Today I read a piece in which a mentor and mentee had an encouraging conversation. I felt compelled to ask you some 10 simple but serious questions:
1. UNDERSTANDING: Do you know the difference between a mentor, coach, trainer, counsellor, teacher and consultant? Or do you just throw around any “title” / label of your choice to whoever you choose?
2. YIELDING: Do YOU as an individual have a MENTOR in YOUR life to whom you yield or you glide through life by trial-and-error?
3. PURSUIT: Do you truly seek out and hungrily pursue your mentor or he/she has to do this instead as if he/she is forcing himself/herself onto you?
4. TEACHABILITY: Do you have a teachable heart and an open mind that would humbly allow you to learn from your mentor or all you do is trying to either impress or prove to him/her that you are “equally smart”?
5. OPENNESS: Do you honestly and frequently open up to your mentor so that yours can be an authentic, real and friendly relationship or you’re a specialist in masking your life, pretending about many things in your life, and hiding life’s struggles from him/her?
6. LOYALTY: Do you obey your mentor in all right things and follow through the “steps” or assignments he/she may give you or when you leave his/her presence, life remains as usual until the next “cosmetic, directionless meeting”?
7. INTENTION: Do you have the right, godly and genuine intentions of being mentored to another level of personal growth or you only want to be associated with him/her name just for selfish, prestige issues? You hear someone proudly asking, “Oh you didn’t know that H.E. The President is my mentor? Well, he is!” Okay, so what? What’s your intention?
8. SYMBIOSIS: Do you also find as many creative ways as possible to be helpful to your mentor in simple ways, as a simple indication that you treasure the relationship? For example do you pray for him/her?
9. GRATITUDE: Do you ever directly appreciate your mentor so that he/she inwardly gets to know that you’re thankful for him/her sharing his/her wisdom, giving you access to his/her precious time, and being generous with his/her other tangible and intangible resources?
10. REPRODUCTION: Are you also investing in other people as a mentored mentor so that as you grow, you also keep helping others to grow? Or all you’re interested in is your own progress? Are there others who look up to you and can call you their mentor?
I wouldn’t mind getting your answers to the above via whatsapp number +256782163416 or Twitter handle: @SamuelBakutana / @InspiredLead. Kindly forwarding this now to all your wished-well contacts and letting them equally think through this reflection is a mark of honour. My friend Barbara Katende says, “If you’re on earth and have no coach, you’ve already failed.” Well, I add: if you’re reading this and you can’t point to someone’s mentorship in your life at present, you’ve already hindered the maximization of your full potential. Over to you now!
#YouWillManage
Live. Love. Lead.
