The Gift of Mentors

A De Pree Center Monograph

by Walter C. Wright, Jr.


some excerpts

“By now I was starting to understand the incredible gift of mentors. I knew that I needed them and I was beginning to suspect that I might be able to pass this gift on to others.

It was at this point that I became intentional in seeking out mentoring relationships — looking for mentors to whom I could attach myself and opening myself as friend and mentor to some who sought me out as a mentor. Not all of these relationships worked. Some did. Some did not. Sometimes geography and logistics created a barrier larger than the perceived value to one or both persons. Sometimes as conflict in core values questioned the benefit of the investment. Sometimes schedules and time constraints made ongoing relationships unrealistic. Sometimes hidden agendas and misdirected purposed made a mentoring relationship unwise. Not everyone who offers to be a mentor brings pure motives. And a good mentor will be honest about motivations Like every relationship, a mentoring relationship will last only as long as both parties find it fulfilling.

It is this mutual fulfillment and interdependency that defines mentoring more than any particular model.”

on choosing a mentoree

“What do mentors look for in a person in whom they will invest themselves? Seven characteristics suggest themselves to me:

  • unrealized potential, undeveloped possibilities
  • curiosity and a hunger to learn
  • strength of character
  • shared values in life
  • reflective thinking and self-assessment
  • willingness to accept responsibility for one’s own growth
  • energy, purpose and hope.”

on choosing a mentor

“At the core however, I believe there are certain characteristics that I would always seek in a prospective mentor: wisdom, strength of character, shared values, accumulated experiences, continued learning, reflective articulation on life and accessibility. It is the character of the person that draws us to mentors. Mentors have character — they are characters — they live out the commitments of their character.”


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