Spring '08 NCU Magazine: From The President

The word “mentoring” has a lot of definitions. I actually like the word “apprenticeship” better. An apprentice is someone who works right alongside a “master.” So an apprentice carpenter builds cabinets or a house with a master builder, as opposed to simply talking about it. It’s like trying to describe riding a bicycle. You’ll never get someone to ride a bicycle until you get out there like a father with a little kid, grab hold of the bicycle seat, and run alongside.

Apprenticeship should be job-specific. If you are training someone it needs to be in their area of work. The first thing they should do is watch how you do it. There may be better ways to do it, but they at least need to know what has worked for 25 years before they try it for themselves. They need to first watch and learn what we do and why we do it.

Some new ideas have been tried before and didn’t work. The same can happen today. Tomorrow somebody could have the same ‘new’ idea, but now they know the reason why it doesn’t work. As a mentor, you can help them understand these things. Still, they will ultimately have to try things and fail in order to learn what will work.

An apprentice who works with a “master” on the job at hand will be far more equipped and empowered, and the mentor will be more enriched and blessed. It is not the newest model, but it has proven to be very effective.

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