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7 habits of the ‘successfully mentored’ entrepreneurs!

by Rajesh Nair

For the fresh entrepreneur it is always a boon to have someone to ask questions, clear their clouds and bounce ideas. The entrepreneurial environment today across the world is blessed to have successful legends ready to spend time and to share their experience with the questioning minds. I have seen scores of entrepreneurs, young and old, getting insightful advice and making the necessary course corrections to court success in their ventures. When I look for a common thread, I clearly see a set of seven habits that helped them benefit the most.

1. They prepare: Most of the discussions with mentors are not endless rambling discussions skipping from one topic to the other. The mentee needs to prepare adequately, be laser focused on his immediate queries and have an eye on the key questions in her mind
2. They listen: They listen without bias or presumption. Often entrepreneurs have the impatience to complete sentences of the mentor in their minds and tend to hear what is logical to them. A good technique I have seen is the recording of these sessions – verbatim, to get the exact words and context
3. They soak-in: At times, you just need to sit back listen and receive. Some aspects may not be clear to you or seem illogical. Reserve your – ‘that will not work in my sector’ or ‘we have a very unique business model ‘comments and just soak in like a sponge.
4. They think: An agile mind needs to constantly think on the advice and make personal connections with their own businesses. These connections will help them to make action points customised to sustainable economic ideas related to their ventures.
5. They experiment: It is not enough to listen to it, or to think about it. But the most crucial aspect of mentoring is to actually try it out. If you have nodded, smiled and let the ball drop once the meeting is over – it is just a waste of your precious time.
6. They steer:  When the rubber hits the road, you may see that some ideas are still not prime and need to be modified. There is need to constantly monitor and steer based on the results of the experiments. Time is of essence when there course corrections are made.
7. They give-back: As and when they benefit, they constantly strive to pay it forward. They show tremendous energy and inclination to help others and spare time to do mentoring themselves.

The developing mentoring ecosystem is rapidly becoming available, reliable and more and more successful. Enjoy the benefits and share them with others …