Quote:
Originally Posted by FourPenguins
The issue of mentor involvement in robot design and construction has been beat to death, so that's not what I'm asking here.
Instead, I want to know what CDers think about the duties of a mentor. What are their responsibilities when it comes to running the team? Chaperoning the team? Teaching the students? Who should spearhead fund raising efforts? Corporate relations? Public relations?
A recent event (that I think better left undisclosed) has made me wonder what everyone thinks of a mentor's responsibility. Where does the balance lie between a mentor's duty and a student's? Where does the responsibility (edited from "blame") fall when things are left undone?
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I have some general thoughts regarding the general responsibility of a mentor, philosophical at that. But I'll start with the meat of the question at hand.
Paragraph 2 response: I've seen it work best with whoever steps up to the plate to head certain parts, whether it be the sponsor's employees, parents, or teachers. I hate to put Darwinism into it, but a form of 'natural selection' seems to be a determining factor to how a team structures itself. When it comes to the responsibilities of running a team: a mentor's main responsibility is to do what he/she thinks is reasonably possible just to keep the team afloat and as a team. They need to be a sort of glue that keeps the team together and functioning. 'How' it is done is a whole different story, dependent on the team location, outside events, etc.
So we goto paragraph 3: Where does the responsibility fall when important things are left undone? My thought is this - Imagine 'n' people surrounding a water balloon. Each person has pins, and they begin to poke the balloon with the intention of popping it. One of three things can happen:
1. The balloon pops, the team of 'n' people has done its job.
2. The balloon fails to pop. Some subset of people on the team get the clever idea to grab a hammer or larger object to smash/pop the balloon (thinking outside the collective box). The job is still done and the team succeeds. (This is a rather simple way of putting it. There could have been people within the team politicking to pop the balloon with pins only, nothing else, thus leading to...)
3. The balloon fails to pop. Nobody does anything about it. The team does not do the job it has set out to do.
This is where pointing fingers is null of any point (no pun intended). So long as there was an effort, there's no blame or responsibility to take for failure. Somebody tried, and either succeeded or failed, and they still represent the team. I hope this is a pretty general answer to your inquiry in paragraph 3, absolute answers seem insufficient in my mind.
Coming off of those thoughts, I tried/try to be myself, be 'me' while being a 'me'ntor. I try to show what to do, teach what not to do (because I have probably done it myself and learned from it), and let others discover in real time all while offering some ideas on problems at hand. I am not afraid or embarrassed to make a goof because its part of being human: a commonality between mentors, sponsors, teachers, parents, students, etc. And when I do, I admit, apologize, and append to my mental list of things to do and not to do.
So in general, the responsibility(ies) of being a mentor/adviser is just to lead by example, by being human, and all while getting what needs to get done as done as possible (some things are really impossible to get done). Mistakes are great, for it makes room for more lessons to be taught, which is a point of mentoring. Just take a humanistic approach to it (punish the act not the person). Let things just fall in place naturally, including leaders who set up and fill positions that keep a team running. If guiding is needed, find a guide to do it (including you).
As a side note: I think what psychologists call observational learning is great for learning what to do and what not to do in any situation, good or bad, for students and leaders alike. Some food for thought by example from my own experiences can be found
here and
here (Key lessons learned: realize context, and avoid discussing volatile and flammable issues. 'Observe' and learn from the mistakes others make, including me). There's also operant conditioning, which is what I experienced in those events above. Psychology is a great thing to know as a mentor/adviser or anything in leadership for that matter.
One more thing: go
here and download the powerpoint. How relevant it is to the subject here is up in the air, but I'll link to it nonetheless. (You'll need Powerpoint 2007 or the viewer to view it.) It has some great thoughts (some are a bit iffy, but mostly good. it is the opinion of the author who made it).
Hope this is a good couple cents here.
_Joe