A good mentor goes beyond the classroom sessions to make relationships with his/her student, colleague, or employee. They show a genuine interest for their professional and personal growth. They keep encouraging and challenging them to achieve their goals. In the blog article, learn the key attributes and characteristics that are essential for successful teaching and mentorship.
The end goal is to shape the better future of students. It helps to develop their overall character and persona. By continuous practice, teachers and mentors helps students to achieve their full potential. Well, it’s part of life long learning and development. It don’t stop as you get passed out from school or university. So, a student must weave them in his/her habit.
The top 5 qualities of successful teaching and mentorship, as per my studies, are as follows.
1. Empathy
Empathy needs a very genuine effort. It means an ability to understand another person’s feelings and act accordingly. Critical thinking plays a major part here. It is a very complex process that includes cognitive, emotional, and compassionate empathy. You need to put yourself in your student / mentee’s shoes.
Empathy is one of the essential qualities to possess in teaching, mentoring, and other fields where relationships are crucial. It allows a mentor like Catherine Cerulli, J.D., Ph.D to empathize with their mentee and to help them learn from their experiences.
You must understand and feel what the student is feeling. Only then you can find a perfect solution for their problems. If you see it as 9 to 5 job, then it is not possible at all. Building a strong relationship with a student and winning their trust takes a long time. Well, it can be developed through daily efforts. This is the only way to give them very specific and to the point answers.
Research has shown that children who are taught to empathize with others are less likely to get bullied and have a better outlook on life. Again, it’s a process, but the required time is worth for the final output. It helps to get yourself out from difficult situations.
2. Listening skills
It is one of the most common skill, but we all tend to overlook it. It is one of the strongest foundation of any kind of relationships – professional or personal. Mastering listening skills is a major component of all communication. With them, people can understand each other on a better level. It helps to sustain relationship and remaining them joyful and happy, over the years.
To be an effective listener, you must be attentive and close to the speaker’s words and his/her body language. You should also respond to the questions and offer feedback based on what they say or how they express themselves. You need to understand the feeling and act accordingly. Such back and forth is must for fruitful conversation. The more you are engaged, the better your relationship becomes.
You can develop your listening skills by listening to audiobooks, podcasts, and other media. You can also practice active listening exercises, which help you improve your ability to interpret various tones and moods. It helps for problem solving and gears for healthy resolution of any kind of conflicts.
3. Patience
As they says – Patience is the key.
Yes, it is. Patience is the ability to hold your ground without getting irritated or shouting out loud. It is patience that allows people to remain calm when something goes out of the way or unplanned. You need to focus on response, not reaction. No matter how much challenging or stressful situation is, you must embrace it.
In her 2012 study, Schnitker found that people with more patience rated themselves as being less depressed and experienced higher levels of positive emotions. They also reported feeling more mindful, grateful and connected to others. All these happens, because they can control their emotions and act in a logical way. On a parenting side, it is a great way to help your child succeed in school and other academics.
It is also patience that allows someone to achieve a goal, even if it takes a long time to reach it. Research suggests that those who have more patients tend to have better mental health. If you believe in yourself and dong a good karma, you should follow it. If you remain calm and composed, you can bypass any hard problems of your life. Overall, it helps for being focused and helps to increase your productivity.
For example, patience is important when working with students who are struggling with a particular subject. It is an acid test of successful teaching and mentorship. He/she will take the time to explain the topic in a way that is easy to understand. As per requirement, additional support and guidance should also be given as needed. They understand that learning can be a slow and challenging process, and that students need their own time to grasp it.
4. Honesty
Honesty refers to be transparent / free of any grudge or past experience. You have to be straightforward and free from any bias in your communication with the students. You have to speak the truth and act honestly, irrespective of the situation.
Such sincere and fair attitude will enable the mentor to help student to get through in the difficult times, of their career and personal life. Well, it becomes difficult in many situations to remain honest, and that’s the irony of it. You must convey your thoughts and feelings as it is. Mentors must be honest with their apprentices about their challenges and experiences.
Honesty is important in relationships between a mentor and a student, because it builds trust. It is the major pillar of any successful relationship. It helps to be understanding, supportive, and loyal. Furthermore, honesty can help to improve communication, reduce misunderstandings, and create a basis for mutual respect.
An effective teacher or mentor who values honesty, will provide accurate and truthful feedback to their students. It can be regarding their performance, strengths, and areas for improvement for any particular task. They will also be transparent about their expectations and requirements. It will help to provide clear explanations of assignments. Such process aligns both of them to a single goal.
5. Open communication
In the context of teaching and mentorship, open communication refers to be able to freely exchange ideas and feedback between teachers / mentors and students. It helps to build positive relationship between them. So, there will be no hesitation during discussions and end goal will to solve the issue emicably.
Open communication is a quality of effective teaching and mentorship that helps people communicate their needs, wants, and goals. It can also help leaders stay on top of issues and solve problems more efficiently. The key is to give time and space to understand each other’s perspective and paradigms. Everyone has different opinions and hence they can never be on a same page. By this time, the act of open communication helps to solve the problem.
One way to encourage open communication is to make it a point to listen to student’s feedback. It not only makes him/her feel more valued, but it also shows that teacher also care about the team. Another good way to encourage open communication is by giving credit when people do something well. It can be challenging to understand, but it can be critical in building trust between team members.
We wish that our list of top 5 qualities of successful teaching and mentorship will help you. Be free to add / edit your own, as these are subjective.