Thinking about Mentoring, who to mentor.

There does not appear to be a way divide a blog into specific, searchable sections (at least not w/ a free blog service). So - rather than spend time making this overly complicated, I've created this blog specifically for entries related to mentoring and my work for EDC639.

The major focus of this class will be my work as a mentor, my reflections on that work, and what I learn from it. I've spent some part of every day over the last few weeks struggling with the possible choices of who to mentor. When I first read they syllabus, I assumed that I would be required to mentor someone at work. Thinking about having to find a way to do that caused me some significant concern . I was actually worried that I would not be able to fulfill the requirements of the course.

There is one person at work who I wish I could mentor. This is an extremely talented team member who has worked hard to share with the rest of the team a unique skill set and the experience using it. This person is currently extremely frustrated with the apparent lack of acknowledgement, appreciation, understanding, (not to mention compensation) on the part of the management (the team members are tight but there is a significant disconnect between the value the team places on this person and the value the management demonstrates in this person). I wish I could work with this person to try and improve the way their contributions are viewed by those outside of the team (but in charge of the team). However - I'm concerned that in the current climate my attempts at creating a mentor relationship would turn into me trying to fix this person or save this person rather than growing with them. There is a lot of frustration and anger which is a complicated by a severe lack of trust in both the team management and the corporation as a whole. I think the best thing I can do right now (especially as one of the newer members of this team) is to be a dedicated team member and a friend - but not try to imposed myself a s a teacher or mentor when a teacher or mentor is not yet wanted.

So, as I walked to and from work each day, I thought about how I could fulfill the mentoring requirement for this course in a way that would provide me with both an opportunity for growth and a way to help someone else who is at a point where they would want to be part of such a relationship. I'm not a member of a temple, shanga, or church. I'm on sabbatical from the dance studio. So, I looked at some local organizations that support mentoring relationships - but I did not feel a real affinity for any of them. They are all worthy, but none spoke to my heart and I felt that this really needed to be more than just a class assignment.

Sometimes the answer is right in front of you, so close that you can't see it.

I don't even remember why I started thinking about the program where I used to work. But, somehow while I was walking to work I started thinking about working with the students (young adults really) and realized that I've been missing it for a while. So, I called my old boss this week to see if there was a mentor opportunity for me. Of course, she thought of several off the top of her head and even asked if I'd be interested in taking a paid tutoring position on the side (which I graciously declined, as I didn't want to split my attention in that way and mentoring is not necessarily the same as tutoring). Now - the one challenge is to meet and select a specific mentee before I leave for FETC.

Now - back to work (my "professional life") for a moment. Thinking about, reading about, writing about, and reflecting on Mentoring has begun to have an impact on how I interact at work. I find myself approaching various situations with a different point of view. I find myself encouraging others to pursue interests in a different way. I listen differently to what is being said and look for ways to turn frustrating situations into an opportunity to take a different route. I'm trying to be more aware of openings and possibilities for trying something new. An opportunity presented itself earlier this month to write a proposal to teach an onlilne seminar - not in a subject I'm in a position to teach but one another team member would excel at. In the past, I've simply passed such opportunities on with a few words of encouragement and then left it up to the other person to apply or not. This time I paid more attention and realized that this person truly was interested in teaching the seminar, but had never written such a proposal and did not feel confident in their ability to write one. They didn't come right out and say that, but it was suddenly clear to me because of what they did/didn't say, their body language, etc. So, I took a chance and offered to sit down with them and talk about what might go into such a seminar and how one might write a proposal for it. I did not offer to write the proposal - but I did offer to help with the creation of it. Turns out, this person does not consider themselves a "good writer" but when freed of the need to "write it down" is very articulate. So I had them talk and basically took dictation. I asked some leading questions, based on what I know is generally included in such proposals, and helped put it all in order and make it look professional. I don't know if the proposal will be accepted (I think there is probably some significant competition for this one). In the end though, the collaboration involved in writing it taught us both a great deal. Best of all, someone who didn't think they were a "writer" walked away feeling much more confidant about their ability to articulate their thoughts and ideas.