What Makes a Good Mentor?

Question

I saw a post about how to find a mentor. I dont think I've ever had a mentor at work. It made me wonder, what qualities make a mentor good? I'm sure I could probably as someone to be my mentor, but how do I identify someone who would be a good mentor vs someone who may be good at their job but not a good mentor?

Shinmon · Accepted Answer

A mentor needs to be willing to be a mentor in the first place.
A mentor should not be someone who gives you "homework" but more about challenging you, your thoughts, help you navigate your thought process and share experiences with you.
That's why mentors are usually at least a couple of years ahead of the mentee.
However, it's not only technical mentorship. In my opinion the even greater part is about navigating the work place: politics, different roles on different teams, expectations, reasoning behind processes and how to play them right to achieve your goals.