How important is mentorship?

Isn’t mentorship about taking care of your own? Whether it’s a fellow junior enlisted, NCO, Officer or Warrant. If you feel that you are not being mentored, then you should strive to find that one individual that will mentor you. In the case of a CSM refusing to mentor a 1SG in my opinion would be wrong by all sorts. I will never know everything not do i claim tp. There have been some good points made in this forum. Mentorship is never ending and can be used to everyone’s advantage.

MSG S, interesting question. I would hope that the best leaders among us would not need their own self-improvement through mentorship to be mandated, and that they would have risen in the ranks by doing this on their own anyway. If someone says that mentorship is no longer needed at a certain pay grade, they're essentially saying that the individual has learned everything he/she needs to know as a professional -- and we both know that's both unlikely and dangerous for subordinates. I also want to thank you personally for your service, and seeing as you are a MSG, I suspect you have mentored many Soldiers, NCOs, and Officers along the way -- so thank you for helping keep the force strong. Best wishes and thanks again for the great question.

I believe mentorship is critical at all levels, so you can never be in a place where it's not needed. It's important to realize mentorship can come from a variety of sources, not just one individual. You can receive mentorship from one person on education, another on career path, and so on.

The issue with making mentorship mandatory, is that many of the benefits would be lost in a formal "forced" process. The best and most effective mentorship relationships are organic, and include mutual growth.

Leadership & mentorship go hand-in-hand. John Maxwell said it best, "Leadership is not about titles, positions or flowcharts. It is about one life influencing another."

I feel mentorship is important, but with the caveat that the military needs to ENSURE that it only places those of the highest quality into leadership positions. A subpar leader can provide the Army with generations of subpar Soldiers and "leaders" with their mentorship.

MSG Sheperd, mentorship can be very powerful. I have always thought that mentorship is a continuous process, whether the mentor knows it or not, they are often providing examples to their subordinates -- things/actions for them to emulate or things/actions for them to steer clear of.

Mentorship should be something that a subordinate and superior both seek as it helps both the subordinate in gaining a perspective from someone they look up to and it helps the mentor in helping to mold the future of our Army/Military. Being a mentor is a privilege. Leaders should WANT and SEEK ways of mentoring subordinates. Those subordinates ARE the future of the Army.

When I was a LT I had a mentor that explained to me that one way or another each leader will leave a legacy. No assignment in the military is permanent and eventually you will leave
-- your legacy will remain long past your time within that
organization. The legacy you leave is your choice; good or bad it is all on how you leave the organization and influence those within that organization that matter.

Mentorship is indeed important and essential to the right cultivation of someone's career. Speaking from personal experience I know how much it means to me to see someone else take an interest in assuring that I take FULL advantage of all the Army has to offer.

I've often been told and have told my Soldiers as well that we are the best managers when it comes to our own careers but it never hurts to have that extra push of motivation and positivity to help the process streamline a little easier.

When Leaders feel as though mentorship is no longer required, it means to say that those who no longer require mentorship have learned everything there is to learn. As a Soldier/Sailor/Airman/Marine/Guardsman I do not believe there will ever be a time when we know everything there is to know. We can all learn something new every day.

I thought mentorship came with being in the military and naturally occured through on the spot corrections, counselings (both positive and negative), as well as other methods. I will say that in some instances mentoring is needed and not given, offered or accessible. I know for myself I make it a point to talk to my peers and seniors and receive feedback from them on various aspects of my career. Many have taken me under their wing and have given me a wealth of knowledge that has greatly enhanced my career within the military. By the same token I make it a point to sit down with my junior soldiers and share the knowledge that I have gained and help guide their career. My recruiter told me before I signed up for the military that I will not be successful on my own and that I would need to network and be open to criticism and mentoring. I would say there is never a point where leaders no longer need mentorship as the old saying goes even an old dog can learn new tricks. Just my two cents :)! 

Honestly MSG, I don't think a good leader needs to be told to be a mentor, they seek opportunities to develop and mentor those they lead. The best leaders I've worked with took the time to help me improve my abilities by taking their own time to be involved and see what is going on rather than being forced to do it. Even the most stellar performers in a unit can do with some mentoring at the very least it will help improve the respect and bond within the unit. In the time since I left military service, I've relied on the lessons I've learned from those appointed over me years ago to help me make the best decisions possible, and I'm still in touch with many that I still consider my mentors.

Mentees should always imo pick their mentors; so no I feel that leadership should not making mentoring mandatory. I would say vectoring or guidance should be mandatory but I feel that mentoring is on a whole different level that requires great trust.