Mentoring Revisited

Mentoring is a hot topic in the business world, as well as in many other areas of our society. It has become a real “buzz” word in the current business jargon. Much has been said and in many cases less has been done. I recently attended a men’s meeting with the men of our church. One of the topics was mentoring and I received a fresh perspective on the topic and how its success depends upon mastering four activities.

First of all we must give them a personal challenge. If they keep on doing what they’ve been doing they’ll keep on getting what they’ve been getting. When Vince Lombardi took over the Green Bay Packers in 1958 they had won thirty per cent of their games in the previous twelve seasons. Over the next nine years the Pack had nine winning seasons, won seventy-five per cent of their games, and five world championships (Including the first two Super Bowls). Lombardi challenged them to reach for their best and they set the standard of excellence in professional football.

Once the challenge has been given then the mentor must give the follower confidence. They must know we believe in them. Our confidence in them must be real, it must be given regularly, and it must be specific. It’s not just enough to say “good job”, we must let them know how they have succeeded and the behavior will be repeated. A great deal of our time must be spent wandering around finding them “doing something good.” As tasks are completed successfully we give larger assignments and thus build their confidence levels.

Bumps in the road will happen and when they do we must give them honest counsel. When we have worked successfully at building their confidence, they will be more receptive to our counsel. Our motives for counsel are really important at this point. A key question must be, “Am I correcting for my benefit or for their benefit?” When we have earned the right to correct we must make sure we apply the correction in an empathetic way. The human tendency is to be hard on others and easy on ourselves. It is important to think how we would like the matter handled if the roles were reversed.

An outcome of successful mentoring is to see growth. When growth is observed we should give sincere praise. When growth happens we practice the fourth activity of successful mentoring- giving them full credit. We can undermine the whole process by trying credit for their growth. We might have contributed, but they made it happen. Let them have their day in the sun. Our reward will be the increased performance received as a result of their growth.