5 Tips for Anyone Starting Out as a Coach or Mentor

Michael McGlynn

Assistant in Student Support and Wellbeing, 

Liverpool Hope University

The world needs mentors.

We live in a society characterised by individualistic entitlement seasoned with a pinch of fear induced need to succeed. With potential career paths for many it would seem an exciting time to live, yet the sheer volume of decisions to be made renders a nation impotent.

Many people shy away from mentoring because they either feel under qualified or have had no experience of it themselves so it feels foreign. 

I have come to 5 simple conclusions that will hopefully help you along your own mentoring path.

A Mentor is a Constant

In life often the biggest enemy to overcome is inconsistency, a Mentor can provide stability for a mentee.

A Mentor is a Sign Poster 

You don’t have to be perfect to be a mentor, simply point your Mentee toward appropriate practitioners when required. 

A Mentor is an Aggressive Encourager

Draw the best out of your mentee by being their biggest fan. 

A Mentor is a Goal Setter

Make the future smaller by helping your mentee set simple short term goals or help them see the bigger picture with a 20 year plan.

A Mentor is a Sounding Board

Act as a non-judgemental listening ear/.  Hear what they have to say without offering your thoughts and allow your mentee to draw their own conclusions.

If you can implement these 5 tips I have no doubt that you will have a great foothold from which start your mentoring career.

Dream big, start small.

Find out more about the Mentoring courses we run here