How to Ask Questions That Create Great Mentoring Experiences With Kevin Bruner

The Idea Climbing Podcast

Episode 52! The foundation of great mentoring experiences is knowing how to ask great questions. That’s what I discuss in this episode with Kevin Bruner, a Fractional VP of Sales and the President of Mash Bill Consulting. Mentoring is about giving you, the mentee, the empowerment to make good decisions based on your experience and knowledge. Mentors help you get out of your own head and out of your own way. Good mentors don’t make decisions for you or tell you what to do. They guide you in the right direction and let you decide what to do and what not to do. Through Kevin’s experience as a mentor his goal has been to teach a person to fish. He wants the mentees to grow and not come to him with a problem without having thought it through and bringing at least one suggestion for a solution to the problem to the conversation. This helps the mentees think for themselves and helps draw solutions out of their mentees. A great question for a mentor to ask in this situation is “What do you think you should do?” Mentees also need to have “a seat at the table”. They’re responsible for asking great questions that, when answered, will help them solve problems and create opportunities. Asking questions lets the mentor know that you’re engaged in the conversation and are grateful for their help. In this episode we also discuss: Examples of questions that you should be asking your mentors. What NOT to do during mentoring conversations. Examples of questions that mentors should be asking their mentees. How to turn mentoring experiences into mentoring relationships. …and more golden nuggets of advice! If you enjoy this episode please rate us and subscribe on Apple Podcasts or your podcasting platform of choice. About The Guest Kevin Bruner, a forward-thinking Seasoned Entrepreneur with a solid background in business management, operational planning and revenue generation. An accomplished CEO well-versed in assessing risk, developing solutions, and implementing positive changes to achieve sustainability and growth in challenging market conditions. Adept at building and strengthening business and customer relationships. History of streamlining operations, increasing revenue, and reducing costs to maximize business profits. Decisive and strategic leader with demonstrated track record of success. You can connect with Kevin on LinkedIn here. “A mentor is someone who sees more talent and ability within you, than you see in yourself, and helps bring it out of you.” — Bob Proctor.