Partnering with God in mentoring/supervision space

In the last few weeks, we have examined what it means to nurture the work of the Holy Spirit in yourself, and how to encourage our mentees to do the same. Now it’s time to explore how to bring the Holy Spirit into our mentoring/supervision relationships and our mentoring/supervision sessions. 

Lets Explore:

This week, as I was preparing for a session, I prayed for guidance. I remembered that my mentee’s son had caught Covid. I wrote it down, and started the time by asking about how the boy was recovering. My mentee responded with a big sigh. It all tumbled out that this had been weighing so heavily on him and his wife. They were conflicted on how to care for him. He couldn’t work or study. They just didn’t know how to cope with the situation. 

It was exactly what we needed to walk though. God saw and knew what I didn’t. He directed me to this question. 

Before the Session:

I always pray before I begin a session. I ask God to guide our time; to help me see what truly matters and to ask the right questions. I pray for the wisdom to say the words my mentee needs to hear at this particular time, and to understand what God wants my role to be in my mentee’s life as well as what God has in store for my mentee. 

During the Session: 

Sometimes, when I am in a session, I can feel the conversation grinding, going nowhere. In these moments I like to ask God;  “What do you want to accomplish here? What should I ask?” I can feel God direct me towards the path I should take. There are moments as well when I know God is calling me to pay attention; I notice a nervous habit or sense a reservation in my mentee’s voice and I know I need to follow where I am being led. Praying together during a session is also a wonderful way to acknowledge the Holy Spirit and listen together for guidance. 

Outside of the session:

I do my best to be aware of God guiding my thoughts and feelings about my mentee outside of the session. Sometimes, I will make a connection or come to a realisation after a few days of reflecting on our session. Sometimes, I will simply get a sense that I ought to check in with my mentee, usually by phone. Invariably, something is going on with them. For example, I reached out to one recently, had this encouraging conversation about parenting and was able to affirm them. Right after, they got a phone call about their child’s difficulties in school. God knew they needed to have the conversation we had before they received this call. 

Reflection Questions:

• What does God desire for my mentee? 
• What does God desire for our relationship? 
• What nudges have I felt from God during our session? 

Who can help you develop your mentoring/supervision competencies? Can we help? Get in touch with us, take the Mentor Q competency assessment https://vervelead.com/tools/#mentorq