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The Mentor´s Way

How can you be a good mentor? How can you pass on your wisdom? How can you help people to find their own answers to challenges?

Mentors are defined as ‘wise and trusted advisors.’ They have been with us throughout history. According to Greek legend, for example, Odysseus asked a friend called Mentor to tutor his son while he was away fighting in the Trojan War. Mentoring can help people to get an overview of the world and the possible roads they can travel toward reaching their goals.

What happens in a Mentoring session? This article gives a snapshot of one meeting with "Stephan" who had arrived at a critical point in his career. He has to make a decision to stay in a governmental position making hard choices for mental health patients or to find other work. Here´s how I helped him deal with his situation:

Step 1: CHALLENGES
"Can you fax me a list of the challenges you would like to discuss," I asked Stephen a week before our first meeting. Within 24 hours he sent the following list:

How to regain satisfaction in my work?
How to deal with the political pressure?
How to use my talents to make my best contribution to society?

We began the three hour session by finalising the topics for discussion. Where did he want to start? Stephen opted to tackle what he considered to be the key challenge. "How can I make my best contribution to society?" he said. "If we solve that problem, I believe everything else will fall into place. Money is important, but I want to feel alive in my work, not half-dead."

Step 2: CHOICES
Drawing on the flip-chart, Stephen outlined the five possible options he had been considering:

a) To remain in his job as head of the Assessment Centre.

b) To get a similar job in another centre for the criminally insane.

c) To become a consultant.

d) To take early retirement.

e) To do something completely different.

"Strange as it may sound, I really like my work with the patients," he said. "I also feel it is a job that benefits society. Patients are sometimes easier to manage than the bureaucrats and politicians."

Step 3: CONSEQUENCES
We then explored the pluses and minuses of the possible options. For example: Option One: Staying in his present role.

The Pluses: Chance to make a positive difference; working with dedicated colleagues; excellent money and a secure pension.

The Minuses: Government interference; endless meetings; loss of integrity.

Half an hour was spent listing the consequences of pursuing each of the routes that Stephen could follow. We then moved on to the next step.

Step 4: CREATIVE SOLUTIONS
Good mentors are fine listeners, but sometimes they must act as more than a ‘Third Ear’. People frequently want concrete suggestions which they can use to reach their goals. This is where Mentors earn their corn.

"What are your strengths?" I asked Stephen. "Where do you have good ‘Personal Radar’? What are the projects you have run in the past which have proved to be successful? What turns you on? What do you get excited about?"

Stephen was like many successful people. When performing at his best, he managed to balance apparent contradictions.

"I am a business-like psychiatrist," he said. "While I care for people, I also like to run an organisation which is, in the widest sense, ‘profitable’. I have the ability to develop a niche service and find ‘sponsors’ to provide the funding. Ten years ago, for example, I started a Counselling Service for companies. We provided telephone and face-to-face counselling for employees experiencing problems in their personal or professional lives. Autonomy is vital for me, however, rather than spending hours negotiating with bureaucrats."

Stephen did not shout ‘Eureka!’, but he quickly saw another possible option. He could set-up a new business which provided the Government with an outside Assessment Service for the criminally insane. The Pluses: Doing work he loved; having autonomy; picking his own team of professionals; building a socially responsible business that served society. The Minuses: Some financial risk, but this could be minimised; dealing with key Government players, but this could also be managed. Accepting the pluses and minuses, he said: "Let’s make it happen."

Step 5: CONCRETE ACTIONS
When to set up the business? Stephen was street wise. Starting from his destination and working backward, he created the following picture of his goals.

In 2 Years Time I Intend:

To have contracts that bring in #500,000 per year.
To supply Assessment Services to three of the major Hospital Prisons in the country.
To have a team of five excellent professionals who, between them, can market, sell and deliver Assessment Services.
To have a full financial back-up plan, including insurance against professional litigation, which provides security against difficulties we may encounter.
To have written three articles that have been accepted for publication in respected medical journals. This will help to establish our credibility.

What must he do in the next month? Stephen compiled a list which included: Making a clear contract with his employers; contacting key potential customers in other hospital prisons; selling the benefits of an outside Assessment Service to the Government.

One year has passed since our Mentoring session. There have been a few hiccups. Government service proved harder to leave than Stephen anticipated. They bribed him with an increased salary; but he negotiated a phased withdrawal and started his own business six months ago. One-year contracts have been agreed for him to supply Assessment Services to two major hospital prisons and he awaits news from a third. He also feels alive and is doing what he does well. Determining the future of dangerous people is making an invaluable contribution to our society. Stephen is developing his career through tackling the next fulfilling challenge in his life and work.

CONCLUSIONS
This article has described one way to run a structured Mentoring session. Take the ideas you like best and use them in your own way. Three final points are worth mentioning.

First: Good mentors have credibility. Whether they act as leaders, teachers, models, advisors or counsellors, they have respect. Building on your strengths, develop your own way to establish credibility. Second: It is vital for the Mentee to choose the Mentor, rather than the other way around. As the old saying goes: "When the Mentor is ready, the Mentee appears." Third: Good mentors know how to pass on their knowledge in a way that people can receive. Good luck in passing on your wisdom.

The author of this article is Mike Pegg, British Consultant, Author and Mentor.

1998 Kunskapsbrevet Strategier för att Lära & Växa