“I am not a teacher, but an awakener.”
― Robert Frost
One challenge of leadership is mentoring. A good leader strives to help each team member develop and reach her potential. Some people are easy to mentor. You share a few observations and make some suggestions. They ask a few questions and they start following your suggestions.
Many people, however, are difficult to mentor. They forget the saying "when you point one finger at someone, you have three fingers pointing back at you." They want to blame their struggles one someone else. It takes patience and consistency to mentor these people. As a mentor, you may see the internal problem the person has. But it may take a long time for them to admit to it.
A relationship based on trust and transparency is a great starting point for mentoring. If the person to be mentored does not trust you, they will be looking for underlying motives behind your suggestions. You can build that trust with the small acts of service over time.
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