The Distinctiveness Of The Mentor-Mentee Relationship (On My Own Experience)

People often have a person they look up to as a role model throughout their lives. Having an adult in one’s life who can serve as a mentor, source of support, and helper in achieving objectives (Rhodes, 2002). One-way mentoring is beneficial for many individuals who experience the advantages of this mentorship relationship since this person will often assist you as you encounter numerous lessons in life while enabling a route one desires to walk. In today’s environment, mentoring help is often misunderstood. Many individuals compare the support of a mentor to that of their parents (Rhodes, 2002). It is not advised that the mentor be a relative of the mentee since the mentor-mentee connection should not be mistaken with a parent-child relationship (Rhodes, 2002). According to Rhodes (2002), “the term has generally been used in the human services field to describe a relationship between an older, more experienced adult and a younger, unrelated protégé—a relationship in which the adult provides ongoing guidance, instruction, and encouragement aimed at developing the competence and character of the protégé” (p. 4). The development of a trusting, respectful, and judgment-free connection between two individuals is one advantage of having a mentor. One is given the chance to be genuine and concentrate on the mutually established objectives of the mentorship.

Today, I count myself lucky to have a mentor in my life. At Lifetime Fitness, he goes by the name of Andrew. This mentoring connection started last summer, when I was in the early stages of adult growth. As a member of his team at the café, Andrew hired me and provided me with the chance to broaden my horizons. The way I was able to conduct myself in the Café pleased him. He saw a chance to develop our leadership, conflict-resolution, and other abilities since the café’s main function was customer service. His mentoring approach was identifying and talking about challenges I had encountered both at work and in my personal life. He is aware of my advantages and disadvantages. He often used an outline to start the conversation, outlining the issue, the dispute, and how a leader would approach solving it. He managed the conversation, ensuring self-awareness and responsibility. At work throughout the summer, Andrew and I saw each other virtually daily. He would often draw my attention to problems or situations involving how to provide customer service in a busy setting. This would enable me to pick up new skills and use them while interacting with clients. Relationships between mentors and mentees are facilitated via the mentoring influence model’s routes. This establishes a relationship that encourages trust, responsibility, and actions toward a desired end. Having a mentor at work is advantageous since you have someone who is knowledgeable and has overcome challenges the mentee may encounter. He encourages and pushes me to work harder by encouraging me to learn from my errors and take whatever necessary or possible corrective action. I was at a place in my life where I needed more help and someone I could trust. He was present and eager to assist me, but more as a mentor than a supervisor. By fostering a healthy work environment, many firms are able to keep their staff (Emma, np). My identity and cognitive growth were both strengthened by this friendship. L. S. Vygotsky’s theory of cognitive development and identity development will both be used to further investigate this link (Daniel Levinson). It will support the identification, application, and development I underwent at Lifetime Fitness as a result of my friendship with Andrew.

A popular concept for helping mentors have a road map while developing a connection with their mentees is the mentoring model. According to Rhodes (2002), this is used throughout early adolescence. Finding a mentor for yourself is always the first step in any relationship. After accepting this responsibility, it is crucial to start the trust-building process. Because creating trust takes time and is not instantaneous, this step of the process is timely. Three developmental phases are prioritized throughout the trust-building process: social-emotional development, cognitive development, and role modeling and identification. The relationships you develop with your parents and other close relatives will benefit from these phases. The result will be the success and development that the mentee has attained. One may be working on something at the time in their studies, their job, their talents, or a chance to improve personally. This model was utilized by Andrew to assist me in honing my talents. The cognitive, role-modeling, and identification phases were the main areas of his attention.

A person first experiences cognitive growth when they begin to gain new information and skills about their surroundings (Rhodes, 2002). People put the knowledge they acquire to use in their daily personal and professional lives. According to Rhodes, as adolescence progresses, you start to gain new skills like problem-solving, handling conflict, and thinking critically (p.42). A person’s viewpoint of themselves and how others see them will continue to improve as their cognitive abilities are developed (Rhodes, 2002). This relates to my connection with Andrew since he recognized when I first began working there that I would need time to learn the processes and technical abilities required to succeed there. We would meet every day to make sure the skills were being applied and modified every day in the café since he understood it would take some time to master new knowledge and abilities. This made it possible for learning to take place slowly and reduced errors, which allowed me to contribute significantly to his team. During our early sessions, Andrew continued to establish trust, which aided in further success and provided a channel for me to talk about mistakes and corrective action. He would be honest with me about his path and personal life. L.S. is a strategy that Rhodes discusses. “Zone of Proximal Development” according to Vygotsky “It is beyond what a young person can achieve when addressing problems on their own, but within a range of what they can do when working with competent peers or under the supervision of an adult” (p.42). The mentee gets the chance to develop and broaden their talents and abilities in this situation. One could feel unprepared for this phase, so the mentor will just watch and provide help as needed. For instance, when my mentor Andrew wanted me to advance to a position with greater responsibility—preparing meals for the customers—I was anxious. This required me to learn more recipes by heart, collaborate with more employees, and go beyond my comfort zone. He was certain that I could succeed, but he preferred that I reach that conclusion on my own. He would use this to create responsibility and motivate me to keep learning new things every day. At this point, a person begins to take ownership of their development and problem-solving. Making choices every day gave me the satisfaction of knowing that I was developing and discovering new facets of our company. In order to help me become more autonomous in my job at the café, he guided me and inspired me to want to study more.

Additionally crucial to the mentorship connection is communication. The benefits of the zone of proximal development have been shown by Vygotsky’s study, which also shows how it affects the connection between a mentor and mentee. The mentee is developing the abilities necessary to have fruitful talks with the mentor via the zone of proximal growth process (Rhodes, 2002). These meaningful chats show how one’s connection will become stronger and build on the trust that currently exists. The mentee may now utilize the new knowledge, abilities, and language they have acquired from experiences to communicate with their mentor, parents, and peers in everyday situations. It is obvious that I have developed (Rhodes, 2002). Recently, when I rushed for a sorority, I had this experience. I loved the process of getting to know new individuals on campus, avoided taking the lead with judgment, and was present while using my enlarged skill set that I built with Andrew as my mentor. This gave me the opportunity to look for the ideal match for me who shares our values and aims for the future.

I was able to experience self-identification via his usage of role modeling after going through the stage of cognitive growth where I was able to build my leadership and dispute resolution abilities. This was effective because it allowed me to make quick modifications that were helpful to me in the café. One begins to consider who they want to be and how they will get there throughout this period of growth (Rhodes, 2002). According to Rhodes, “the mentoring process is assumed to be reinforced by verbal comments and emotional support from the mentor” (p.45). In order to transition into early adulthood, Levinson explains that the “imagined self” is employed throughout this developmental period (as cited in Rhodes, 2002, p.47). This aids in forming morals and values as a person continues to grow into the person they want to become. This phase is crucial for creating a gratifying version of oneself. The mentee must consider their overarching objectives and decide what actions are necessary to further their growth. This was accomplished for me by my mentor Andrew via several conversations and continual goal review. He believed it was crucial to follow up to make sure everyone was happy with the outcome. . We would lay out plans and objectives for my post-college life, including the measures I would need to take to get there. I might improve my self-assurance and faith in my talents with Andrew’s assistance. Through his own experiences, Andrew demonstrated how your life may take turns that you may not intend. It is my responsibility to utilize the internal motivation I possess to modify my actions and behaviors and guide myself in the proper way. Levinson’s idea fits with the way Andrew was assisting me in learning what I desired from life. Instead of sitting there and providing me with the solutions, Andrew would help me. I spent a lot of time figuring this out because I need to go on with my life. Andrew would assist me in finding solutions by helping me brainstorm and test out new ideas. Even though I believe I’ll never have a perfectly detailed life plan, I now know what type of action plan I have to assist me live the successful, happy life I desire.

In conclusion, this approach is a useful tool for mentors to assist their mentees succeed via this organized procedure. Communication is crucial since not every mentee will definitely require mentoring in every growth stage. Setting expectations and objectives for one another before entering into this mentor-mentee relationship is crucial. For instance, establishing an agreement in writing to help hold one another responsible is crucial for the partnership to succeed. This is crucial because each party must understand what the other needs and desires from the partnership. Since trust is the foundation of this paradigm, it is crucial to talk about how it already exists and will develop in the future. A crucial component of this paradigm is trust. Once trust has been established, you may go on to the mentoring process further developing phases. There is no set period of time for a mentor-mentee relationship; it all depends on your initial dedication. Andrew still serves as my mentor right now. While I’m at college, I know I can text or phone if I need advice. We thus usually plan a meeting at the time I get home from college because we don’t have our regular meetings. I am lucky to have a mentor that really cares about my success in life and is ready to be there for me whenever I need assistance developing my abilities at job, in school, and in general. The fact that he has engaged emotionally and professionally in my growth means a lot to me.