Inspiring mentors hard to find

In my time I have worked for a number of bosses.

Each of them had their own style. Some were good at what they did and others were just kidding themselves.

A few of these were leaders in the truest sense and were inspiring and skilful in their approach.

Only two of them were what I would consider the most effective of them all _ mentors.

A true mentor combines leadership qualities with skill and ability but takes it one step further; a mentor develops people by taking them under their wing. What emerges is the most effective model for development of people. It is a close relationship characterised by the most pure and unencumbered channel through which advice, ideas, creativity, guidance and understanding can flow.

A mentor is more than a boss and is not just about authority.

In such a relationship there is no need for enforcement as the line of authority is a given and unlikely to be challenged. A mentor also takes a genuine interest and invests in their charges; there is no room for fakery. In fact, such things cannot exist in a true mentoring relationship.

And here in Wanganui there are a few characters in the business community who are mentors and clearly take their people to levels that mere ``bosses'' could not. Having experienced what it is like to have a mentor in the truest sense, and luckily I found more than one in my career, I know what I need to do to be effective for the clients that I mentor.

However, I have also known people that have professed to be such, but really couldn't mentor their way out of a paper bag. They were merely bosses and talked a good game, yes, but nothing more, in spite of their protestations to the contrary. Invariably, those I worked for who were absolutely not mentors regularly told me they were.

The greatest mentors in my life, of which there were two, never had to explain themselves. They led by example and the relationship developed naturally.

The other thing that distinguishes the two mentors from the others is that I would drop everything to work with them again. Although in the case of one, this will now not be possible.

On Wednesday, August 29, my mentor and friend, Mark Thomas, went missing at Takapuna Beach. His body was recovered on Saturday. A graduate of Oxford University, he was an incredibly bright man, a hard but fair taskmaster but, above all, an outstanding mentor.

This article was, quite obviously, written with him in mind but does not do Mark justice, and the tributes flowing from KPMG and Deloitte, where we worked together, are testament to this.

What is clear is that Mark mentored several people over his career, and I have one thing in common with all of them _ we all emerged from our time with Mark more skilled and effective professionals.

Rest in peace, Mark.