Mentorship is an act by which an experienced and more knowledgeable person guides and advises a less experienced and less knowledgeable person in his or her field of endeavour. It is a means of helping people to bring out the best in them in their various areas or works of life. It is a mutual relationship between two individuals, namely mentor and the mentee, in which the mentor helps the mentee to acquire more experience and perfect his or her skills in the field of his or her endeavour. The mentor is supposed to be more experienced than the mentee.

Mentorship is predicated on trust between the mentee and the mentor. If there is no trust mentorship will not work out very well. This is because the mentee has to be open to the mentor while sharing his or her experience with the mentor. On the part of the mentor, he or she is supposed to treat everything the mentee tells him or her as highly confidential. It is against the rules of mentorship for a mentor to reveal to a third part what a mentee shares with him or her. Such an act can lead to lack of trust and once there is no trust the relationship will not work out very well.

Qualities of Mentors

There are certain qualities mentors are supposed to have. The absence of these qualities will inhibit the goal and aim of mentorship. One must be experienced and knowledgeable in the field to offer any sort of value to the mentee.

Listening

It is not an exaggeration to say that many people do not listen very well to other people. They tend to talk more and make rash judgement on others. Listening is a very important quality that mentors should try to develop. A mentor who does not listen very well to the mentee will not be able to help the mentee achieve its objective or gain more experience. Besides, there is the possibility of a mentor who does not listen very well misunderstanding the mentee. You can only understand a person when you listen to the person. But if you do not listen to a person you will not be able to understand the person. Mentors should therefore listen to their mentees in order to understand them and share their own experience with them.

Willingness to Share Experiences

Sharing of experience between the mentor and mentee is an essential accept of mentorship. The mentee can only grow in knowledge if the mentee shares his or her own experience with him or her. Sharing of experience is the best way through which the mentees deepen his or her own experience because experience they say is the best teacher. You can learn from the experience of the others. In other words, a mentor is supposed to share all his or her experience with the mentee without hiding anything from the mentee. The sharing of experience with the mentee should be predicated on openness. Nothing should be hidden from the mentee. This will help the mentee to learn faster.