Introverts have the soft skills for effective mentoring.

1. Four Reasons Why
Introverts Make
Good Mentors

2. In the workplace, employees chosen
to mentor less experienced staff are
generally selected on the basis of their
objective work skills.

3. For example, if the mentee is joining the
accounting department, then a more
senior employee in that department is
often chosen as the mentor.
Similarly, if the mentee is an apprentice
tradesman, the mentor chosen is a
colleague more skilled in that trade and
in how it’s carried out in the workplace.

4. But, the subjective (or “soft”) skills of
a mentor matter, too. If you’re an
introvert and have been chosen to be
a mentor because of your technical
skills, know that you have even more
to offer!

5. Here are four
(more) reasons
why introverts
can make good
mentors

6. Introverts prefer to
develop fewer, more
meaningful
professional
relationships rather
than to engage in
relatively superficial
relationships with a
large network.
1.

7. The benefit to the mentee: your
mentor is more than willing to
invest time and energy in your
mentor/mentee relationship.

8. 2. Introverts
are good
listeners.

9. The benefit to the mentee: your
mentor will be attentive to what
you’re saying, enabling her to
engage in a relevant
two-way conversation and to focus
on achieving a mutually satisfying
outcome.

10. 3. Introverts
think, and think,
and think again
before speaking
up or offering
solutions.

11. The benefit to the mentee: your
mentor will respond thoughtfully to
the issues important to you both, and
provide you with her most useful
perspectives, informed by her
knowledge of the company’s “big
picture” goals.

12. 4. Introverts love
ideas, images,
thought
experiments, and
“what ifs” –
all things related
to their inner
world.

13. The benefit to the mentee: your mentor will
welcome ideas that to you may seem “out-
of-the-box”, perhaps even “out of left field.”
But, as a mentor with company goals in
mind, she’ll then want to test them and vet
them for “do-ability” within your work
environment.

14. For all you introvert
mentors (and would-be-
mentors):
recognize that your
preferred work styles
facilitate satisfying and
productive mentor/mentee
relationships.

15. Your collegial and productive
discussions directly benefit the
company and can direct you both
toward achieving your business and
professional goals.

16. FOR MORE RELATED TO MENTORS,
MENTORING AND TALENT DEVELOPMENT IN
THE WORKPLACE, SEE:
https://workmatters.blog/
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