Leadership and the Art of Mentoring: Tool Kit for the Time Machine

Abstract

Executive Summary Mentoring is both an opportunity and a risk. It is largely a teaching process beginning with parental nurturing of children and continuing through the lifecycle of organizational and personal interrelationships. A key principle considered in this article is that mentoring is both an obligation and responsibility of leadership. Through mentoring, the wisdom and experience of the senior is passed to the junior. This includes passing on and discussing principles, traditions, shared values, quality, and lessons learned. Mentoring provides a framework to bring about a cultural change in the way we view the professional development of competent future leaders. The road to the top in most organizations today is an uphill and bumpy ride—you simply can't float to the top. Mentoring is a key way to help us get to our destination.

Implicit leader development: The mentor role as prefatory leadership context

“…Rather, mentees come seeking guidance and growth, and mentors seek to serve and facilitate the mentee's goals (Ragins & Cotton, 1999). As Kunich and Lester (1999) note, "A mentor is a trusted advisor, teacher, counselor, friend, and/or parent, older and more senior than the person he or she helps. A mentor is there when you need them.…”

“…Over time, the mentor has the ability to integrate the mentee into important networks, thereby giving them a base of future support (Zachary). Done correctly, a mentoring relationship can have a life-long impact on the mentee, one that inspires over the course of a lifetime (Kunich & Lester, 1999).…”

Developing Leadership for Life

“…An exploration of mentoring within literature on higher education (Crisp & Kruz, 2009;Jacobi, 1991;Liang, Tracy, Taylor, & Williams, 2002), leadership education and development (Inzer & Crawford, 2005;Kunich & Lester, 1999;McCauley & Douglas, 2004), and popular press (Elmore, 2008;Maxwell, 2008) reveal three inter-connected components of mentoring: a) a personal, reciprocal relationship between mentor and mentee; b) an activity by which the mentor shares wisdom, support and assistance in personal, professional, or career development; and c) a developmental process of mentee growth and/or accomplishment. In this case, we frame mentoring as both an act of leadership (by mentors) and a leadership learning/development strategy (for mentees).…”

“…Mentoring has been used as a leadership development strategy within professional organizations, often following a more traditional apprenticeship model in which a senior person (mentor) supports the personal and professional development of a junior (protégé or mentee) (McCauley & Douglas, 2004). Kunich and Lester (1999) urge organizational leaders to take mentoring seriously; it is an obligation and responsibility to develop employees who can exercise leadership to address the needs and demands of a complex world. They propose some key elements of effective leadership mentoring, including: a) serving as a real-world role model, b) interpersonal involvement and caring (empathy), c) planting and nurturing "seeds" in the protégé's life, d) full engagement through listening and responding, and e) assisting with goal setting (Kunich & Lester, 1999).…”

“…Kunich and Lester (1999) urge organizational leaders to take mentoring seriously; it is an obligation and responsibility to develop employees who can exercise leadership to address the needs and demands of a complex world. They propose some key elements of effective leadership mentoring, including: a) serving as a real-world role model, b) interpersonal involvement and caring (empathy), c) planting and nurturing "seeds" in the protégé's life, d) full engagement through listening and responding, and e) assisting with goal setting (Kunich & Lester, 1999). Inviting young alumni who are workplace leaders to mentor college students could not only benefits the students, but also provide an avenue for the alumni to develop mentoring skills needed as they grow in their own professional leadership roles and responsibilities.…”