Many of you will have heard of mentoring or had first-hand experience of working with a mentor. For many, their first experience of mentoring is in the workplace.
Thankfully, however, mentoring for young people is gaining traction as more and more young learners turn to a mentor to help guide them on their journey through childhood.
Many of the young learners that come to us, have special educational needs and disabilities, behavioural and social, emotional, and mental health difficulties.
And we have an excellent reputation in engagement, catering to individual needs whilst promoting hope and resilience.
But what makes a good mentor?
Listening
One of the most important characteristics of a great, and highly effective, mentor is that they are a good listener. They want to hear from the young learner to enable them to ask good open questions – this in-turn encourages the young learner to think, talk and discover solutions for themselves.
A good mentor can enable and facilitate this process perfectly.
Trust
A great mentor is able to gain the trust of the young learner that will enable them to develop a long-term relationship.
Very few problems can be fixed quickly, particularly the types of young people we mentor. It takes time, patience and a good, trustworthy relationship between the mentor and the young learner.
Trust is about loyalty, openness, mutual sharing, and respect – something our mentors have in spades!
Sharing Experiences
Mentoring is deeply personal.
A good mentor shares their knowledge and experience, so the young learner can not only relate, but can learn from them. In turn, they can then apply those lessons to their own situation.
As mentors, we love to see our young learners succeed, and we actively support their success with words and actions. We congratulate them on their triumphs and help them recover from setbacks.
Consistency
Consistency is key when being a great mentor.
At Iprovefit, we have carefully planned mentoring programs and our mentors meet with their young learners regularly. And they always show up!
Just having someone guaranteed to show up each time is enough for some of our learners to realise that they are valuable, loveable, and worthwhile.
Honesty
A great mentor can be completely honest with the young learner.
As humans, we often don’t wish to hear the truth, but a great mentor can give honest and direct feedback in a way that’s kind and constructive. They can tell the learner what they think they need to hear to help them recognise areas where they need to grow.
And they do it in a way that provides useful, honest guidance while ensuring the young learner takes ownership for their decisions and actions.
Sense of Humour
Finally, in our experience a great mentor has an excellent sense of humour, and don’t mind being a little goofy!
They can laugh at themselves and their mistakes and enjoy laughter. Who doesn’t!
This also helps them connect with the young learner to make them feel comfortable and relaxed enough to be themselves, to lower their masks, and to enjoy the process.
At Iprovefit, we build trusting relationships with young people so that we can give guidance that is desired and respected.
We focus on lifestyle barriers and behaviour management, helping them understand the basic principle of a balanced lifestyle through health and well-being, whilst reinforcing the importance of valuing themselves and their future.
We work with a range of young people, mentoring them through a range of challenges. In the main, however, we work with young people at risk of being excluded from school, being involved in gang type cultures, criminal activity and young people refusing to attend school or education of some kind.
Give our team a call today, and book an introduction session:
Click here to register your interest and one of our team will be in touch. Alternatively, you can call us 0333 023 2215 or send an email to info@iprovefit.com