Mentor Roles

[BeardyMentor]

Every team and every mentor has a different style of mentorship. Some teams have the mentors completely hands off and only there to assist and push forward a completely student driven approach. Some teams have the students hands off and the mentors build and "inspire".

More often though, is it a hybrid of the two extremes where the students have a seat at the table with the mentors in determining direction, strategy and design. An entirely student driven approach often lacks direction. Having a mentor there to make comments and help gently guide the discussion is very helpful. An entirely mentor driven approach usually lacks creativity and passionate involvement from the students. Personally, I use a persuasive method when I see someone going far down what I think is the wrong path. I first give them a chance to explain what it is they think they are trying to achieve. Many times this is enough. They either convince me that I was mistaken or, the act of enunciating their idea is enough for them to hear what their mistake was. If that does not work some strategic questioning usually convinces those who still dont see what is going wrong. The question that everyone should be asking all the time is: "how does what I am doing right now contribute to on field and off field strategy?"