Mentorship is an ancient concept that some leaders still value today, though far fewer than in years’ past. The mentor-mentee relationship will yield tremendous growth in leadership and is a proven career-builder. A recent study found companies promoted mentor employees six times more often and mentee employees five times more often, than their non-mentoring counterparts.[1] Yet according to Entrepreneur magazine, fully 40% of organizations do not offer mentoring as a development tool for their employees.[2]
A mentor is an advisor and support for someone less experienced. This is not a manager, but rather a specific relationship designed to build up the skills and experience of the mentee. Most of the time the mentor is older than the person he or she is mentoring. There are also peer mentors (colleagues mentor each other) and reverse mentoring, where the younger and less experienced feeds information to the older.
Perhaps the most famous mentoring relationship in the Bible is that of Paul and Timothy. Timothy is depicted here receiving a letter from Paul.
Mentoring is a concept rooted in the New Testament. 1 Peter 5:1-3 says, “So I exhort the elders among you, as a fellow elder and a witness of the sufferings of Christ, as well as a partaker in the glory that is going to be revealed: shepherd the flock of God that is among you, exercising oversight, not under compulsion, but willingly, as God would have you; not for shameful gain, but eagerly; not domineering over those in your charge, but being examples to the flock.” Clearly this kind of teaching relationship is desired among Christ-followers and can be mirrored in life, marriage and business.
Mentoring requires openness, trust and honesty. A certain candor is required, where the mentee will accept constructive criticism, and the mentor is frank and direct with their advice, but also candid about their mistakes and weaknesses. If your organization does not offer mentoring in a formal setting, consider choosing and beginning a mentoring relationship in order to improve your professional and leadership development. Proverbs 9:9 promises, “Give instruction to a wise man, and he will be still wiser; teach a righteous man, and he will increase in learning.
Mentors bring clarity. A mentor can help a lesser experienced person make meaningful goals and wise choices that bring them toward those achievements. A mentor need not be highly educated, but rather highly experienced. The most important element of a mentoring relationship is sharing what has happened over time and as a result of decisions the mentor made. This is not so much avoiding the same mistakes as it is understanding where wisdom comes from. Author and speaker John Maxwell said, “One of the greatest values of mentors is the ability to see ahead what others cannot see and to help them navigate a course to their destination.”
Psalm 119:130 says, “The unfolding of your words gives light; it imparts understanding to the simple.” This verse is speaking of the Bible, the words of God. By knowing God’s Word we will gain understanding. The idea is to “walk in the light” of God’s Word. This is the mentoring of the Bible, which gives us a clear path for life. Think about the difference between walking a path in the woods in the dead of night, or in the noonday sun—how much easier it is to navigate in the light of day. This too is the clarity that a mentor brings in life and work, by teaching you how to walk in the light of God’s Word. A mentor can help clarify direction and determination.
Mentors bring accountability. Clarity is a trait of vision, not action. Mentoring can also bring accountability. A mentor can help formulate concrete steps to take in life and leadership, and hold the mentee accountable to move forward with initiative and intention. A mentor is also a cheerleader of sorts, who has the ultimate success of the mentee as a goal, and brings a certain optimism and motivation to their leadership. A mentor though not only helps with positive interaction, but seeks to keep us from the negative.
Director Stephen Spielberg became a mentor to a young filmmaker named J.J. Abrams, who went on to direct some of the current generation’s major blockbusters.
Jesus told us, “Pay attention to yourselves! If your brother sins, rebuke him, and if he repents, forgive him…” (Luke 17:3). This specific relationship between Christian brothers is meant to keep us from making mistakes and falling into sin. Our lives are filled with distractions and disruptions, some of our own making. We need people around us to remind us “Pay attention!” A mentor will help you step back from falling into sin. And sometimes a mentor will help you turn from sin after you have fallen.
Mentors grow important relationships. Because a true mentor is not your supervisor, but has experience useful to your life and work environment, he will help grow among the most important relationships you will have throughout your career—peers in your field. A great mentor cannot be with you at all times to help through every decision and situation. But they can help you determine which relationships to value and strengthen, so that your network of support is broad and healthy.
1 Thessalonians 5:11 says, “Therefore encourage one another and build one another up, just as you are doing.” The Christian leader was not meant to live and lead in isolation. The mentoring relationship is different from a friendship, which is often based on mutual interest or experience, or a marriage, which is based on a loving covenant. Rather, a mentoring relationship is built on the passing of generational knowledge and experience from one person to another. And for the mentor, doing this can be deeply gratifying. Actor and director Clint Eastwood said of mentoring, “What I think the mentor gets is the great satisfaction of helping somebody along, helping somebody take advantage of an opportunity that maybe he or she did not have.”
In this classic series of talks from 1 Thessalonians 4, Chris White Sr explains what it means to be set apart by God, and to live in holiness and purity as a leader.