I have just read Adam Bryant’s interview with Kathy Button Bell for the third time and it should be required reading for new and experienced mentors. Sure, it may be entitled, “Endurance on the Field and at Work,” but it could just have easily been called “All About Mentoring.” It is a testimony to the power of mentoring, the centrality of learning in a mentoring relationship for both the mentor and mentee.
Mentoring is something I know a little about as an author and practitioner. I have written and read extensively about the topic for the last two decades, and what I appreciate most about Kathy Button Bell is that she is self-aware, willing to keep learning about herself and appears committed to her own growth and development.
I believe that a mentor’s good intention is insufficient. Mentoring shouldn’t be something we do out of our back pocket. It is a leadership competency, which means you practice and grow at it and that takes time. We see a glimpse of mentoring excellence in your conversation with Bryant’s interview with Ms.Bell.
Kudos to Adam Bryant for the ‘Corner Office’ column and to Kathy Button Bell, mentor par excellence.
Lois Zachary, Author of The Mentor’s Guide, The Mentee’s Guide, Creating a Mentoring Culture
