First, what is leadership anyway?
I think one of the best sources for understanding leadership is the serial author, former Navy Seals commander (Bin Laden capture), recently retired CEO and chancellor at the University of Texas (overseeing 14 institutions; 220,000 students; and 20,000 faculty), and now senior advisor at Lazard. I’m speaking of the one and only four-star Admiral William McRaven. Truth be told, I cannot read his books or listen to his videos without being inspired.
Just a few of his thoughts (paraphrased) on leadership:
- Don’t quit: Only one-quarter of the trainees in Navy Seals make it through. Why? The one thing they have in common: They will endure through tough times. They will hang in there. They will persevere. They will not quit.
- Make your bed: If you can’t do the small tasks in life, how can you do the big ones? Take pride in the smallest tasks, as they will lead you to the next and the next—and you will become trusted along the way.
- Make hard decisions: His story of leading the Nimitz ship, facing life-or-death choices, was one of him taking full responsibility for making hard decisions. He learned if you are the commander, command. Take full responsibility—even if they are the wrong choices.
- Leadership: Whether it’s two people or 100, they look up to you. Yes, there will be bad days, but keep them to yourself. Remember, your team needs you to be clear eyed, shoulders back, and positive. They need to know they can count on you to show them the way.
- Shared values and goals: When you work as a team, what holds you together? The ultimate glue for your team is their shared values and working toward the same goals. For the Seals, these were crystal clear: They were fighting for America.
- Swim buddy: In life, you need one person you can trust who has your back. Seal teams are paired with swim buddies just in case you get tangled underwater or your parachute fails…team up for untoward eventualities.
- Bring forth the leadership in others: Great leaders foster growth and leadership in others. Delegate. Give your charges room to grow, to fail, and to learn.
About Project Based Mentoring
In my 25 years of face-to-face mentoring; researching mentoring for my book; or consulting on mentoring models with schools, nonprofits, or companies, I’ve learned a few things. So let’s delve into the meaning of Project Based Mentoring (PBM), its concepts, best practices, and takeaways.
Here’s how it works.
In Project Based Mentoring, the roles are clearly defined as such (excerpted from “Teach to Work: How a Mentor, a Mentee, and a Project Can Close the Skills Gap in America”):
“There’s a Practitioner, or Knowledge Partner, who plays the role of Mentor. Often, the mentor can be from a different generation or culturally diverse, but together with the mentee, they work to tackle a realistic problem/project, with a real-world application.
While the mentor has vast experience in the project content and dimension, they do not have authority. The student, new hire, or mentee is the idea generator, the responsible party, and the driver of all the activity and its implementation.
Together, they share a mutual goal for planning the project framework, the master plan, and working to the deadline. As well, their goal is to achieve a successful completion whereby the mentee can rehearse and deliver a public oral defense.”
Scenario of PBM
Envision a young employee who is given more latitude than usual to oversee a project. Yes, it might be stretching their skill set, and it would be assigned from an expressed interest. For example, let’s say it’s research and analysis or writing a new proposal or leading a meeting or a client pitch.
Then picture assigning this mentee—together with a seasoned practitioner who has experience, and who’s been trained in mentoring. They have no authority to hire or fire or promote the mentee, nor can they report upwards or outwards on this mentoring experience. The mentor/mentee relationship is one-to-one. Sacrosanct. The mentor is strictly there as a guidepost, a trusted project consultant who can take time, listen, create a safe space, play devil’s advocate, question progress, support through difficulty, and rehearse the project outcome and its delivery.
Together, they are tasked with building a master plan, a timeline, and an oral defense.
Consider the overarching takeaways of this learning dynamic for each:
For the Mentee: What Leadership Skills Are Gained?
- Critical thinking
- Master planning
- Collaborating
- Risk
- Courage over fear
- New skills gained
- New pride
- New trust
- Take responsibility
- Public presentation
- Ownership
- Confidence
- Accomplishment
For the Mentor: What Leadership Skills Are Gained?
- Become an educator
- Be looked up to as a role model
- Learn to listen
- Learn to motivate
- Share how-to methodology
- Question without supplying answers
- Communicate simply
- Be patient
- Manage expectations
- Enjoy diversity of perspective
- Respect the learning process
If you are looking to build loyalty and grow your ranks of employees from within, consider the rigors of the “swim buddy” in this unique mentor/mentee model—and explore the inherent values baked within Project Based Mentoring.
At the end of the day, don’t you think both the members of the mentor team might have walked away with the beginnings of McRaven’s leadership?
- Don’t quit.
- Do the small tasks well.
- Take responsibility for hard decisions.
- Stand up tall through bad days.
- Develop a swim buddy.
- Share mutual values and goals.
- Bring out the leader in others.
It’s a small investment of 100 minutes a week for a large gain in loyalty, collaboration, and growth.
