Fast Talk: The Mentor's Mentors

Dee Hock

Founder, Chaordic Alliance and founder and CEO emeritus, Visa International

I have not had mentors in the traditional sense. Much greater ability and knowledge come from storms and unfamiliar terrain than from fair weather and a well-trodden path, providing one persists and prevails. I have had much "reverse" mentoring from people who attempted to undermine that which was attempted. Most of my growth came from them. You learn nothing from your successes except to think too much of yourself. It is from failure that all growth comes, provided you can recognize it, admit it, learn from it, rise above it, and then try again.

However, on four occasions, I met extraordinary people who could have prevented that which I espoused but, once convinced the concepts and ideas had merit, chose to stand aside and give them a fair chance to succeed or fail. To them, I am eternally grateful.

Mentoring as a whole is little more than one of those management popularities so beloved by consultants. From the perspective of the mentees, there is something demeaning about hitching their boat to an elegant cabin cruiser and being towed along in its wake. From the perspective of the mentor, there is a slight stench of injustice and hypocrisy in selecting a chosen few and lavishing time and attention on them. Any leader worthy of the name makes sure that all people for whom they have responsibility have open and equitable opportunity to develop their abilities to the maximum.

Paul Muldoon

Professor of creative writing, Princeton University
2003 Pulitzer Prize Winner for Poetry

In April 1968, when I was 16, the poets Seamus Heaney and Michael Longley along with a singer named David Hammond were performing poetry and songs in Armagh [Northern Ireland]. I was introduced to the three men afterward. In many ways, it was a rather embarrassing occasion. My teacher Jerry Hicks introduced us and told Seamus that I would be someone much better than he in years to come. It was not exactly how I wanted to be introduced.

A year or two later, I became a student at Queen's University in Belfast, and as it turned out, Seamus was my tutor. He was a great champion, and the experience was very motivational. That is not to say that Seamus and I didn't have our ups and downs. I feel daunted that he's writing at the same time as I am trying to write, but I'm also encouraged by it. Publicly and privately, the thing I say about him beyond all that is that I love him. We keep each other honest -- and not just the two of us. Many writers in Ireland form a great community. Particularly, as one gets long in the tooth, one realizes that in the mentoring business, you are all in it together.

The responsibility of a mentor is extraordinary. One has to be enthusiastic and nurturing. By that, I don't mean to pull one's punches or inappropriately nurture. I don't tell my students that they are the greatest thing since sliced bread. One wants to behave as openly as possible with students, but to err on the side of generosity, if one is going to err at all. I want to let them find a place where they can flourish. Overnight, they might do something truly amazing.