TRANSFORMATIONAL MENTORING:
THE ULTIMATE LEGACY OF THE EDUCATOR

Victor S. Sohmen
Associate Professor Dr., Penn State University, USA, vsohmen@gmail.com

Abstract

The term “mentor” has its origins in Greek mythology, from Homer’s Odyssey and the Trojan War. In modern-day parlance, a mentor is one who works one-on-one with a less knowledgeable, inexperienced, or untrained individual to make this protégé distinctively more effective, knowledgeable, and successful.  Mentoring is also a voluntary relationship, with mutual expectations resulting in healthy, inspiring, and rewarding outcomes—thus relaying learning and inspiration from one person to another.  The best educators are those who pass on their experience, knowledge, and wisdom to students and peers to prepare them for successful lives and careers. The term ‘transformational mentor’ goes beyond traditional mentoring to combine the best practices in education with constructive mentorship and transformational leadership. Thus, the transformational mentor is one who infuses: idealized influence; inspirational motivation; intellectual stimulation; and, individualized consideration (Bass, 1985). Therefore, role-modeling, motivation, creativity, and caring are key aspects of this noble calling.  Learners have an imperative need for transformational mentoring from committed educators to maximize their learning experience, tap deeper into their innate potential, and nurture positive memories of their experiences. Indeed, protégés benefit immeasurably from transformational mentoring experiences, including: enhanced leadership abilities; higher-order thinking skills; creative problem-solving ability; greater productivity, technical competence; enhanced professional confidence; prudent interpersonal relationships; and, imbibing of the mentor’s imparted wisdom. Transformational mentoring is fueled by transformational leadership, emotional intelligence, and a deep-rooted sense of mission. The educator’s ultimate legacy is to translate their vision and passion into the transformation of protégés in their temporary charge that is consciously geared to outshine their own competencies. An educator who is also a transformational mentor can reposition the protégé to dramatically steepen the learning curve by providing timely advice, motivation, and inspiration. This paper contributes to the education literature by combining pedagogical principles with transformational leadership and the art of mentoring. 

Keywords: Mentoring, role-modelling, transformational, educator