Placing a Value on Mentoring!

Frustration can be experienced in every aspect of life! Is there frustration related to our mentoring efforts? Is this frustration worth it?

These questions often come up as we attempt to mentor our partners. Mentoring, in the contract environment, is not an easy task in that our primary directive is to accomplish the contract deliverables. In addition to that directive we each experience increasing pressure to accomplish various additional mandates, requirements, changes of direction, changes of leadership, changes of personnel and a host of other challenges on a daily basis.

Often the greatest challenge for contract mentors is trying to meet the needs of our partners and adapt our skills and capabilities to their missions and immediate tasks. We literally are a group of “Houdini’s” out there trying to escape the water chamber in a timely and effective manner and hopefully only get a bit wet!

However, in reality and retrospect, mentoring is a significant key to long-term change, not just short-term necessity. Probably the most important single element of mentoring isn’t what we provide to our partners, but rather, what changes they make both professionally and organizationally that will increase their capability and capacity to grow. To make these professional and organizational changes effective, they must be based on changes in individuals.

A wise man once said that before an organization can change, the people must change and they must change by behavior, or they will revert to doing what was done in the past with the same results, which negates any increase in effectiveness or efficiency.

When we get frustrated in our mentoring efforts, remember that the primary directive can only be accomplished with our partner’s participation. It cannot be accomplished for the long-run if we do it for them. Paraphrasing T.E. Lawrence, he said that it was “better for (them) to do it imperfectly, that for us to do it perfectly!” The results are indicative of change.

Another element of dealing with frustration in our mentoring is to remember that we are there to help our partners get better in what they are assigned to do.

Finally, it is important to remember that change only occurs in any culture, when that change is not in violation of that culture. Trying to obtain a solution that is not compatible with culture, resources or capabilities is not going to succeed if it comes into conflict with the partner’s deeply held values.

So, in response to the initial questions – Yes, there is frustration in our mentoring efforts, and Yes, it can be worth it to change a small part of the world…one person at a time! That is what is valuable about mentoring and gives mentoring its great value!