Supportive: A mentor is one who supports the needs and aspirations of the mentee. This supportive attitude is critical to the successful development of the mentee. A mentor must encourage the mentee to accept challenges and overcome difficulties.
Patient: A mentor is patient and willing to spend time performing mentoring responsibilities. A mentor allows adequate time to interact with the mentee. Time requirements are defined by both the mentor and the mentee.
Respected: A mentor is someone who has earned the respect of peers within his or her profession and has the ability to command respect from mentees.
People Oriented: A mentor is one who is genuinely interested in people and has a desire to help others. A successful mentor is one who has “good people skills”; communicates effectively and listens actively. A mentor must also be able to resolve conflict and give appropriate feedback.
Good Motivator: A mentor is someone who inspires a mentee to do better. A mentor needs to be able to motivate a mentee by encouraging positive behaviour and challenging poor or inappropriate behaviour.
An Achiever: A mentor is usually someone who has achieved a level of success and/or overcome obstacles in a personal or professional capacity. They often set lofty goals, continually evaluate these goals, and strive to reach them. A successful mentor is usually one who takes on more responsibilities than is required, volunteers for more activities, and has high aspirations.
Accepts Others: A mentor is one who shows regard for another’s well-being. Every person, including the mentor, has certain vulnerabilities and imperfections that must be accepted. A mentor accepts a mentee’s weaknesses and minor flaws just as the mentee must learn to accept the weaknesses and flaws of the mentor.