How to find and keep a great mentor

I just finished listening to a phenomenal podcast by Michael Hyatt, a prolific blogger, author, speaker and former CEO of Thomas Nelson Publishing. He blogs at www.MichaelHyatt.com and my first piece of advice to you is to subscribe to his blog right away.His podcast is called “This Is Your Life.”

In this special podcast Michael addresses one of the frequent questions he hears and frankly, I do as well. “How do I find a mentor” is the question asked by pastors and church leaders across the country.

Listen to the podcast here (17 minutes on “Mentoring”, 8 minutes for Q&A and a 5-minute tip of the week).Michael suggests there are four levels of mentoring. He encourages starting at the first and easiest level and working your way through the levels. Here’s a synopsis of the levels.

Virtual Mentoring
- Blogs and Podcasts – Check out the wealth of material available before you do anything. It’s free and you can gain a lot of
- traction quickly this way.
- Books – It may seem old school but think about it. For the price of a book you can pick the brain of a leader you admire and from whom you want to learn.
- Courses – Take courses from people you highly regard. This is work but well worth the money.
Group Mentoring
- Live Conferences – Go to where the people who will inspire and improve you are presenting. Michael does this himself, going to 3-4 conferences each year.
- Membership Sites – Participate in a site where you can interact with an experienced leader in your ministry or career field as well as gaining the input from other members.
- Group Coaching – Get into a small group of people who, like you, are not satisfied with the status quo.
Peer Mentoring
- Informal Conversations – Be selective of your friends. Have informal conversations with professional relationships.
- Mastermind Group – This is a group, generally of about 3-5 peers, you intentionally pull together to sharpen one another. Find people who are sharp and can think, and then you need to do the same.
Personal Mentoring
- Personal Coach – A person you hire to be your coach may be worth your money. A coach can help you go further, faster than you would have on your own. Engaging a ministry, business, marriage, fitness or financial coach may be money very well spent.
- Volunteer Mentor – This person may be difficult but not impossible to find. These typically start as informal relationships. Be a giver and then you’ll find a person who will give to you.

If you’ll expand your horizons as to what a mentor is and how they could be of benefit, you may find your ministry going to levels you never imagined possible. Listen to the podcast and start working through the levels above. You’ll be glad you did!

Question: What method of mentoring have you seen most beneficial in your life? Click here to comment.

Dick Hardy founded The Hardy Group after nearly 30 years of service to the church as an administrative pastor, church business administrator, chief operating officer, pastor of ministry development, non-profit executive director, and college vice president. Visit www.thehardygroup.org for more information.