When the five practices of the Kouzes and Posner model are applied to mentoring, a person is likely to become a valuable and effective leader.
This study was conducted in 2010 by experts on mentoring known and respected all over the world. Dr. Lois J. Zachary is the president of Leadership Development Services, and Lory Fischler is Senior Associate of Center for Mentoring Excellence and a seasoned, dynamic, and insightful professional. That is why their article is a trustworthy and authoritative source with relevant information. It explores a rather interesting and beneficial connection between the concepts of leadership and mentoring.
The authors name and discuss the five practices of the Kouzes and Posner model. Zachary and Fischler (2010) claim that a person is likely to become a valuable and effective leader when these principles are applied to mentoring. As the main argument, the authors mention that “the majority of leaders attribute their success, in whole or in part, to the mentoring they received” (Zachary & Fischler, 2010, p. 53). Moreover, “by leading “through” others, leaders strengthen their peers and form strong, collaborative relationships — this is also at the very heart of mentoring” (Zachary & Fischler, 2010, p. 54). These words prove the power of mentoring and its necessity for leaders. The implications of the research are related to improved leadership and employee performance.
It is impressive that the article’s composition is created in such a way that all the ideas of the authors seem to be rather understandable, trustworthy, and detailed. First, there is an introduction to the whole study, and then the discussion of the five principles (Zachary & Fischler, 2010). It is rather beneficial for the article that every section has a definition and description of each principle, followed by the necessary proofs of its worthiness. To demonstrate how each practice may contribute to developing a leader’s mentoring competency, the researchers include several examples. The chosen method is mixed and consists of interviews with mentors and leaders and secondary data analysis – the book of Kouzes and Posner (Zachary & Fischler, 2010). After an extended discussion, the authors come to a useful conclusion, where they mention particular ways for leaders to ensure organizational mentoring success. Among the main research question, the connection of a mentor and mentee, as well as the ways of effectively inspiring other workers to high performance, are explored.