“Because we are all, at this very moment, struggling with something. Each of us also has something to offer. True mentorship, in my estimation, connects people with complimentary strengths.”

Somehow I missed this post…guess I wasn’t supposed to find it until today. Having recently received the news that my 83-year old father has been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s, I am particularly touched by your post and the video. Patience, never a virtue of mine, will undoubtedly be called into play more and more during visits out west to check in on my parents. And the role of mentoring them will now likely shift to me as well.

Treasuring the memories of times we shared and supplying remembrances of those faded memories will be cherished opportunities to stay connected to those I care about most. Funny how as a member of the sandwich generation, I find myself not only the mentor to my adult daughters and now my parents, but also as the connection between the past and the future. Being in this “middle” place is a privilege.

Thank you for your thoughtful post…

As a mentorship develops, isn't there a need for grace on both sides? From what I've experienced, (And I'm still a youngster–can count biz mentorships on two hands) the mentor often has as much difficulty with not being needed as the mentee does with the notion of independence.

The mentors I've been lucky enough to have who were also friends continued to be friends once the questions dwindled and I no longer needed my hand held. I remember one time, after handling a crisis entirely on my own, a mentor took me aside and simply said, “Well done, truly.”

Underneath the cloud of adolescent bravado and attempts to prove independence, I think it's likely that most mentees, like the teenagers they remind us of, just want to hear “well done.”

Your thoughts would only be corny if they were stupid. They're not at all.
I'm glad you took time to stop by and share!

=)

Going back to the concept of mentorship- and there's no real non-corny way for me to say this, lol - but as I've experienced being both a mentor and mentee over time, this incident and bag of rocks has come to be a personal metaphor about mentorship for me. Specifically, as a mentor, there were so many times I wanted to transmit a very specific string of my “gems of knowledge” but was disappointed when the interpretation of what I was trying to convey was altered or when only pieces of it were understood. Likewise, as a mentee (and especially in the cases where mentors of mine have passed away), I've wanted to be able to hold on to everything they were and had to teach.

And in a sense, this comes back to your idea of complimentary strengths. Basically, the way I see it, mentoring in not necessarily about efficiently transmitting some set of knowledge, but is more (as you mentioned) about an exchange of perspectives. I don’t think it’s really possible to truly and wholly see things from another person’s perspective. However, in a mentor’s message there will likely be ideas and thoughts that are new and novel to your own understanding about a subject (ideas and thoughts that thus compliment your own understanding) and these are the ones that will stand out at the time so that you can easily “bag” and hold on to them forever . Lol, I warned about the corniness .

I've never minded when people share interesting stories repeatedly. The WWII types always have good ones. =)

As for mentoring, it may be one of the most rewarding parts of a career. Though in a funny way like parenting. Do it well, and those you teach will grow to no longer need you, perhaps thinking they know more than you and wanting determinedly to prove it.

Loyalty means a lot. Most of the world runs on the stuff, second to money.

You're building a supremely robust community. I'm glad to play a small role whenever I have the chance.

Thanks!

PS – I'm still not switching to Headway. =P

Blessedly, there are those who come along and offer all three in true form. You've been a delight. Thank you!