting widely or seeking help from diverse sources. In order to remain as good examples, good mentors work on improving their knowledge, skills, and expertise so that they are able to handle various situations; they are confident to share these experiences with their mentees. Being a good example provides the mentee with an ideal path that they follow in order to achieve their goals. Mentors who exemplify positive attitude are looked up to as role models and usually motivate the mentees. When the mentor acts as a good example to the mentee, the relationship between the two is effective and keeps on thriving since the mentee desires to be like the mentor. Effective mentorship requires the mentor to be a disciplined person that sets personal and professional goals and works towards achieving them. The personal behavior, habits, and attitudes of the mentor are an important influence on the mentee (Gray, Smith 2000, p.1545). This means that the mentee should be a goals setter and works hard to achieve the goals. In addition, they should be faithful to the goals set so that they are able to execute them successfully. It would be hypocritical for the mentor to guide the mentee in doing what they do not do in their personal capacity. The mentor should be able to provide the mentee with living examples of success; if the mentor is one of those examples, the mentee relates with them very well. Personal discipline on the side of the mentor is very important; they will be able to inculcate the same discipline to the mentee. For example, a mentor that is always late for meetings does not provide a good example to the mentee. Personal and professional goals cannot be successfully implemented without personal discipline. Therefore, the mentor should have such discipline. An effective mentor ought to value the initiatives and opinions of others. Mentorship is a relationship that is two sided. The mentor has their role to play as well as the mentee. Though the mentor has the responsibility of guiding and inspiring the mentee, the mentee is also required to participate actively. In order to have an active mentorship, the mentor should be an individual that is flexible to accommodate the opinions of the mentees and providing appropriate guidance. Some of the propositions of the mentee are likely to be valid hence; the mentor should be at a position of helping the mentee build on the preexisting knowledge and expertise (Ousey 2009, p.182). For example, a nursing student that has little knowledge of ophthalmology should first be guided on pre-ophthalmological knowledge before they are allowed to engage in the complex ophthalmoscopic examination and electrophysiology among other complex procedures. An effective mentor can opt to expose the mentee to patients with vision disorders, beginning with the simple to the complex. It is also important that the mentor should applaud the initiatives developed by the mentee. Instead of condemning the mentee for any mishap, the mentor should be at a position of providing directions in a friendly manner. For example, when conducting an examination on a patient, the mentor acting as the supervisor should accept any creative and improved way of doing the examination, given that it works. In addition, the mentor should engage the mentee on interrogating opinions developed by the mentee; this promotes initiative from the mentee. A mentor should be in a position of providing guidance. Irrespective of the mentor’s expertise and knowledge, they should be individuals that are able to guide the mentee from one step to another. In addition, they should be able to provide a constructive feedback to the mentee. The essence of mentorship is to help the mentee grow in a specified area of interest (Beskine 2009, p.35). For professional growth, the mentee is guided on how they ought to proceed. This entails the development of goals, the path to achieving them and evaluation of the goals. The mentor helps the mentee identify their strengths and weaknesses, thereby being empowered to face the challenges that come with the responsibility. Through the guidance, the mentee is able to learn on how they can use their strengths and weaknesses to become a better person. The guidance and the feedback provided by the mentor should be articulate in order for the mentee to understand every bit of the mentorship. An effective mentor should be at a position of posing challenging situations that provoke the mentee to reason hence facilitating professional growth (Harrison 2014, p. 33). For example, a mentor can prepare hypothetical case studies that help the mentee to reason. Getting some feedback from the mentor gives the mentee confidence in the mentorship program in addition to helping them realize areas that they are doing well as well as those that requires improvement. Good communication skills are very important for every mentor. Communication entails delivery of a message and receiving of the feedback. A good mentor is articulate in the delivery of their information; they do it in such a way that the mentee is able to decode the information rightly. Contrarily, miscommunication can result to differences between the mentor and the mentee, this is detrimental to the mentorship process. A good mentor is capable of customizing their communication in regards to the personality and the needs of the mentee (Littlejohn 1992, p.453). As part of effective communication, the mentor should be an active listener. The mentor is obliged to process all the information that the mentee gives. In addition, the mentor should be capable of understanding non-verbal communication from the mentee; such include observing the body language and use of eye contact. Through this endeavor, the mentor will understand topics that challenging to the mentee. While the mentee is talking, the mentor should be keen since this helps the mentee to value what they are saying. The mentor is also supposed to ask the relevant questions and provide feedback on the issues raised by the mentee (Eller, Lev & Feurer 2013). A good mentor is always a learner and values growth. Learning is a continuous process since new information appears day in day out. An effective mentor is one that ensures that they keep pace with the new developments (Tor et al 2011). Lack of awareness on the merging knowledge may cause the mentor to be challenged by their mentee. In so doing, the mentee develops less confidence with the mentor’s level of awareness and knowledge. Continuous learning promotes respect and keeps the mentor in tune with the dynamic technological and knowledge explosion age. The mentor should be able to reveal to the mentee the growth and changes that are taking place all across the world (James 2013, p.2218). For example, an ophthalmologist that acts as a mentor should be aware of the new instrumentation and techniques that have been developed in the field. Inability to keep abreast with the changes may make the mentor to present obsolete techniques and instrumentation. An individual that stagnates in their position and shows less progress make poor mentors. The mentor ought to experiment and engage in learning practices, which ensure that they are informed on professional developments. In addition, good mentors are good readers; they do so intensively and extensively. A good mentor exhibits personal interest in the mentoring process. Ownership of the mentoring process is the first step towards an effective mentorship. A mentor takes the personal initiative by committing himself or herself to devote their time and expertise to guiding the mentee to become a better person. In some situations, the mentor commits to interact with the mentee from a personal perspective; this gives the mentee the confidence to share with the mentor any personal or professional information in order to be guided appropriately (Beskine 2009, p. 38). The mentor is able to schedule their time appropriately while giving much weight to the mentorship process. The mentor views the mentorship and the issues concerning the mentee as personal. In this regard, the mentor ought to be a good trainer, should be knowledgeable and compassionate. Through personal interactions with the mentee, the mentor should be able to understand their needs and help the mentee deal with the needs. The mentor should ensure that the mentee develops positive attitude towards the field, amplify their strengths, attributes, and personal beliefs. An effective mentor should be sociable and flexible. A mentor should be aware that the mentee is an individual with a personality that is completely different from theirs. In this regard, the mentor should not impose his mindset and worldview on the mentee. Having a genuine interest or the mentee requires that the mentor yearn to know the personality of the mentee and guide them appropriately. The mentor should be sensitive to the needs of the mentee by attempting to speak to the mentee and listen to them in a friendly manner. The ability to listen to the issues raised by the mentee makes the mentor to make an informed judgment of how they can be able to help the mentee. The mentor should also ensure that the mentee has the leeway to express them while avoiding any form of dominance. For effectiveness in the mentorship process coaching skills are quite necessary, failure to which there can occur a communication breakdown between the mentor and the mentee. Despite the flexibility of the mentor, they should have a clear objective of what they endeavor to have the mentee achieve. Besides, the mentor should yearn to explore more on the character, attitudes, and beliefs of the mentee in order to find the best strategies of helping the mentee (Wilkes 2006, p.47). Even if the mentorship is based on a professional platform, being aware of some personal information of the mentee is very helpful in the process. However, this should infringe the mentee’s confidentiality. An effective mentor is has good management skills. The management of resources and talents is a very significant attribute of a mentor. An effective mentor does not keep on pushing the mentee to do what is expected of them. The mentor has the ability to understand the abilities of the mentee and act appropriately. In terms of supervision, the mentor may supervise the mentee stringently at the beginning of the program but continues to withdraw the supervision with time. In order to manage the mentees talents and abilities, the mentor ensures that the mentee is constantly engaged in activities that help them grow (Darling 1984, p.44). The mentor does not pose as a manger to the mentee, this helps to bridge the gap between them hence the mentee becomes confident and gains trust with the mentor. Poor mentorship ensues when the mentor fails to understand the needs of the mentee as well as when there is suspicion, which creates mistrust. A mentee is likely to be uncomfortable with a mentor that they do not trust. Being overprotective to the mentee gives them a sense of insecurity and confinement hence they do not benefit fully from the mentorship (Gualardo 2000, p. 8). Therefore, the mentor should be a tactical person that ought to balance the individual needs of the mentee and the objectives of the mentorship. In conclusion, mentors are important people to the lives of mentees. Therefore, mentorship should be made as effective as possible. Mentors ought to have a genuine and personal concern towards the mentees, should dedicate time for mentorship, should have good communication and listening skills, should be sensitive to the needs of the mentees, they should not dominate the mentee or be over-controlling. In addition, the mentor should have excellent coaching skills, should give feedback, should be sociable and flexible, and should be enthusiastic. Of essence also is the need for the mentor to exemplify knowledge and expertise in the particular field of mentorship. A mentor that meets all these qualities or a majority of them is capable of effectively providing proper guidance to the mentee. References Beskine, D. (2009) Mentoring students: establishing effective working relationships, Nursing Standard, 23(30): 35–40. Darling, L.A. (1984) What Do Nurses Want in a Mentor? Journal of Nursing Administration 14, 42-44, retrieved from http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/6566684 Davies, B., Neary, M. & Phillips R. 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