Mentorship

Participating in events and discussions to encourage curiosity, broaden knowledge and perspectives.

LBD Mentorship Ecosystem

Teacher
Champions

Workplace/Career Mentors

Cross-cohort
Peer Mentoring

Staff/Volunteers

Subject Matter Mentors/Coaches

Assigned Mentor
& Mentorship Circles

Parents

LBD Student

(Mentee)

Jean Rhodes, a well-known scholar in the field of youth mentoring, summarizes mentorship as a relationship between an older, more experienced mentor and a younger protégé, where the mentor provides ongoing guidance, instruction, and encouragement aimed at developing the protégé’s competence and character. This relationship typically fosters a bond of mutual commitment, respect, and loyalty, facilitating the protégé’s transition into adulthood. The Leadership by Design’s (LBD) mentorship program is guided by this definition.

There are many models of mentorship, each effective in certain situations and conditions. The LBD program has experimented with various models and takes the position that employing different models to suit specific circumstances is essential. This is particularly important when the mentee is an adolescent and deemed a ‘vulnerable person,’ or when legislative requirements must be fulfilled. Providing mentorship services to several hundred adolescents require formats that meet the moment, the situation, the restrictions and the expectations of all parties — students, parents, mentors, governments, and the service organization. Against this backdrop, the LBD program has adopted a pragmatic approach to mentoring. Pragmatic mentorship avoids being constrained by any singular model and allows LBD to craft a mentorship framework aligned with its experience, resources, statutory obligations, and overall programming. Pragmatic mentoring recognizes that most adult-to-student, or older-student to younger-student interactions within the LBD program are rooted in a mentor-mentee framework — whether structured or unstructured, natural or formal.

Natural mentoring refers to the supportive, guiding relationships that develop organically between a young person and a non-parental adult, such as a teacher, coach, neighbour, family friend, or LBD volunteer. LBD acknowledges that parents can also serve as natural mentors. Unlike formal mentoring programs, which intentionally match mentors and mentees, natural mentoring emerges spontaneously through everyday interactions and shared interests. These relationships are often characterized by trust and mutual respect. For instance, a breakfast conversation between a knowledgeable adult and four students can represent a mentorship moment.

In the context of LBD programming, mentorship is a vital element of a leadership-development curriculum that offers students a pathway to success. The positive impacts of an effective mentoring programs are well documented. In their 2007 paper titled Mentoring: A Key Resource for Promoting Positive Youth Development, the authors Manza, Wiley and Borden reference the efficacy of mentorship:

“Thus, YD (youth development) programs offer young people the opportunity to capitalize on their potential for positive growth by providing the chance to gain life skills through having access to mentors who collaborate with young people and who enable them to participate in and lead valued community activities. The context of such YD programs (i.e., the adult mentor-youth protégé relationship) and the content of such programs (skill development and leadership opportunities) combine to promote one or more of the key indicators of PYD (positive youth development), i.e., competence, confidence, positive social connection, character, and caring (Lerner, et al., 2005), and of youth contributions to their communities (Blum, 2003; Roth & Brooks-Gunn, 2003).

seven models of mentorship

The following seven models of mentorship, are each delivered or promoted by the LBD program. Together, these models constitute the LBD’s mentorship ecosystem.

LBD-Assigned: Mentorship Circles

These circles consist of groups of Grade 10 LBD students who periodically gather in-person to collectively explore specific issues such as achieving personal goals or addressing modern-day challenges. Each circle is guided by an LBD-assigned mentor.

Traditional Mentorship

Students in Grades 11 and 12 are assigned a mentor on a ratio of one mentor to two or three students (1:2 or 1:3). Guided by the mentor, they explore personal matters such as achieving career goals, developing leadership skills, academics, relationships and pathways to success.

Subject-Matter Mentor/Coach

At times, LBD students participate in structured activities or projects which require support of a mentor and/or coach who specifically guides the student to a given result or outcome, or to a standard of competence. This blended mentor/coach role works well in situations such as the Science Fair or Model UN program which require mentoring (sharing experiences and providing encouragement) and coaching (guiding students through self-directed learning).

LBD Staff/Volunteers as Mentors

Often, LBD staff and volunteers interact with students in ways ideally described as natural mentoring. This process is not structured and is best described as natural or informal mentoring. Simply put, at most LBD activities, mentoring happens.

Cross-Cohort Peer Mentoring

Much can be gained from peer mentoring in which older LBD students provide structured or informal support to younger LBD students. This approach is also effective for LBD students embarking on post-secondary studies, who benefit from guidance provided by students already attending these institutions.

LBD Parents as Mentors

The LBD program encourages parents to adopt a mentoring style with their children. Parents naturally and informally serve as cheerleaders for student achievement, encouragers-in-chief, providers of critical resources, and consultants for career and goal attainment.

Teacher Champions

Many students speak highly of specific high school teachers who go the extra mile and are supportive and encouraging. Such teachers may use either structured or informal approaches to provide advice, resources, and guidance. The LBD recommends students be receptive to this teacher-as-mentor relationship — it holds tremendous value.

Workplace/Career Mentor

The LBD encourages students to take the initiative in finding mentors (formal or informal) within the community or workplace. A summer job, for example, may lead to a mentoring relationship that provides career guidance and workplace skills. LBD encourages students to seize mentoring opportunities as they arise, rather than waiting for others to initiate them.