Mentor's Field Guide · #7
Strength-based practice: how mentors help people see their strengths
Everybody has something to build on. A mentor's job is to help people recognize the strengths they may not see in themselves.
Quick answer
Strength-based mentoring means looking beyond what's wrong and paying attention to what's already working. Mentors look for someone's strengths, help develop them, and create opportunities to use them — without ignoring challenges or letting them become the only thing we see.
We overlook what people already do well
Sometimes we spend so much time looking at what people need to improve that we overlook what they already do well.
As a mentor, part of our job is helping people recognize the strengths they may not see in themselves. Everybody has something to build on.
Strengths people may not see in themselves
Strengths show up in many forms:
- The way they communicate.
- Their creativity.
- The way they solve problems differently.
- Strength developed through difficult situations they've been through — one they don't even recognize yet.
Not ignoring challenges — just not stopping there
Strength-based practice doesn't mean we ignore weaknesses or pretend challenges don't exist. It means we don't allow those challenges to become the only thing we see in a person.
Three things a strength-based mentor does
Don't just look at where someone is struggling:
- Look for their strengths.
- Help them develop those strengths.
- Give them opportunities to use them.
Why it matters for leaders and organizations
Teams, schools, and community programs grow when leaders build on what people already do well. Naming someone's strengths gives them confidence and something concrete to build on — and that confidence is often what moves them to the next step.
This builds on the earlier Field Guides, including relationships before everything, asking better questions, and the stages of mentorship.
You might see what they haven't seen yet
When you help somebody recognize what they're good at, you give them something they can build on. You might see something in them that they haven't seen in themselves yet.
Frequently asked questions
- What is strength-based practice in mentorship?
- It is looking beyond what's wrong with a person and paying attention to what's already working — then helping them recognize, develop, and use those strengths.
- Does strength-based mentoring ignore weaknesses?
- No. It doesn't mean ignoring weaknesses or pretending challenges don't exist. It means not allowing those challenges to become the only thing we see in a person.
- What kinds of strengths should a mentor look for?
- Maybe it's the way someone communicates, their creativity, or how they solve problems differently. Sometimes people have been through difficult situations and developed a strength they don't even recognize yet.
- Why does recognizing strengths matter?
- When you help somebody recognize what they're good at, you give them something they can build on. That little bit of confidence is often exactly what they need to take the next step.
- Where does this lesson come from?
- It is Field Guide #7 of The Mentor's Field Guide video series by Melvin Williams Sr, author of There's a Mentor in You.
Bring this message to your people
Melvin Williams Sr is a mentorship and leadership speaker and the author of There's a Mentor in You. See his keynote topics or browse the Mentor Truths.