PowerMentor believes
very strongly that everyone has a specific purpose to fulfill
in their lives. We look for the good in our mentees and help
them overcome their challenges.
To mentor others, is
to influence them causing a specific affect. We all have so
much influence on those around us. Most of us never recognize
that we can strategically direct our influence for the greatest
possible impact in the lives of others. We also must take
ownership of the negative influence we have as well. We must
recognize that we have influence, and in that influence we
must make a conscientious effort to have a positive influence
and restrain our negative influence on others.
When we journey into
mentorship, we must understand that every little action or
decision we make will have some sort of an affect on ourselves
and those around us. For this reason, we must be very purposeful
in our mentoring relationship.
Mentoring should not
be a routine in which a mentor calls the mentee and invites
them to meet with them for an hour every other week. This
type of mentoring rarely has impact. This type of mentoring
is generally to make the mentor feel like they are doing something
good. For example, the commercials we see for big brothers
and sisters programs trivialize the role of a mentor. In their
commercials the voiceover says, “Think being a big brother
takes a lot of time, think again! The camera then pans to
a big brother or sister and their mentee shooting pencils
up into the ceiling, or spitting spit wads. Effective mentoring
requires a relationship in which the person actually becomes
a part of the mentor’s life.
Imagine you need some
help and go to a counselor. During your session, the counselor
continually looks at the watch, and listens to you, but offers
little insight or input. After forty-five minutes, a timer
bell rings and the counselor immediately stops you dead in
your conversation and tells you the session is over and you
can pick up next session where you left off. You then walk
out to the lobby where you pay for that 45 minute session.
It is depersonalized. You begin to see that the counselor
really is not vested in you. They are merely providing a paid
listening session in which you can vent. Here and there the
counselor may offer you some insight, but the insight is deficient
due to the counselor not really knowing the full scope of
what is happening in your life. The same thing happens when
mentoring others. If the relationship is not genuine, and
it is more of a chore than a personal commitment, do not expect
much impact. What you put into the relationship is in direct
correlation to how successful it will be. Mentoring is a strategy.
Resources links: What is a Mentor, Support System, Gang Intervention Strategies, Strategic Planning.
To hear lectures by Kevin LaChapelle, click respective topic:
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