The Art of Mentoring

Liberty-based mentoring is an art. This pillar is the art of loving and leading others in the cultivation of excellence, while respecting each person as a sovereign with unique intrinsic potential and free will, rather than a machine or an animal to be programmed or conditioned. Mentoring is a form of servant leadership.

In order to be a servant leader, the mentor must see the mentee as an agent to act, not merely an object to be acted upon. A mentee must ultimately choose to be mentored. Regardless of the mentee’s willingness, the art of mentoring requires that a mentor loves and serves the mentee for the simple truth that all humans share a nature imbued with dignity and intrinsic worth. Selfless love is the most powerful motivating force in the mentor-mentee relationship. When a mentor loves a mentee, he or she serves the mentee through dedication of time, talents, and energy to the mentee’s best interests.

Mentors lead by example. They model servant leadership and excellence with passion, integrity, and honesty. Leadership in action respects the sovereignty of the mentee through inspiring, inviting, admonishing, training, modeling, and coaching mentees to engage in the pursuit of truth, wisdom, and virtue. Mentors believe in the mentee enough to expect quality work. Mentoring is more than mere transmission of information; it involves equipping others to discover ideas and truths for themselves and to act accordingly. The goal of mentoring in an American Classical Leadership Education is to guide mentees through the pillars to become liberated servant leaders.