Mentorship is a gift to others
While Pramila Jayapal was serving in her first term member of Congress, a more senior congressman disparaged her on the floor, calling her a “young lady” who “doesn’t know a damn thing what she’s talking about.” Later, as reported in Politico, Jayapal who hails from the State of Washington tweeted: “A message to women of color out there: stand strong. Refuse to be patronized or minimized.” The congressman later apologized.
Today, Jayapal is doing more than tweeting she is serving as a mentor to other women representatives. Two of them include freshmen Rashida Tlaib and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. Though Jayapal is only in her second term, she can offer these women from minority backgrounds perspective that they may not find elsewhere.
For example, Jayapal advised Tlaib to personalize her messages as a means of giving them resonance. “It’s these little touches,” Tlaib told Politico. “She’s one of these incredible mentors that, at the forefront, is always about serving your district and doing it in a very authentic way.”
Mentorship is a gift to any individual, but perhaps the greatest insight that mentors can offer is personal example. Jayapal, while only one-term senior to her proteges, is like them an individual committed to progressive issues and national service.
Politics aside, what Jayapal provides a template for how to mentor, especially mentoring people close in age. While mentors do coach, that comes most often in the form of advice-giving. What they really provide is an investment in the future of someone in whom they believe. Here are three, among many, lessons mentors can impart to their proteges.
Develop a genuine sense of self-confidence. All of us struggle with confidence, especially when growing up. Sometimes we have too much of it; other times we may lack it. Mentors get us to focus on what we can do best and when we do to take pride in our accomplishments.
Be willing to serve. Mentorship is service to another. The fact that a mentor is investing him or herself is an act of service. It is a powerful reminder that none of us achieve much by ourselves. We all need the advice, counsel, and support of others.
Be yourself. “The delicate balance of mentoring someone,” said filmmaker Steven Spielberg, “is not creating them in your own image, but giving them the opportunity to create themselves.” Spielberg knows of what he speaks; he has mentored many promising filmmakers, including Bob Zemeckis, Sam Mendes and J.J. Abrams, each with a distinct voice all his own. The joy of mentoring comes when you see an individual with whom you have worked achieve success for themselves.
What mentors ask in return is commitment. They want to be assured that time spent working with a protégé will be worth it, not in terms of personal reward but in terms of creating a positive difference. The joy of mentoring comes when you see an individual with whom you have worked to achieve success for themselves.
Ultimately mentors see the fruits of their labors in the service that their proteges provide to others. In other words, it’s a positive spin on the old saying, “what goes around, comes around.”
