Whether you are being mentored or are mentoring someone, the 5 C process is for you. As a mentor, this will assure that you are giving a healthy and balanced process for those you mentor. If you have a mentor, this process is a great way to make sure you have the right mentor. In other words you should be able to clearly see that they are leading you through this process throughout your relationship with them.

Connect:

As a mentor you must establish a mentoring relationship with the person you are mentoring and set the agenda for the process. A mentor is like the engine in a train. It must back up and connect with the rest of the train cars. The cars don’t connect on their own with the engine. If you are a mentor make sure you are connecting.

Contemplate:

This is how you help the person you are mentoring to reflect and to discover where they are on their journey. You will need to help them by drawing out and exploring the key issues that they need to be working on.

Course Correction:

Not only should you work with the person you are mentoring to help them determine their priorities and action steps, but you must help them make course corrections along the way. Once while having a conversation with an airline pilot whose route was overseas, I asked how often the plane was off course during such a long flight. He responded by saying that as the pilot or when the plane was on autopilot, it was constantly making course corrections. We are the same way. We must constantly make course corrections if we are to live out our full potential.

Cheer:

A great mentor is someone who will cheer the person they are mentoring to be their best and unleash the potential that is deep within them. A mentor should constantly stretch the person, like stretching a rubber band until it reaches its greatest capacity, all along providing support and encouragement.

Celebrate:

We were made to celebrate, we need to celebrate. Yet often when you are the one trying to make the progress you don’t take the time to do so. A good mentor should recognize and celebrate wins!

Although there are five C’s stages in mentoring, they are not a linear process. As a mentor it is out responsibility to discern what C the person you are mentoring is in and have the wisdom to know which one they need to focus on. It is important to be flexible and stay open.

Question:

Which of the C’s above do you feel you need to focus on the most right now in your life?