It may not have been a formal arrangement nor particularly structured. Perhaps a friend, family member or business associate you trust, who in the moment, has the wisdom you are looking for.
The work environment is typical, where robust ideas and advice are never exclusive to status. Typically an everyday leader is such an employee without a portfolio. They can be deep thinkers excellent listeners and a reliable source of innovation and options. Frankly, formal leaders would do well to engage them more often.
Alternatively, an experienced mentor has equal credibility and trust. Origin in Greek mythology, Mentor was the advisor to Odysseus, the King of Ithaca. So revered at the time of the Trojan War his name became respected and over the centuries synonymous with ‘wise and valued counsellor’.
Mentors bring three factors to reinforce credibility:
A mentor sees more in the mentee than the mentee sees in themselves. They see a mentee not only as they are but as they could be. They talk about the mentee’s potential based on their strengths and application and lead on the positive rather than the negative.
Out of a mentoring process, the mentee can produce new goals, milestones and standards. Through repetition, trust and belief in the credibility of the mentor a fix appears in the mind of the mentee, such that the mentee believes the credit for any positive change is with them not the mentor.
People move easily in the direction of praise and away from chastisement and criticism. Mentors are active thinkers and listeners who have great skill in emphasising that positive bedrock and how to lock it into a mentee's belief system. For more information contact alan@alandawson.co.uk
Published on Tuesday, October 15th, 2024
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