Article

How to Become a Mentor at Work & 3 Strategies for Impactful Mentorship

February 18, 2025

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Emily May

Leaders need to know when and how to step into the mentorship role at work. Whether you’re a seasoned mentor–or are learning to flex your mentor muscles for the first time–there’s always room for improvement. 

This article explores how to become a mentor at work and strategies for impactful mentorship to create a supportive experience for your mentees.

What Is Mentoring in the Workplace?

Team members who are knowledgeable in a particular area may choose to guide their colleagues on the subject matter. This process is known as mentoring. The mentor advises and supports the mentee, who seeks their expertise, advice, and counsel. 

Mentoring in the workplace may relate to growth in the following areas:

A mentor can provide mentorship to one or multiple team members. The process can be formal and structured within an organization or informal and provided as needed. 

While senior employees commonly mentor junior employees, mentorship is not exclusive to this arrangement. Team members at any stage of their career can mentor their colleagues. What matters most is the level of expertise within a particular area.

Professionals can provide mentorship in and outside the workplace. This article focuses on mentorship within the workplace. 

What Are the Benefits of Mentoring in the Workplace?

Mentoring in the workplace offers several benefits for teams, including improved:

How to Become a Mentor at Work

Becoming a mentor at work is easier than you think. The first step is developing the ability to identify mentorship opportunities and take initiative. For example, if a colleague expresses interest in learning about your role function as a potential career switch, this is an opportunity to step into the mentor role.

Another way to hone your mentoring skills is to learn from a seasoned mentor. As a mentee, you can gain an understanding of how other mentors provide guidance and use these insights to inform your own approach. 

Finally, develop the skills needed to be an effective and supportive mentor. These skills include: 

  • Leadership
  • Active listening
  • Emotional intelligence
  • Feedback exchange
  • Problem-solving

Remember, the more you step into the mentor role, the more intuitive the process becomes. 

3 Strategies for Impactful Mentorship

a cartoon of people talking at work

Ready to take your mentorship capabilities to the next level? This section provides three proven strategies to incorporate into your approach. 

Recognize the Power of Choice

Most problems, both simple and complex, have multiple solutions. As a mentor, your aim should be to guide your mentees through decision-making while encouraging them to exercise their power to choose. 

Don’t provide one solution–offer several options for your mentee to consider. This approach teaches your mentee how to make confident decisions and adapt along the way.

Example: Let’s say Jack, your mentee, struggles with time management. Offer various strategies for Jack to approach the challenge, including project management tools, task prioritization, and time management techniques, along with pros and cons from your experience. Based on his preferences and unique circumstances, he can decide which strategy to try.

Define Your Mentorship Expertise

Illustration of two people working on a large document. One person is standing on a ladder, using a magnifying glass to examine the text, while the other is holding a giant pencil and adding a seal or mark.

A willingness to teach and support others is an essential leadership skill. However, it’s critical to maintain awareness of the areas we are qualified and not qualified to provide mentorship. Offering advice about topics you aren’t knowledgeable about can do more harm than good. 

Identify your top strengths and maintain your guidance in these areas. Refer your mentee to a colleague with specialized expertise when needed. 

Example: Your mentee asks you, an experienced project manager, for your opinion on a career in human resources. You may offer a brief perspective, but the best option is to refer your mentee to a colleague in the HR department to gain insight into the career path.

Maintain Your Presence

Presence is essential for all leadership conversations. Grounding yourself in the present moment enables you to practice active listening, fully engage in the discussion, and respond to social signals. 

Offering mentorship while distracted is a disservice to your mentee. Don’t be afraid to reschedule a conversation if you aren’t performing at your best. 

Example: As an IT leader, your team has been troubleshooting a major bug fix for two days. You’re laser-focused on finishing the job and preventing it from happening again. When you open your meeting calendar for the day, you realize you have scheduled a Zoom call with your mentee. 

Given the unexpected workload within the IT team, you may want to reschedule the call with your mentee if you aren’t confident that you can remain present. In this case, rescheduling shows that you value their time and providing the best guidance possible. 

Conclusion

Illustration of two people on the left giving a thumbs-up in support of the scene on the right, where two professionals shake hands in a successful mentorship relationship, symbolized by an upward arrow, stars, and a trophy.

Are you ready to improve your mentoring skills and foster professional growth within your organization? Strategies to increase your impact include identifying mentorship opportunities within your expertise, offering several solutions to your mentees, and remaining present in every mentor conversation. 

With the help of an expert instructor, you can maximize the impact of your mentoring conversations and more. Check out our Agile Coaching certification course to gain knowledge in mentoring, teaching, and coaching that you can immediately apply to your leadership role. Read the Agile Coaching learning outcomes to learn more. 

Looking for a more bite-sized approach to leadership growth? Our NEW Leadership Essentials Skills Collection is coming soon!

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TAGGED AS:
Agile Team Coaching, Agile Coaching

About the author

Emily May | ICAgile, Marketing Specialist
Emily May is a Marketing Specialist at ICAgile, where she helps educate learners on their agile journey through content. With an eclectic background in communications supporting small business marketing efforts, she hopes to inspire readers to initiate more empathy, productivity, and creativity in the workplace for improved internal and external outcomes.

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