This topic is is adapted from the 365 Bible YouTube channel.
Have you ever struggled at mentoring a busy man? Time demands can seem to be a legitimate reason to give up on mentoring. Following these three steps can lead you to success in mentoring a busy man.
Invite
Do not shy away from inviting a busy man into a mentoring relationship. Generally, the man is busy because he wants to accomplish great things. Be intentional in the topics you pick. By picking topics that appeal to him, the busy man will see value in the mentoring relationship.
[Related: What is Mentoring and Who Should Do It]
Invest
Clarify up front the time commitment you are asking from the busy man. Tell him that you will be investing together, thirty minutes a week, or every two weeks. You can further entice him by offering to either meet him somewhere convenient for him, or offer to mentor via telephone or video chat. This will maximize the time investment for him.
[Related: How to Power Through in Mentoring]
Train
Speak plainly and directly to the busy man, that the purpose of your mentoring is to equip him to mentor others. Tell him that you want to help him to be more influential and successful. A busy man wants his efforts to lead to great success. By talking to him in these terms, he will perceive great value in his mentoring experience with you.
Jesus provides an eloquent example of the call to busy men to be mentored. By calling men to follow him with the express purpose of becoming fishers of men, Jesus provided a dynamic calling for even the busiest man to be mentored.
Written content on this topic by David Bassett.
Discussion Questions:
- Watch the video together or invite someone to summarize the topic.
- What is your initial reaction to this video? Do you disagree with any of it? What jumped out at you?
- Discuss a time when you as either a mentor or mentee, struggled with believing you had the time for mentoring. What did you do to win this struggle?
- How important do you think it is to prepare in advance a topic for each mentoring session? Why?
- Discuss the value in stating up front, how much time your mentoring sessions with take and how often they will occur.
- Read Matthew 4:18-19. In what ways would you, as a mentor, use Jesus’ approach to invite a busy man?
- Write a personal action step based on this conversation.
