Fairly often, I am asked if I can help connect a person to a mentor. I have had some wonderful mentors in the past few years. Mentors who have helped prepare me for marriage, for church leadership and for greater spiritual growth. I get very excited at the idea people setting up mentoring relationships! When the right connection is made, there is unlimited potential for the lives of those being mentored.
I was reading the other day from John Maxwell’s “Developing the Leaders Around You” and read some great thoughts about selecting people to mentor and develop. Whether you are looking to mentor someone, or looking for a mentor, these guidelines should be helpful to you:
1) Select people whose philosophy of life is similar to yours
It will be difficult to develop someone whose values are too different from yours.
2) Choose people with potential you genuinely believe in
If you don’t believe in them, you won’t give them the time they need. And they will discern your lack of confidence in them. Belief in their potential, on the other hand, will empower them. Some of the nation’s greatest professional athletes have come from tiny colleges that receive no publicity. All those ball players needed was for pro scouts to recognize the potential that the right opportunity could bring out. The secret of mentoring in any field is to help a person get where he or she is willing to go.
3) Determine what they need
Determining what potential leaders need involved looking at their strengths and weaknesses objectively. Their strengths indicate the directions they need to go, what they can become. Their weaknesses show us what we need to help them improve. Encouraging them in their strengths and helping them overcome their weaknesses will move them closer to reaching their potential.
4) Evaluate their progress constantly
People need feedback, especially early in their development. Ben Franklin said, “The eye of the master will do more work than both his hands.” He knew that a leader’s ability to evaluate was his greatest strength. An honest mentor will be objective. If necessary, he or she will encourage the person to stay on course, to seek another direction, or even to enter into a new relationship with another mentor.
5) Be committed, serious, and available to the people you mentor
The development of the potential leaders will be a reflection of your commitment to them: poor commitment equals poor development; great commitment equals great development.
*These 5 guidelines came straight out of Maxwell’s, “Developing the Leaders Around You.” Please check out his book for more information about how you can help others reach their full potential.
