We’ve dedicated some blogs in the past covering just how important it is to have a strong construction career mentorship program. It’s definitely beneficial from an organizational standpoint when it comes to guiding new employees, increasing their confidence, and improving retention. Amazing mentors really set themselves apart from others through being patient and having exceptional listening skills. Here are some ways that will help you become an even better mentor and help improve someone’s construction career.
Interest and Empathy Matter
Even though you don’t have to become best friends with employees that you’re mentoring, getting to know them on a personal level is still encouraged. You will gain a better understanding of who they are when you become an active listener. Focus on paying attention to what they are telling you and don’t hesitate to dig deeper with open-ended questions. You also have to know when the best times to provide advice are. Sometimes, you might have to put a conversation on hold and gather more information before you can provide the best possible feedback to people. Empathy is a valuable quality that can help you appreciate new employees that are different from you.
Deliver Constructive Criticism Effectively
Good construction leadership knows how to provide criticism to new hires without hurting their confidence. The best mentors are able to share similar mistakes that they made and explain how they learned from them. Education should be the foundation of mentorship instead of negative feedback. If some employees become defensive when you are mentoring them just continue to offer support and redirect their attention to the progress they have made.
Increase Your Emotional Intelligence
It’s no coincidence that many successful leaders have high levels of emotional intelligence. It’s important to consider emotional information to guide your thinking and actions. If you want to be an amazing mentor, then you may want to act like a detective when you interact with your mentees so that you can uncover their true feelings. But it should start with learning how to express and manage your own emotions in a healthy manner. For instance, negative emotions are inevitable in life, but only you are responsible for how you react to them. Emotionally intelligent people also understand when and how to ask relevant questions, pay close attention to body language, and practice open-mindedness.
Just being a positive role model can help improve someone’s construction career, because at the end of the day, you’re on the same team. When the organization wins, so do you.
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