Mentoring is a common practice in modern business. It is essentially a relationship between two people, mentor and mentee, with the goal of leveraging the mentor’s knowledge and experience to help the mentee improve personally, professionally, etc. My question is this: does mindfulness have a role to play in business mentoring?
Scott Moore, a mindfulness business mentor and international yoga instructor, says that it does. He explains that mindfulness benefits both mentors and their mentees simultaneously. He says it also enhances the mentoring process by deepening the connection between mentor and mentee.
The Basics of Mindfulness
Mindfulness is not a practice exclusive to mentoring. In fact, it was originally designed with psychotherapy in mind. Mindfulness is the practice of focusing on the moment and its sensations without any preconceived notions or judgments. A person is encouraged to simply be in the moment without any distraction, experiencing it for what it is.
By dismissing preconceived notions and judgments, a person is able to participate in the current experience more objectively. Granted, doing so takes a lot of practice. Few people master mindfulness in just one or two sessions. But over time, improvements in mindfulness techniques make an enormous difference.
Mindfulness in Business Mentoring
In a business mentoring scenario, both mentor and mentee set aside time each day to practice mindfulness. This need not worry busy business professionals. Setting time aside does not mean spending an hour or two doing mindfulness exercises. Mindfulness can be practiced for a few minutes at a time.
Moore says it is important to understand that mindfulness can be practiced in many different ways. It can be a formal practice exercised during meditation or as part of a yoga body scan. But it can also be incorporated into daily activities – like walking for example. In whatever way a person chooses to practice it, mindfulness is achieved by focusing the attention on the present moment and the sensations of whatever activity is being utilized to facilitate it.
What It Offers Mentors and Mentees
We finally get to the big question: what does mindfulness offer mentors and mentees? For starters, Moore says that practicing mindfulness improves the rapport between mentors and mentees by encouraging an environment of trust and transparency. Because each partner learns to focus on the moment without preconceived notions and judgments, they can be more open with one another.
Other benefits of mindfulness include:
- Better Communication – Over time, mindfulness helps sharpen a person’s awareness skills. This includes active listening. The result is better communication between mentor and mentee.
- Reduced Stress – Mindfulness techniques help both mentors and mentees manage stress more effectively. This enables them to maintain a more positive atmosphere during their face-to-face meetings.
- Improved Focus – From the mentor’s perspective, learning to be more mindful helps them also be fully present during face-to-face meetings. They are better able to give mentees their undivided attention.
Both mentors and mentees can benefit from mindfulness by improving their own emotional intelligence. In other words, mindfulness tends to foster a greater self-awareness which, in turn, cultivates empathy for the other person.
With greater empathy comes a deeper relationship and more meaningful connections. When a mentor and mentee connect on the deepest level, the transfer of knowledge and wisdom can be incredible.
It’s not necessary to incorporate mindfulness into business mentoring. But doing so does have its benefits. The things mentors and mentees can learn from mindfulness techniques can make them better business people. And if that is the ultimate goal of business mentoring, it makes sense to incorporate every tool that mentors and mentees have at their disposal.
