When we consider the competencies required for mentors and supervisors, the first skills that come to mind are usually things like emotional intelligence or leadership experience. We often overlook the nitty-gritty elements of the job such as administrative skills. Understanding how to organize and manage our business is crucial. These are the gears which move the machine, allowing us to be the mentors and supervisors we want to be. We need these gears to be well-oiled and turning smoothly in order to focus on what really matters; our clients…

What is a conflict of interest?This arises when the mentor/supervisor has multiple interests in a client when they are providing a role that should only focus on the professional interest as a mentor/supervisor. Examples are working with a person you are too close to; a friend, family member, or a person you have a romantic interest in. It can also occur in business relationships; mentoring your direct superior or subordinate could easily result in biased advice to promote your own interest…

Anyone who watches sports knows that it is not one player that wins the game, it is the team. Yes, there are MVPs (Most Valuable Players) but the game wouldn’t be the same without a goalie… without defense… without a coach. This is a good principle to bring into mentoring and professional supervision. We are not competent in every area. We all have our strengths and our weaknesses, our own set of skills and our own experiences to draw from. Even the best mentor or supervisor has limitations…

Just wanted to let you know that I’m going to be presenting at the Church Mental Health Summit on October 10 along with 50+ other presenters…

The focus of many of these blogs has been to explore the essential competencies of mentoring and supervision. However, it’s also important to understand where we are not competent…

If you have been following Verve Lead’s posts, you will have heard many times about the importance of mandatory reporting. You know the complications that can arise ethically and personally when reporting is handled incorrectly or poorly. This topic arises often because, more than any other competency required in mentors and supervisors, the failure to report has serious legal ramifications and can lead to even more devastating consequences. It can result in serious bodily, psychological or emotional harm or even death…

Reminder: The Church Mental Health Summit is on October 10. If you’ve been on the fence about registering, I highly encourage you to be a part of this one-day virtual event for Church ministry leaders!

We begin our new series on mentoring excellence with risk management. Managing the risks that come with both a person’s work and personal life is one of the most common reasons we are sought out for advice, or brought in to help an organisation with their employees. It is our job to aid awareness of risks in our mentee/supervisee’s life and also to manage risks in the professional relationship with our clients. Often the importance of risk management is underestimated. Still, the high stresses that come with facing workplace dangers and discomforts can impact us severely over time and get in the way of doing what God wants us to do. By handling these dangers, ideally before they become dangerous, it allows us all to focus on doing what is truly important…

As mentors or supervisors, we each have our own methodologies and techniques that we like to use when working with our clients. These may differ by mentor’s/supervisor’s skillset and preference, or they may change based on the client’s needs. However, one thing that is always true is that no method is perfect. Any approach we take should be carefully reflected on and altered if need be.  Even the most seasoned and wise mentors/supervisors need to revise their methods depending on the situation: revising is part of the process to see the best outcomes…