ABC’s American Idol may be a strange place to find an example of perfect mentorship, but stay with me here.
Rachel Platten, a world class singer, songwriter and performer, doesn’t withhold or “dumb down” her talent in this duet she does with her 15-year-old mentee. Although she still takes the lead at times on this famous song that she wrote, she still “makes room” for her mentee to shine.
Mara Justine, the mentee, is encouraged by Rachel throughout their performance, and Mara’s success is clearly much of Rachel’s focus.
https://youtu.be/qFdsBubXMfU
Most importantly, if you listen to the conversation afterwards, Rachel learned about her mentee before hand, learned where she needed to improve, then rearranged her song to best both teach and showcase Mara. She is clearly rooting for her the whole time and is so excited to see her succeed.
Enjoy this song – I certainly do. And although I admittedly had no idea who Rachel Platten was before, she’s certainly gained a fan in me.
Rachel demonstrates the exact kind of mentor I strive to be.
What are the examples out there that you see? What does great mentorship look like to you? I look forward to your comments!