Mentoring the Next Generation

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Many successful people credit more than one mentors who have made real difference in helping them take their business to early success. At some point we all have received advises that has helped us in one or the other ways. Are you mentoring someone? If not, why? Shouldn’t it be part of your legacy?

Mentor may not be necessarily someone in his 50s or 60s. All you need is an experience in any specific skills. If you are a parent, you have influence over your child’s young mind. They are constantly learning from you, by observing you. They see you making decisions related to domestic matters and observe how you react to different things.

Today’s children are tomorrow’s leaders. You have a role to play in shaping up their minds to become effective leaders. You can help develop your child’s emotional skills such as:

Effective problem solving skills
Being comfortable with taking risks
A positive attitude towards failure

The earlier you teach your children to be future leaders, the better. Here are some ways in which you can help your child hone his or her entrepreneurial or leadership skills.

Give your child space to develop problem solving skills. It might be tempting to jump in and help when you see your child struggling. Take a step back and let your child work through it themselves.
Optimism is connected to success. Find ways to reward optimism, especially if it’s in regards to reaching a goal.
One of the fun ways in which you can help your child learn goals setting is through use of vision boards. They will find it fun to cutout out pictures and arranging them on boards.
Use planned events such as vacation trips or visiting-relatives to teach them project planning skills. Include your children in the planning process and brainstorming sessions. Delegate them some tasks.
If your child expresses interest in working in some capacity, encourage them. For example setting up lemonade stand. Early jobs can play pivotal role in building leadership skills in children.
Give your child opportunity to practice confident communication. For example when you visit a restaurant, turn it into a confidence building exercise by having your child speak directly to servers.
Help your child develop good decision making skills. Children may become overwhelmed by too many choices, narrow down the options to two or three for them. Also help your child to weigh the pros and cons of each option to enable them make informed decision.