Mentor Unaware

I was enjoying a nice conversation today with somebody and out of the blue they called me a name...MENTOR! How dare they? Mentors are supposed to know what they're doing, right? Mentors are professionals. Mentors are wise. I could reach my 300 word minimum simply describing what a mentor is and why I didn't think the word applied to me.

Instead, let me share another perspective with you. Perhaps a mentor is simply somebody that people are watching and learning from; and dare I even say maybe people are emulating them. While I know that people are not perfect, it always seemed to me that a mentor would be closer to that than most people. However, I believe that many of us are Mentors Unaware. People are indeed watching our behavior, listening to our counsel and we may not even know it's happening.

 

Bob Goff, one of my Mentors From a Distance

I was at a leadership conference years ago and one of our speakers spoke about his mentors; some were a part of his daily life and some he referred to as mentor by observation. He could still learn from this person even without any form of contact. Think about that - are there people you watch around you, listen to on the internet, or authors you read that cross from being informational to becoming a mentor?

We may not ever know we are speaking into somebody's life, but would you do anything differently if you knew you were being a mentor to somebody? You likely are already. Take a moment this month to think who might be learning from you that you didn't know about. What an incredible honor and opportunity it is to speak into someone's life. Imagine the value if you knowingly did so and made time for that person regularly. Mentoring is a two-way street and you simply cannot spend time with somebody in that kind of relationship without your own life being touched as well.

Are you a Mentor Unaware? Who is learning from you and what might they see?