Mentoring is Modeling
Proverbs 27:17 reads, “As iron sharpens iron, so one person sharpens another.”
Proverbs are wise sayings
And this particular proverb reminds us that we need one another to sharpen one another, to hone ourselves, our skills, our decisions. When an iron sword is sharpened, it’s scraped against a rough surface to scrape off excess and hone the edges. In our workplaces, we can do the same thing, but our rough edge is someone who can say the difficult and gritty things needed to hone us.
In our workplaces, we often learn this through mentoring. Mentoring programs are more than one person passing on their knowledge and wisdom to another person, it’s a relationship where people learn what it’s like to be in a safe environment where someone can point out things that are holding the other person back within the workplace culture. It’s a safe place where the mentor can say difficult things because the mentee knows the mentor has his or her best interest in mind.
As people, we can sharpen one another when we provide the gritty surface needed to sharpen our teammates. When we say difficult things, we provide the rough surfaces that scrape the excess and ugly out of our individual goals. Our difficult conversations produce a focus and competitive edge for our teammates.
The Benefits Of Mentoring
The other benefit of mentoring is we learn more about what the organization expects of us. We learn the organization’s cultural expectations and shows newer folks how the company lives out its values.
For example, I know of a successful VP, who at one point in his career, had the president of the company tell him, “We rarely promote people who use sarcasm as their primary delivery method.” The now VP noted that comment and learned from it. He monitored his sarcasm and found new opportunities opening to him. The president used a gentle rebuke to steer this man to live out the organization’s values of respect and kindness.
It takes courage to allow yourself to be sharpened, but the outcome is well worth the pain.
Take a minute to reflect on who is sharpening you in your workplace? Who are you sharpening? All of need both to grow and develop. So go on and engage in the hard work necessary to become the best, sharpest you!
Keynote speaker, trainer, and consultant, Sarah Gibson, helps organizations leverage the power of communication, teamwork and diversity to improve engagement and transform teams. To buy her book or inquire about her speaking programs, please visit www.sarahjgibson.com.
