As a mentor of volunteers, it is important to understand as much as possible the different personalities involved in the management process. Volunteers do what they do for different reasons and while this doesn’t seem important, it should be considered. Determining a volunteer’s reason for volunteering will help in assessing how much to ‘mentor’ for helping a volunteer realizing their greatest potential.
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MentorFocusIndividualRoleFacilitator with no agendaRelationshipSelf selectingSource of influencePerceived valuePersonal returnsAffirmation/learningArenaLife
Mentors focus on the person, their career and support for individual growth and maturity. The mentor is both a source of information/knowledge and a Socratic questioner.
“A mentor is like a sounding board, they can give advice but the partners is free to pick and choose what they do. The context does not have specific performance objectives.”
In conclusion, mentoring is a power free, two-way mutually beneficial relationship where the mentor provides advice and shares experiences, and teaches using a low pressure, self-discovery approach. The mentor has a deep personal interest, personally involved—a friend who cares about you and your long term development.
