We have been discussing the 5 m’s of mentoring and these have very much taken the traditional approach to mentoring that has been seen largely within the context of the relationship that was ordained by Odysseous when he left his son Telemachus in the care of Mentor, to be taught all Mentor could teach him. This idea that the oldest and wisest amongst us could guide the young is also seen in the relationships that existed between the master and apprentice, patron and protege, experienced and novice.
However, as we have been finding out, mentoring now takes many forms, which might be formal (similar in style to those above) or informal such as that which exists between colleagues and peers. It can also take place in many different ways too, for instance group mentoring is becoming increasingly popular as these remove the prior pedagogical approach that was inherent in the more traditional forms.
Regardless of the type of relationship you have though is the mindset that sits behind it. This is equally as important as all the other 5′ms of mentoring and perhaps is the one that will define the structure of the approach that works for any given relationship. Anne Rolfe in her book Mentoring Demystified has compared traditional to contemporary mentoring methodologies and has suggested that mentoring for the current generations should focus on fostering a much more egalitarian approach that no longer relies on a shift of power from one person (who knows nothing) to another (who has all the answers) which typified the expert and novice relationship.
Rather like the meme’s that we all carry a mindset is something that develops as we grow and develop into adults. It is informed by those self same memes, impacts on our motivation and challenges our perception of the meaning we place upon ourselves and our work. Therefore, you could say, that is is our mindset which will truly define whether what we ‘set our minds to do’ is ultimately successfully.
If we can change our mindset to take a more collaborative approach to our mentoring relationship – in that both mentee and mentor are EQUAL partners who each have much to give and to learn then it’s success becomes a shared responsibility and each party will take an active approach in ensuring that they:
- ensure their motivation is each being met
- work together to create meaning from each individual session AND the whole experience
- challenge any assumptions and prejudices (memes) they may have that might interfere with the process
When one starts to adopt such a mindset, one automatically opens up to a whole world of mentoring that exists outside the formal relationship too. It becomes possible to view almost every encounter as a possible mentoring/learning experience and thus ‘personal development’ takes on a whole new meaning. Because we may no longer be looking for that one special person to learn from who could teach us all we need to know we may gather insight and understanding, signposting and advice from many different sources and resources which could be as diverse as online networks such as facebook, twitter and linkedin as well as colleagues and friends.
Perhaps the key to Mindset and Mentoring is simply being open to challenge and ideas from any quarter, wherever (or whatever) they may be.
You can find Anne Rolfes ebook at: http://mentoring-works.com
Do you have a mentoring mindset? If so, who have you found to help you and where did you find them?
