Listening and observing
According to TrainingJournal, a frequent mistake of mentors is that they immediately start giving advice to their charge without having spent time looking at what the student can actually do, how they work and what their strengths are. The mentor thus a priori expects the charge to make the same mistakes as others. It is important that, before the mentoring process as such, the mentor spend some time observing the work and abilities of the student.
Small victories
For the student to remain motivated and excited about working with the mentor, it is necessary that they occasionally achieve partial success. The mentor should let the charge experience the joy of success not only at the end of the journey but also along the way.
Self-assessment
Though the mentor might be an authoritative person with in-depth knowledge and respect in the given field, nothing is better than the situation when students recognise their own mistakes and imperfections; then they can assess themselves and learn from their own errors.
Own experience
Mentoring is not so much about facts and expertise; it is mainly about sharing experience. A good mentor must be able to give real-world examples and share not only knowledge, but also experience and intuition.
Joy of advancement
Advancement and improvement should not be taken for granted by the mentor: the charge had to work hard to achieve some success. The mentor should therefore celebrate both big improvements and partial successes to make it clear these are not regarded as automatic.
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