Mentorship, at least in a business sense, is traditionally thought of as an investment in yourself. You take on a mentor who can help you become a better version of you. But have you ever stopped to consider that mentorship is also an investment in your clients? By investing in yourself through mentorship, you are also investing in your clients by making yourself better able to help them.
Full disclosure requires admitting that I did not come to this understanding on my own. Rather, I was enlightened by reading some material on Scott Moore’s website. Scott Moore is a yoga nidra expert, transformational retreat leader, and mindfulness business mentor.
One of Moore’s services is mentorship. He teaches clients the skills they need to grow into the next phase of their careers, specifically as a meditation teacher or conscious entrepreneur. In other words, he teaches teachers to be better at teaching and conscious entrepreneurs how to be better businesspeople.
Investing in Yourself
As you may know, mentorship involves partnering with someone you respect and trust. Your mentor is someone who can teach you what they know while encouraging self-improvement and growth. For many mentees, mentorship is a self-investment.
How is mentorship and investment in yourself? Consider the following:
- Leadership – Mentorship should help you develop better leadership and communication skills.
- Perspective – Mentees often gain a fresh perspective from their mentors. They learn new ways of thinking, ways that keep them current.
- Self-Awareness – Most forms of mentorship have a self-awareness component. Mentees are encouraged to practice self-reflection and personal growth.
- Confidence – Mentoring boosts confidence by focusing on sharing experiences and recognizing progress.
- Networking – Mentoring introduces mentees to new connections that help expand their opportunities.
Some would go so far as to say that mentorship also improves a mentee’s mental health. A strong mentor-mentee relationship can supposedly lead to less anxiety and greater career satisfaction.
Investing in Your Clients
Although Scott Moore applies the principles of mentorship to yoga teachers and conscious entrepreneurs, the principles apply to all sorts of business owners and their clients. Whether you are an accountant, restaurant owner, landscaper, or healthcare provider, your customers are the lifeblood of your business. Investing in them is worthwhile.
How is mentorship an investment in your clients? Check it out:
- Productivity – Your success as a mentee could make you a more productive business owner on behalf of your clients.
- Skills and Knowledge – The skills and knowledge you gain through mentorship make you more valuable to customers.
- Confidence – The previously mentioned confidence also comes into play here. More confidence in yourself means more confidence when it comes to helping your clients.
- Problem-Solving – Mentorship can include learning new problems solving skills. They make for a better business owner capable of providing better customer support.
In addition to all of this is the principle of teaching by example. In other words, some types of businesses involve direct relationships with clients. Take the yoga teacher. A yoga teacher who has spent quality time with a mentor can turn around and teach what she has learned to her own clients. The life she leads is an example to them, an example demonstrating that what she has learned from her mentor is spot on.
Perhaps you have long viewed mentorship as strictly an investment in yourself. Maybe it’s time to start thinking in a new direction. Mentorship certainly is an investment in self. But it is also an investment in the clients you work with on a daily basis. Your mentorship could have huge impacts on them as well.