To be Mentored is to be Empowered.
What can a group of penguins and a film crew teach us about the relationship between mentor and mentee? At a fundamental level, quite a lot.
The scene was a heart-rending one: after an intense Antarctic storm, a film crew found a large group of penguins trapped inside a gully, separated from their colony with their chicks; some of the chicks had already frozen to death and without a way out many more would certainly perish.
Filmmakers wondered whether it was right for them to intervene in nature and go to the penguins’ aid. They went away pondering the question and returned two days later (once weather permitted) having decided to dig some steps into the ice, allowing the penguins and their chicks to escape.
The plan worked: the penguins used the steps to climb out of the gully with their chicks, returning to safety. (In spite of what turned out to be a happy ending, my wife vowed never to watch another wildlife documentary again!)
So what can this scene teach us about the relationship between mentor and mentee?
The Nature and Power of the Mentor/Mentee Relationship
Let’s first look at the role of the mentor. Simply put, a mentor is a guide, a teacher, one who gives direction, showing the way forward. Mentors can exist in literally any field or walk of life. And they don’t even need to be a certain age. A mentor has taken the journey for themselves and is thus qualified to do the work of mentoring (guiding and teaching) through their experience and learning along the path. To borrow a phrase, mentors (like leaders) know the way, go the way and show the way.
Mentors do not do the work that must be done by the mentee, though. Every single step of the mentee’s journey must be taken by the mentee; the mentor will give valuable guidance along the way to save them time, money and perhaps significant pain, as well as to empower the mentee to hit new heights, becoming more, doing more and achieving more in the process.
In the scene with the trapped penguins, the role played by the compassionate film crew was analogous to that of a mentor: they went ahead and prepared the way for the penguins to escape. The penguins, as metaphorical mentees, had to go the way for themselves – the film crew could not escape for them. The penguins’ escape, as enabled and directed by the film crew, represents the nature and power of effective mentor/mentee relationships.
To be mentored means to be guided by one who knows the road ahead, taking the steps forward through both learning and doing.
As a Mentee, You Are the Hero of the Story
Some of most powerful depictions of mentor/mentee relationships in popular culture are those between Luke Skywalker and his mentors in Star Wars. These relationships provide useful illustrations of how it’s the less experienced mentee, not the more experienced mentor, who is the hero of the story.
It wasn’t Luke’s first mentor, Obi-Wan Kenobi, who destroyed the Death Star; it was Luke. Nor was it Yoda, his most famous mentor, who took on and defeated the most powerful protagonists of the dark side; again, it was Luke.
Luke, the mentee, was shown the way by his mentors, but he had to go the way himself as the hero of the story.
To be mentored means to be the hero of your own story, taking strides forward that you never previously thought possible.
Empowerment: The Best Thing a Mentor Can Give a Mentee
What’s the best thing that Obi-Wan Kenobi and Yoda did for Luke Skywalker? They taught him to connect with, and use to great effect, that unseen but ubiquitous power: the force.
Luke Skywalker’s experience as a mentee resonates with my own, as my mentor empowered me to connect with God (another unseen but ubiquitous force) for myself, discovering my purpose and realising my potential to much greater effect in the process. My experience as a mentor empowered me to become spiritually self-sufficient in a world full of distractions, temptations and challenges that often throws meaningful spiritual connections to the dogs.
My own work as a mentor is found in giving mentees structure for self-leadership within their own lives, teaching them principles to create lives of purpose, meaning and fulfilment for sustainable success.
Ultimately, to be mentored is to be empowered. Whether relating to trapped penguins, future Jedi, or yourself on your own path to becoming a better version of you, empowerment means having the principles and tools to hand to take the next steps forward.
And as those steps are taken, the mentee will slay their dragons and find their gold. Ultimately, the mentor’s greatest reward is having a front-row seat.
If you’d like to learn more about how transformational mentoring can empower you to live a life of purpose, meaning and fulfilment in your pursuit of sustainable success, then get in touch for a free 30-minute call: tom@3stewardships.com.