This post will dive into the bridging of a gap in the mentoring process. There has always been a gap within the mentoring process for me. I have always had something that needed to be done or said or talked about to gain that common ground. This is usually the most awkward moment in mentorship. FIRST you have to identify the gap. How big it is, matters. Bridging the gap is easy if it is done correctly.
To best bridge the gap, you must find the common ground. Common ground is extremely beneficial to find. For most it is a sport or extra curricular activity that you once took part in, that your mentee is currently taking part in. It could also be a movie, or a pair of shoes, or a good song. There will come a common ground, and when it comes, you must make sure to revisit that common ground often. If it is a sport, taking your mentee to play the sport is huge. If it is politics, you need to talk about it. If it is music, teach guitar or possibly have a best CD ever made competition and make CD’s for each other with good songs on it. I am just throwing out a bunch of random thoughts but you must revisit the common ground. For “Brent” and myself, it was basketball. It did not start out to be basketball, but as we began to get to know each other, we found that both of us played basketball. From basketball it turned into running. From running it turned into Jesus. Which brings me to my next point: common grounds may change.
Common grounds changing is a perfectly normal occurence in a mentor/mentee relationship. The reason is because as you start to get to know your mentee in a deeper level, you will start to connect on a deeper level. Common ground changing is completely normal.
To best bridge the gap, is to gain common ground. I know a man who was in Vietnam, and one day he sat me down and just shared stories, probably a tough thing for him to do, about what he saw and what he went through. He found common ground.
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Food for Thought: The most important part of bridging the gap is finding common ground. I dare to ask the question, what does it take to effectively bridge a gap and find common ground?
Time investment.
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