Effective Mentoring

Introduction: Whenever I hear adults talk casually about young people, it’s often negative. “Kids these days”, “This generation is going to hell”, “Young people can’t”, “Young people won’t”, and many other damning and condemning statements about the capabilities and potential that our young people possess. I believe that many of us in the older generations have been infected with an unholy cynicism when it comes to connecting with our young people, whether due to failures we have experienced firsthand, or troubles we have witnessed in the lives of those close to us and those at a distance. If we the adults are called to be the mentors and guides that will help bring our young people into fulfillment of their potential and completion of their destiny, then it is very important that we have the right attitude about our young people, what they can achieve and how we can impact them. It is not impossible to get through to young people. I am living proof of that. Perhaps you are a professional working with youth right now, and while you don’t hold the negative views I exemplified above, you do feel a bit helpless and unsure of how to best work with the young people in your life. Or perhaps you are looking for more tools and skills in your arsenal. Maybe you are looking for motivation and inspiration to stick to this life’s work you have chosen. You know that there is more to impacting youth than you are currently experiencing and are looking for ways to make a deeper, more impactful and lasting connection. This book you hold in your hands is a culmination of my experiences in the trenches of direct-service work with youth and the hard-earned, hard-fought lessons I have learned. Our youth need quality mentors more than ever before, and it is my belief that anyone with the heart, diligence and open-mindedness can learn valuable and practical lessons that will aid in their work with youth. Mentorship is important. Quality mentorship is paramount, and in this book you will receive a grounded, practical account of what quality mentorship looks like. I first start off with context: who I am, my story, how I came into direct-service youth work, and mentorship and where that journey has led me. I then give a research-driven and anecdotal packed account of why mentoring is important and how it benefits. Once we’ve established the importance of mentorship, I move onto evidence-based mentorship, what works and what doesn’t work, pitfalls to avoid and challenges to overcome. I elucidate the characteristics of a good mentor and skills you must strengthen if you seek to be a quality mentor in the lives of young people. I shift the discussion to ways that one can get involved in mentorship, from formal employment opportunities to community service projects. I then end with a call to action, at which point I hope that you will commit to becoming a mentor to a young person in your life currently, once you’ve acquired the frameworks, mindsets and tools necessary to do so. Our young people need good mentors more than ever and I believe that if this book is in your hands, you think so too. Let’s help change the future together. Yours in Service, Robert Lowery