Overview

This article emphasizes the importance of mentoring in developing agile coaches and leaders. The author opens with the observation that "over half of all the Nobel Prize winners were once apprenticed by other Nobel laureates," underscoring mentorship's value in professional development.

What is Mentoring?

Mentoring involves:

  • Helping someone mature in a practice or discipline
  • Walking alongside them through their own journey
  • Teaching them to mentor others
  • Distinguishing from teaching (which is telling) versus mentoring (which is high-touch engagement)

Mentoring is NOT primarily about:

  • Methodologies or prescriptive practices
  • A two-way friendship-like relationship
  • Personal agendas
  • The mentor—it focuses on the mentee

6 Tips for Mentors

1. Know people and reveal new possibilities

  • Mentors listen well and bring others into communities of practice
  • Help individuals access circles and opportunities they couldn't reach alone

2. Celebrate others' wins

  • Mentors get excited about mentees' successes
  • Balance celebration with firm guidance when needed

3. Take initiative to help

  • Reach out proactively to those who could benefit from mentorship
  • Offer intentional time without expectation of refusal

4. Raise up leaders

  • Enable mentees to surpass you in leadership ability
  • Create legacy through developing better leaders than yourself

5. Take calculated risks

  • Put mentees in growth positions, even where your reputation is at stake
  • This demonstrates trust and yields significant wins

6. Don't be position-conscious

  • Remain a peer; avoid ego-driven hierarchies
  • Accept that recognition comes through others' accomplishments

6 Areas of Mentor Relationships

  • Authority/Desire: Focus areas
  • Intensity: Frequency of engagement
  • Duration: Length of mentorship (e.g., 1 year)
  • Format/Structure: Workshops or problem-solving sessions
  • Intentionality: Observing mentees in action
  • Goals: Enabling mentees to mentor others

Legacy Through Testimonies

The article concludes with a reflection from Tony Campolo's work, contrasting living for titles versus testimonies. True success means leaving behind people who remember how you helped them, not just the positions you held.