Seasons of Army mentorship and the mentoring staircase

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to share 2 complimentary models for the growth and development of Army mentors, the Seasons of Army Mentorship model and the Mentoring Staircase model. During the first phase of development, Spring, a young officer starts out on the first step as a Protégé, receives mentoring, and learns self-mastery. After a decade of learning and promotion to field grade, the more experienced officer enters the Summer of his or her career and steps up to become a Mentor, mentoring protégé. With the arrival of retirement eligibility, those Autumnal officers who do not retire can take an additional step and evolve into Master Mentors who teach others how to effectively mentor. Lastly, in the twilight years of Winter, those who reach the highest level of Army mentoring can take the final step and become Grand Master Mentors, establishing a long lasting culture of mentoring that will be a fitting legacy to their leadership and example. To close, I sincerely hope that those reading this article are inspired by this discourse and strive to make the most out of their own mentor journey and reach their greatest mentoring potential, whatever that may be. I know for me personally, it has become the most satisfying accomplishment of my Army career.