Top Management Story

Writen by Jeffrey Magee

"When the student is ready, the teacher will reveal themselves." - Unknown, as told by Jim Stovall, CEO, Narrative Television Network

Where have all the leaders gone? How do you cultivate a leader within? In today's demanding work environment everyone must have a little leader within themselves and at times a real leader is needed to step forward and lead others to greatness.

To do so, takes an active and systematic approach to developing those within an organization. A model for an effective "Leadership Mentor Development Program" may incorporate a five-step approach.

1. Mentor Level One – would be an elementary mentor, whereby the mentor possess great basic knowledge and patience of a subject matter, which needs to be instilled into another person.

2. Mentor Level Two – would be the graduation of the mentee to a secondary mentor whom can provide opportunities to the mentee to apply this new knowledge or skill. This secondary mentor serves as a contact person for the mentee while they are being drilled in the application of this knowledge and assists them in becoming both comfortable and proficient with this knowledge base.

3. Mentor Level Three – would be a post secondary mentor that has the capacity to challenge the mentee constructively to seek new applications for this basic knowledge base and encourages them to seek greatness with it.

4. Mentor Level Four – would be a master mentor, that person whom has a well positioned network of stakeholders and decision makers across organizational lines that can serve to promote and sale the mentee to others, unbeknownst to them!

5. Mentor Level Five – would be that level which a mentee has been grown and developed from level one through level four and now that mentee has demonstrated a grasp and application of knowledge and experience and has therefore earned the right to become a mentor themselves and grow another person. Now the process reverses, with a reverse mentor relationship ability!

This model may serve as a powerful template to dictate very specifically what the responsibilities may be for each level in the mentor-to-mentee development life cycle.

Another critical question lies with who has the right to serve as a mentor, now that there is an objective means of how to measure the developmental progress of a mentee. First level considerations in selecting, recruiting or accepting nominations/applications for mentors is:

1. A willingness on the part of the mentor to invest ones' time and energy into the mentee is critical for this growth relationship to develop present and future leaders for organizations today.

2. A reservoir of knowledge by the mentor, both in terms of formal and informal knowledge/training/skill attainment/certifications, that can be deposited into a willing mentee and thus enable a shorten learning curve to develop!

3. An accomplished and dedicated senior member who may be of the present mindset that because of their tenure they are no longer valued and appreciated can be an ideal candidate and this participation opportunity may be just the prescription for a renewed energy.

4. A person with genuine vested interest in the organizations success and core survival will be an exceedingly diligent mentor and take the mentee's interest to heart.

A fast track to "Leadership Mentor Development Program" failure is expecting or accepting any individual into participation that do not adhere to any of the above benchmark suggestions.

An Ohio State University study indicated that professional women in the work place with mentor relationships were as much as 68 times more promotable and marketable in their careers among individuals with no mentor relationships. The question for organizations and for managerial-leaders to ask now is, "can we afford not to invest in our personnel asset by not having a mentor program?"

"If a man empties his pyres into his head, no one can take it away from him. An investment in knowledge always pays the best interest." - Benjamin Franklin, Inventor, Statesman, Writer

Dr. Magee is a Certified Speaking Professional, a Certified Management Consultant and a Certified Professional Direct Marketer and has been recognized as one of the "Ten Outstanding Young Americans" known as TOYA by the U.S. Junior Chamber of Commerce. Today, Dr. Magee is the writer of the nationally syndicated Leadership Column that you may have seen in your own local business newspaper, serves as the publisher of PERFORMANCE Magazine, and is the author of more than 20 books, including 4 best-sellers. In fact, his text, Yield Management, was the #1 selling graduate management school textbook in 2000.