Leadership Mentoring and Qualities Samples †MyAssignmenthelp.com

Question: Discuss about the Leadership Mentoring and Qualities. Answer: Leadership Mentoring For any employee working in an organization, it is vital to achieve job satisfaction in order to remain committed to his task. One of the ways to achieve this is by enhancing an employees knowledge base and making him eligible to lead in his organization. Leadership mentoring enables an individual to achieve greater heights in his career by motivating him to utilize his talents to the fullest and imbibe a sense of leadership responsibilities in due course of time. It involves the process of training, guidance, and providing opportunities to an employee in order to develop leadership qualities within himself and making him more involved in the organization. Leadership mentoring is a continuous process, which takes place within an organization while it seeks to hone its employees skills and grow with time(Michael, 2008). According to the Great Man theory proposed by Thomas Carlyle, leaders are born, not made(Changing Works, 2012-16). When an employee receives field training or job orientation training, it is a definite and time bound process after which he is expected to have the ability to carry out his job activities without any issues. Mentoring a potential leader of the future starts after these initial days, when they are given small, incremental tasks outside of their comfort areas in order to test their abilities. In order for the mentoring program to be relevant, it is important for the employee to have the abilities to lead in his organization. Many different situations arise out of daily activities in an organization. These situations are the best practice ground for any employee to learn and improve his skills as a leader, tro ubleshooter or a mediator. While these experiences do help in the development of leadership skills, an employee needs a more coherent approach in order to develop skills that can help him become a future leader. In order to achieve this, he should seek a mentor who can guide him and help him realize his goal. While a mentor can be anyone from his peers to his seniors, ideally a person has gained experience is the best bet. It is also crucial for the mentor to have a like-minded protg, in order to have a fruitful relationship. This relation can help work them in tandem with each other as well as provide opportunities for the mentee as well as the mentor to learn. The Trait theory of leadership states that leaders inhibit certain qualities in them, which make them excel in leadership(Judge, Bono, Ilies, Gerhardt, 2002). Employees with these qualities or traits benefit from their mentors and are likely to succeed. These traits that the employee needs to have are he should cooperative nature, ability to take decisions, ability to influence, self-confidence, goal oriented, responsible(Leadership-Central, 2010-2016). Employees also need to have skills and expertise in their scope of operations in order to be able to lead their organization. This theory is similar to the Great Man theory, the difference being that it is more detailed and specific in requirements of traits that a person should have. However, the theory can be irrelevant in some cases. When it is required by the theory to have inner traits like leadership personalities or self-confidence, these traits are developed over time and depend on the surrounding environment of an employee. Thus, it is not necessary for an employee to have the traits initially, and a mentor plays an important role in achieving the traits that make a true leader of an employee. Another principal that is followed is the Contingency Theory of leadership. The contingency theory takes into account the fact that different situations require leaders to respond differently. For example, renowned entrepreneur and innovator Elon Musk is known to be aggressive in achieving his goals and vision for future technologies. The relentless pursuit of next generation of travel has seen the company adopt a trial and error method of innovation. In case of the model S sedan, Musk himself admitted that the falcon wing technology was far ahead of its time and proved too costly to develop(Siler, 2016). While these kind of innovative leaders do well in his sector, the same leaders may not succeed in other sectors which are less fast paced, like the medical sector, or governmental departments, which require pati ence and co-operation. The contingency theory also require a leader to lead in situations where he feels he would be followed, and respond according to the situation. Mentoring an employee enables him to take the right course of action whenever required. However, it can also have its drawbacks. When the rapport between a mentor and his protg is good and well supported, the training program or learning curve for the employee is also constructive(Reddy, 2016). When this is not the case, it puts the mentee in a detrimental position. If the mentor himself has friction with his mentee, it can actually hinder his growth, and make him less confident about his job. For an employee to gain knowledge and insight from his mentor, it is crucial that he is not hesitant to ask questions or pose silly doubts in front of him. If this founding principal is compromised and there is mistrust and hostility between the two, the mentoring program loses its cause. Another concern that can arise in the men torship program is the difference in learning curve of the protg and the expectations of a mentor can pose problems for both of them. A mentor who is experienced and knows the complexities of his organization can also expect his mentee to catch up quickly in order to show himself as an able trainer and find pride in his organization. These expectations cause stress among employees as they face constant pressure to perform and if their learning curve is not as steep as their mentors, they feel doubtful about their abilities and lose self-confidence. One of the prominent innovators of the technology industry, Steve Jobs, had relied on Robert Friedland during the early days of his career to develop his leadership abilities(Bergelson, 2015). At that time he was able to come out of his shy image and take decisive actions, which went on to make him a great leader and innovator. Steve was able to inspire others through his charisma and personality, which made his teamwork towards his vision of a great product. This resulted in the iconic products Apple is known for. Jobs also had Robert Noyce as his mentor when he was in his early twenties. Robert Noyce was the co-inventor of the microchip and helped gain a perspective of the technology to Jobs. He also gained design principles and ethics from his spiritual guru who was a Zen master named Kobun Chino Otagowa. Otagowa inspired Jobs to embrace minimalism and develop simple and neat designs, which would appeal to all. This design philosophy became the hallmarks of Apple products later on (Johnson, Li, Phan, Singer, 2012). Jobs later became the inspiration for leaders such as Larry Page and Mark Zuckerberg, who regard him as their mentor. Another standing example of leadership mentoring is Condoleezza Rice, who was inspired by her mentor, Josef Korbel, to leave the field of music and arts and became the secretary of state. Korbel imbibe the notion of projecting America as a beacon of hope and freedom, and Rice firmly believed that she would work towards this goal in her capacity as the secretary in the Bush administration(Rice, 2007). Thus, Leadership mentoring is a process by choice, where one person can have more than one mentor in his lifetime. A mentors relation with his mentee may not remain the same throughout his life(Bergelson, 2015). However, leaders who gain from their mentor should acknowledge their contribution in their life and follow the principal of passing on. Steve Jobs passed on the perspective and skills he gained from the likes of Robert Noyce and Robert Friedland by mentoring leaders such as Larry page and Mark Zuckerberg, both of whom have successfully carried the baton of innovation and technology(Bergelson, 2015). Leadership should be a natural instinct in an employee in order to become a successful leader. If he has the ability to lead his department or organization, he needs to a mentor to develop his skills and become a future leader. Mentoring an employee is a vital aspect in the fast-paced corporate culture. However, it is also the responsibility of the mentor to play his part carefull y as the career of his employee is affected by his course of action. Thus, leadership mentoring may have its own shortcomings, nevertheless the benefits are outweigh those concerns and if the mentoring program is well planned and taken carefully, it enriches an employees knowledge base as well as helps him in the growth of his career. References Bergelson, M. (2015, February 2015). The 4 Mentors that inspired Steve Jobs. Retrieved october 5, 20147, from Everwise: https://www.geteverwise.com/mentoring/famous-protege-the-4-mentors-that-inspired-steve-jobs/ Changing Works. (2012-16). Great Man Theory. Retrieved october 5, 2017, from changingminds.org: https://changingminds.org/disciplines/leadership/theories/great_man_theory.htm Frank, T. (2015, March). 10 WAYS TO BE A BETTER MENTOR,FROM THOSE WHOVE DONE IT. Retrieved from DruckerInstitue.com: https://www.druckerinstitute.com/monday/mentoring/#toc Johnson, K., Li, Y., Phan, H., Singer, J. (2012). The Innovative Success that is Apple, Inc. The Innovative Success that is Apple, Inc., 2-5. Judge, T. A., Bono, J. E., Ilies, R., Gerhardt, M. W. (2002). Personality and Leadership: A Qualitative and Quantitative Review. Journal of Applied Psychology, 87(4), 767. Leadership-Central. (2010-2016). Trait Theory. Retrieved october 5, 2017, from Leadership-Central.com: https://www.leadership-central.com/trait-theory.html Michael, A. (2008, August). Mentoring And Coaching. Retrieved from cimaglobal.com: https://www.cimaglobal.com/Documents/ImportedDocuments/cid_tg_mentoring_coaching_Aug08.pdf.pdf Reddy, C. (2016). Mentoring at work. Retrieved from Wisestep: https://content.wisestep.com/mentoring-work-importance-benefits-pros-cons/ Rice, C. (2007). Remarks of United States Secretary of State. Berkeley Journal of International Law, 64-65. Siler, S. (2016, June 2). Musk Attributes Falcon Wing Door Debacle to Hubris, Says Software Will Fix It. Car And Driver, p. 1