In choosing a mentor, at some point, you also need to find personal models. If you only follow yourself, you will find yourself going around in circles. You must be selective when it comes to choosing mentors and models.

Here is a fundamental test to choose a mentor, who goes through six key assessments.

1. A good mentor is an example to be imitated

Not only must he show professional excellence and possess skill sets from which you can learn, but he must also demonstrate a character worthy of emulation. When looking for a mentor model, carefully monitor his personal lives as his public performances. Your values will be influenced by yours, so you shouldn’t be too casual about choosing a mentor who will be your guide.

2. A good mentor is available

The biggest advice I can give in the field of availability is that, when you’re looking for a mentor, don’t shoot too high too soon. Spend most of your time being updated by people who are available and suited to your career level. And as you progress in your development, find new mentors for your new level of growth.

3. A good mentor has experienced

I do not know a successful person who has not learned from more experienced people. Sometimes they follow their OKRS – Objectives and key results. At other times, they use their advice to help themselves open new horizons. A mentor is someone who has already accomplished what you want to accomplish in life. This does not mean that you cannot have other mentors in different aspects of your life that have a positive effect on you; there is nothing wrong with that. However, if you want to turn your dreams into reality, you cannot get advice from someone who has not experienced what you want to do!

4. A good mentor has wisdom

The mentor wisely shows us where we need to focus. His understanding, experience and knowledge helps us solve problems that we would have difficulty managing on our own. Wise people often use only a few words to help us learn and develop. It helps us navigate in difficult situations. It helps us to see opportunities that we would otherwise lose. It makes us wiser than our years and our experience.

5. A good mentor provides friendship and support

Selfish people will assist you only to the extent that their interest continues. The good mentor offers friendship and support, working selflessly to help you reach your potential. Great things happen whenever we stop seeing ourselves as God’s gift to others, and we begin to see others as God’s gift to us. If the person who offers himself as a mentor does not really support you and offers you friendship, then the relationship will not live up to your expectations. Knowledge without support is sterile. The friendshipless advice is cold. However, when you are helped by someone who takes care of you, it is exciting and satisfying. Growth comes from the head and the heart.

6. A good mentor is a coach that makes the difference in people’s lives

A coach is someone who brings a person from where he is to where he wants to be. Coaches make a difference in the lives of others. They help them grow. They improve their potential. They increase their productivity. They are essential to helping people have positive change. You will never increase your potential in any area without being trained by someone else. It’s impossible. You could be good, you might even be better than anyone else, but without guidance and external stimulation you’ll never be as good as you could be. We all do better when someone looks at us and evaluates us. Self-assessment is useful, but evaluation by someone else is essential.