| I drafted a midpoint survey for a mentoring program and included this question: “Have you accomplished your goal?”
While reviewing the survey, the program leader asked, “What if they don’t have a goal?” I replied, “Then, they wouldn’t be in the mentoring program.” People don’t join mentoring programs because they’re bored or need new friends. They join because they have a goal, an intention, something to accomplish:
Goals give direction and meaning to a mentoring partnership, without which many pairs flounder and even fizzle. But articulating any of these intentions in a specific, measurable, actionable goal is a visible struggle. Participants become challenged not by time but by clarity in purpose. They question why they are working together and how they can make a difference. Essentially, they grapple with putting their ambition on a mission. As a last resort, some Mentees lean on a project their boss assigned; others lean into an aspiration, like “I want to be happier.” Both courses are tenable, but they often lack the passion and mettle that mentoring deserves. In the end, I’ve observed that people just want to be useful.
Let’s curtail the paralyzing pressure of capturing intention in a perfectly articulated, beautifully written goal. And instead, let’s simply explore how we can be more useful to each other in these mentoring programs, at work, and in the world. The purpose of life is not to be happy but to be useful. ~ Ralph Waldo Emerson Success, like happiness, cannot be pursued; it must ensue. ~ Viktor E. Frankl © 2021. Ann Tardy and Mentor Lead. www.mentorlead.com | www.anntardy.com |
