TYPES OF MENTORS

Olumide is a 24year old young man, who was looking to break into the tech world. He had everything he needed, including the will to learn. However, he lacked the guidance he needed. He needed help navigating the tech world. He had done all he could to find a suitable mentor but to no avail. As time went by, he accepted his fate and decided to follow his friend’s advice, who was also in the tech world. His friend gave him some pointers, which he followed. Looking back a few months later, Olumide was grateful for the advice and guidance. What Olumide did not know was he could not find a mentor, but at the same time, he found a mentor. Apologies if I have you confused, I will explain, keep reading.

Many of us are like Olumide. We know we need help, we recognize the area we need help, and we are aware that we do need mentors. But, what we do not know is sometimes we are looking for the wrong type of mentors. There are different types of mentors, and you need to know the particular one you needed at a given time. To help you, here are the different types of mentors.

Traditional mentors

When you hear the word mentor, do you immediately imagine a traditional mentor? A mentor who is usually older, more experienced and wise? Well. You are not wrong. Traditional mentors are the commonest mentors around. And when most people are looking for mentors, these are usually the types of mentors they seek. Traditional mentors have a wealth of relevant knowledge and experience. And they are willing to share.

Reverse mentors

Many people are unaware of this kind of mentors. Have you ever had to seek out a younger person to put you through with something? Reverse mentors are like the opposite of traditional mentors. In this case, the mentors are younger. Most organizations take advantage of them to train older members of staff, especially on tech-related issues. It is also a great way to carry millennials along and make them feel involved. Pershing a financial services company experienced 96% retention rate for the 77 millennials who were involved. [1]

Peer mentors

This is the last but not the least type of mentors. As the name implies, peer mentors are equals who share their problems and solutions. They are like a group of friends who share their problems and solutions. In other words, they mentor one another. While one person is the mentor today, someone else could be the mentor the next time.

As iron sharpens iron, so a friend sharpens a friend.

Proverbs 27:17NLT

Now that you know the types of mentors decide which one would be best to help you achieve your goals.

[1] https://www.huffpost.com/entry/mentoringup-millennials-reverse-mentor-at-pershing_b_59518180e4b0f078efd98420