How Mentoring Skills Help With Your Business Administration Degree

A business administration degree from Bryan University prepares you for management jobs in a variety of industries. You could start as a manager of a small department, work your way up to middle management, and perhaps land in the C-suite as an executive or a partner. One vital aspect of business leadership is mentoring skills. Bryan University explains why in today’s blog.

Related Post: The Skills You Need to Succeed in Business Administration

What Is Mentoring?

Mentoring is when you share your experience, knowledge, and skills with another person one-on-one. The overall goal is to assist the person to progress in his or her career or personal life. Mentoring doesn’t have to be a formal relationship with another person in the office. You could have coffee once a week on Wednesday morning with a fellow manager at another company in town. Or you could mentor an entry-level employee who has the skills it takes to become C-suite material like yourself. 

Mentoring Skills

Mentors need a variety of skills, many of which you can hone during a business degree program. 

Willingness to communicate. You’ll need to openly communicate your knowledge and experience regarding business. So be prepared to communicate as a mentor.

Approachability.  Consider having an open-door policy with the person you’re mentoring. Being available is often the first step to developing a long-term mentoring relationship.

Inquisitiveness. Mentoring isn’t about someone else asking you questions. You must ask questions, too, to find out what makes the other person tick.

Honesty. You absolutely need to be honest with your mentee. You can’t sugar-coat some concepts of business ownership and management. 

Diplomacy. Yet you must also be diplomatic in handling delicate issues. You can’t be harsh, overly judgmental, or abrasive.

Objectivity. Mentors must see things from a longer view and without any personal biases as much as possible.

Compassion. At the same time, mentors need to show compassion when they see someone struggling. You don’t necessarily have to bend over backward for a mentee, but perhaps give that person a little extra nudge when needed.

How Does Mentoring Affect You?   

Mentoring can mean the world to someone. Yet it also helps you. One aspect of business administration involves self-awareness of your own emotions before dealing with the feelings of others. The buzzword is EQ, or emotional intelligence. Mentoring helps you find out things about yourself that, perhaps, you didn’t know before. It helps you to grow, become more aware of your own passions, quirks, drives, and hiccups. Mentoring enables you to become a better person, manager, and leader.

Consider Developing Mentoring Skills

As you earn a business administration degree, consider developing mentoring skills. Talk to fellow classmates. Ask someone you admire to take you under their wing. Again, mentoring doesn’t have to be a formal relationship. All you need is maybe an hour a week just to talk.

Related Post: Advance Your Career With Business Administration

Business Administration at Bryan University

Bryan University’s School of Business helps you jumpstart your career in business management. Whether you want to run a department, become an executive, or own a business, a business administration degree offers one way to develop the tools you need to succeed. Call Bryan University toll-free at 1-855-862-0755 or enroll now to explore our business administration program!