THE MENTOR LEADER

The Mentor Leader

The Mentor Leader

Introduction

Tony Dungy, a coach, who won the Super Bowl and author of the bestseller list of The New York Times, knows firsthand that "leadership mentoring" works. He was monitored as a young athlete. He became famous as a coach not only win championships but for their dedication to their players. His recent work monitoring (particularly the famous quarterback Michael Vick) became national news. Now, mentor leader, Tony takes his life and NFL career to share the secrets of leadership mentoring and how you can lead a person to success, regardless of the type of team you lead. It is a great resource for businesspeople, parents, team coaches, counselors and anyone who exercises leadership.

Analysis

The Mentor Leader is an excellent book that is challenging, practical and inspiring. The book is packed full of stories and anecdotes, but it is not just a random assortment of anecdotes. Dungy actually covers a lot of material, and arranges it thoughtfully.

He has portrayed mentoring as,

1.aims to support a person in mobilizing resources,

2.Research and implementation of its own solutions,

3.The development of individual autonomy (including vis-à-vis the mentor).

A mentor is an adult who, along with parents, provides young people with support, counsel, friendship, reinforcement and constructive example. Mentors are good listeners, people who care, people who want to help young people bring out strengths that are already there.

An ideal Mentor has many roles:

1. A Motivator who motivates students at times when they need it the most. Its being rightly said that “A lot of people have gone further than they thought they could because someone else thought they could.”

2. A guide who tells the correct path to students in order to achieve their goals.

3. A supporter who is always beside the student while making the most important decisions of his life.

In its introduction, Dungy outlines the "essential traits of a mentor":

1.Mentoring "can be taught and learned; but in order to be absorbed, it must be practiced"

2.Mentoring "focuses on developing the strengths of individuals"

3.Mentoring "works best" when there is "genuine concern" shown

4.Mentoring is about "shaping, nurturing, empowering, and growing"

5.Mentoring is "about relationships, integrity, and perpetual learning"

6.Mentoring is "about changing lives"

Although all 9 chapters of Dungy's book relates to the "mentor leader," there were 3 chapters that seemed to prepare the heart of the mentor: Chapter 3, "A Look Within," Chapter 4, "Characteristics That Matter," and Chapter 6, "Living the Message". In chapter 3, Dungy explains, "In order to become an effective mentor, in whatever setting, it is important to take a look inside you". He suggests that potential mentors take a "personal inventory" to assess what makes them "think, react, and respond the way they do" and what makes them "do the things they do". An honest, self assessment will reveal personal strengths and weaknesses, unresolved issues from the past and meaningful priorities.

Character is described as "the person [others] view as the most trustworthy, who cares the most and who is willing to always do the right thing," and according to ...