Who’s Your Wingman? The Mandate for Mentoring

January is designated as Mentoring Month by The National Mentoring Partnership, also referred to as MENTOR. MENTOR focuses on youth mentoring, which I believe is the first part of the mentoring continuum if you are fortunate enough to receive lifelong mentoring. I, however, focus more on the remainder of the continuum with academic, workplace, and reflective mentoring. The blog below illustrates a workplace mentoring vignette that explains the mandate for mentoring and why you need a wingman, wingwoman, or wingperson.

Why We Need Workplace Mentors

You have it all under control, everything is going smoothly, and you know it all, right?

You get promoted, and things seem out of control, a bit rocky, you don’t know as much as you thought you did. Suddenly, you envision your promotion, raise, award, and contracts evaporating. Finally, you think,

‘I don’t understand why this keeps happening to me.’ You hear a voice of authority ask,

‘Who is your mentor, confidant, wingman, or wingwoman?’

You think, ‘Why do I need a mentor?’ and the answer is simple: ‘Because you don’t understand.’

What is Mentoring?

What is mentoring? Mentoring is one of the tools in your leadership development toolkit, along with counseling and coaching. The definitions of mentoring are vast, and it depends on the industry, circumstances, and who you speak with. I combined the two mentoring definitions below to emphasize the most important aspect of mentoring, in my view.

Mentoring provides the mentee with an understanding of how and why things work at levels beyond their status. Mentoring offers an understanding of the interactions between the career and psychosocial aspects of organizations. Most importantly, mentoring provides the mentee with an understanding of self that cannot be achieved through merely executing self-development practices (McInnes, 2009; Randolph, 2018, p. 43).

For the Sake of Mentees

Many people use the term “mentor” to elevate their status within an organization or society at large. My bold assertion comes from years of studying the practice of mentoring and listening to many and varied people lay claim to the prized title of “Mentor.” But the mentor who does not focus on and create understanding for the mentee is simply someone else with advice dipping into someone else’s business. Mentoring is done for the sake of mentees, not the esteem of mentors.

Many of the great people throughout history and in the world today have mentors who made the unclear clear, the uncontrollable controlled, and the rocky smooth. When we lack understanding, a mentor is not only necessary, but mandatory if we want to climb to the next level without constantly falling backwards. A mentor is your wingman, wingwoman, or wingperson who will see you through the most challenging times while creating understanding.

Who’s Your Wingman/Wingwoman/Wingperson?

Who’s your mentor?

Are you looking for a mentor?

#Mentor #Understanding #Help #Mentee #Self-development #Wingman #Mywingmanllc

References:

McInnes, K. (2009). The evolution of leadership and mentorship from 1975 to the present. Integral Leadership Review, 9(4), 1-23. Retrieved from http://integralleadershipreview.com

Randolph, B.W., Jr. (2018). Mentoring and African American Army Captain Success: A Case Study. doi: 10.13140/RG.2.2.22343.19363

Dr. Burl Randolph, Jr., DM, is the main mentor at MyWingman, LLC, a Business Leadership and Management Consulting company in Davenport, Iowa, Inspiring Legacies That Last. ©2015.