Mentoring and Leadership Polishing Skills

Question: Discuss about theMentoring and Leadershipfor Polishing Skills. Answer: Introduction The importance of mentoring in the education system of any country cannot be overemphasized. A variety of mentoring techniques has been adopted by different organizations, as these help in the overall development of the individual, enabling him to perform his duties in a more systematic, organized and effective way. However, since mentoring plays an integral role in developing, enhancing and polishing skills of the mentees, a variety of theories have come into existence, which are being discussed as well as critiqued here (Derycke et al., 2013). The traditional concept of mentoring has always upheld the importance of the mentor, to whom the mentee should be subjected to. Consequently, in the traditional process, it is believed that the mentor should be senior in age, and must be highly experienced, as knowledge and experience was believed to be gained by seniority only. However, such traditional assumptions do not hold truth in the present decade, as nowadays, a mentor may be young, and yet he must possess the necessary skill, expertise and wisdom necessary for mentoring and grooming an elderly figure. The acquisition of the skill and expertise by the younger mentors has become much easier, because of different online, professional courses, as well as greater access to the online resources that helps in widening the horizon of knowledge of the mentors (Leidenfrost et al., 2014). I myself had once enrolled for a communication skill development course via an online platform, and though my mentor was younger than me, I did not encounter any difficulty, as we did not require to have a face to face interaction. It was just a flow of information and knowledge from one end of the computer to the other. It was the exchange of necessary skill nad knowledge that mattered the most for both of us. Mentoring has always been considered as a process where the mentee, essentially considered to be inferior to the mentor, is expected to listen to the mentee, without challenging or questioning his views and perspectives. However, as opposed to this, a freer and more flexible approach to the process of mentoring is being adopted in the preset world. In a virtual world of knowledge transfer, the mentee does not engage in a face-to-face interaction with the mentor, rather the barrier of physical distance dissolve, enabling the mentor and the mentee to engage in the easy and efficient exchange of knowledge as per the convenience of the mentee and the mentor. One of the objectionable features of the traditional method of mentoring, is that it considers the convenience of the mentor, who plays an important role in determining the time or location where the knowledge will be transferred. The mobility found in the present system is much appreciable, as it considers the needs and preferences of both the mentor and the mentee (Hagger, 2013). While imparting training to my students, I often use the online platform as a means of connecting to my students, and instead of considering myself as superior to my mentees, I consider the whole process as a system of knowledge transfer that should benefit both me and the mentee. However, it is to be noted that the idea of cyber-coaching itself is also not free from criticism or objections. In the traditional method of mentoring, the mentee is unable to meet the mentor in person, who acts as a role model to the mentee, and inspires by his presence. The rapport created between a mentor and a mentee, that ultimately helps the mentee in engaging with the mentor, in his process of knowledge acquisition is absolutely missing in case of virtual mentoring theory. Even I myself had faced this problem; as I teach a large number of students via online method, I fail to emotionally connect to each one, assessing the personal requirement of each student, or understanding their response or feedback towards my way of teaching. This is why I rely on taking a lot of tests that help to examine the knowledge of the students. The network-based mentoring style is also an impressive style of mentoring, where the mentor instead of passing on the knowledge or wisdom to a single student, teaches multiple students at a time, who owing to the knowledge sharing process, succeeds in developing their individual skills (Kerry Mayes, 2014). This system of peer coaching is highly beneficial for the development of comprehensive knowledge about a topic, but it should be noted that this deprives each mentee from individual attention of the mentor. I believe that peer coaching helps students, who are less knowledgeable, or are too shy to open up and interact with a teacher. The mentor acts as an advisor, a counselor as well as a guide to the trainee, and hence the adoption of the right and most effective style is highly necessary. Reference List: Derycke, H., Levecque, K., Van Rossem, R. (2013). The work-related well-being of male and female Ph. D. students: how important is the mentoring style of their supervisor?. Hagger, H., Mcintyre, D., Wilkin, M. (2013).Mentoring: Perspectives on school-based teacher education. Routledge. Kerry, T., Mayes, A. S. (2014).Issues in mentoring. Routledge. Leidenfrost, B., Strassnig, B., Schtz, M., Carbon, C. C., Schabmann, A. (2014). The Impact of Peer Mentoring on Mentee Academic Performance: Is Any Mentoring Style Better than No Mentoring at All?.International Journal of Teaching and Learning in Higher Education,26(1), 102-111.