Top Mentoring Surprises

I was traveling last week doing some on-site coaching work for a few corporate clients, so I didn't get to post anything blog-wise. I really like on-site work, though - and it's becoming an increasing part of my business, which is nice.

I enjoy spending a day 'shadowing' a client: I get to see them in action; I get to listen to what they talk about; I get to watch how they interact with people; and I then get to debrief with him/her about what I noticed. It usually stimulates some really interesting insights to surface and meaningfully advances the coaching conversation.

A fascinating byproduct of on-site work is that I get to meet and interact with a number of new, really interesting, people. Enter Scott Collins. Although we never met before, he and I got into an excellent conversation about how different a formal mentoring relationship feels after it starts, compared to before it actually does.

"How so?" I asked. To wit, here is his list of Top Mentoring Surprises:

1. You can say things to your mentor that you can't say to anyone else ... well, almost
2. Discussions with you mentor are actually fun because of Surprise #1
3. You can trust what your mentor tells you because he/she isn't really impacted by how you react
4. You can ask you mentor to "put in a good word" for you, but it will probably happen without you even having to ask
5. Success in a mentoring relationship goes both ways ... if you are seen as a successful mentee, your mentor will be viewed in a more positive light as well
6. If you follow your mentor's advice ... more advice will follow
7. A good mentor sees the relationship as an investment in the company, you and him/herself, it's a partnership, not a burden

Thanks, Scott. Couldn't've said it better myself.