Welcome to Functional Mentoring

We’re glad you came. Maybe you are here to stay, as you already enjoy our flavor of Kool-Aid. Or maybe you seek out things to hate and showed up to sling rocks and arrows. Perhaps you aren’t sure what you are seeking, only that you are seeking something. In any of these cases, be assured you are welcome!

What are we doing here? Fair question, not in small part because we started it

We think that Mentoring is a foundational piece of the human experience. It is an art in every sense of the word:

• People express meaning through mentoring individually and personally
• People experience meaning through mentoring individually and personally
• Mentoring is dependent on skills that can be
  • taught
  • learned
  • practiced
  • honed
  • developed

We are here to put some meat on those bones. To figure out the how of mentoring.

You may have a few questions:

Why are you blogging publicly, rather than keeping a personal journal? Great question, glad you asked. We do keep personal journals. Many of these ideas are works in progress, and they start with the individual, personal reflections. After initial genesis and formation, they become the ping-pong balls of our conversations. Be sure, once they are dented, played with and well worn, we’ll share them here, to really get a good working over.

What topics will you write about? Mentorship, leadership, relationship, followership, and the skills necessary to sail those ships without running around or smacking into icebergs: Resilience, insight, self control, self awareness, communication.

Who would you love to connect with via your blog? Anyone honestly interested in discovering the how along with us. We don’t need to you agree with us to be here; just be willing to honestly explore with us.

Do you do long form or short form? Yes. Chris tends to prefer long form, and Paul tends to prefer short form as their natural voices. Be prepared for us to stretch into each other’s style as this experiment moves along. Sometimes the best mentoring is peer mentoring. We encourage readers to gravitate to whichever style they prefer, but don’t be afraid to read new things and stretch your range as well.

So… Welcome! We do so very much appreciate you being here, and hope you find value and meaning in the pursuit of mentoring excellence. We do have some rules, of course, and since being here is voluntary, we’re okay with it.

• Be Courteous, Dignity and Respect Always
• Words Mean Things
• At some point in our relationship, you’ll thank or accuse us of being straight shooters
• You learn more from your failures than your successes
• Even the most perfect outcome leaves room for improvement
• “Should” is a red flag to warn of a gap between expectations and reality
• Humility is foundational