Most people cannot see their own strengths.
The things they do well feel too easy to count.
They assume that if something comes naturally to them, it must be simple for everyone.
So they overlook it.
And they spend their energy apologizing for the gaps instead.
This is where you come in.
One of the most useful things a mentor ever does is name a strength the person cannot see in themselves.
I remember someone I worked with early on.
She was convinced she was a weak engineer because the syntax did not stick fast.
But watching her, I saw something else.
She asked the questions nobody else in the room dared to ask.
She caught the confusion before it became a bug.
She was not slow.
She was careful, and she made everyone around her clearer.
When I told her that, she went quiet.
She had never once thought of it as a strength.
She thought it was a flaw she was hiding.
That one sentence changed how she saw her whole career.
So pay attention.
When you mentor someone, do not only look at where they struggle.
Watch for what they do without effort.
The way they explain a hard idea simply.
The calm they bring when things go sideways.
The instinct they have for what the user actually needs.
Then say it out loud.
Be specific.
Do not just tell them they are talented.
Tell them exactly what you saw, and when.
Because a vague compliment fades by lunch.
A specific one, tied to a real moment, becomes part of how they think about themselves.
You are not inflating them.
You are correcting a blind spot.
They already have the strength.
You are just handing them the mirror.
And once someone can see what they are good at, they stop hiding it.
They start leaning into it.
That is when the real growth begins, and it started because you noticed first.
– Asael Shinder
