Mentorship + Apprenticeship Script

After talking to mentors and mentees, and researching many of the mentorship programs out there, what’s become clear is that the Timothy Collective is offering not just mentorship, but also apprenticeship. It’s a nuanced definition, but an important one.

Other mentorship programs have a similar format of matching mentees and mentors who then meet once a month/quarter, etc. The mentee brings a list of topics they want to discuss, the mentor provides guidance, then the mentee goes to work on those until the next meeting. While we will be doing some of that, the apprenticeship is more about showing than simply telling. You’re inviting the mentee into your life, and vice versa, so they can witness firsthand how a well-formed man conducts themselves in their personal life with family/friends, in their work environment, and of course within their faith.

An example of this is actually one I’ve experienced in my own life:

Earlier in my career, I worked for another company and the CEO of that company brought me under his wing. He invited me to board meetings, important client visits, and also personal events. He’d often simply tell me to sit in the room and observe. He was a master at politics, sales, and leading teams. Sometimes, he’d explain what he was doing and why he was doing it, but more often than not, it was learning by “monkey see, monkey do.” It wasn’t until after I left that company and found myself in similar complex situations that I realized I saw the chessboard differently. I’d navigate those situations in a particular way and people afterward would ask me, “How did you know to do it like that?” and I simply thought to myself, “That’s how Adam would have done it.”

I’m guessing all of us who have reached some level of success probably has a similar story and had a person in their life that they can point to who taught through example. It’s this type of experience that we’re striving to replicate, but not just professionally - across all spectrums of life: personal, professional, and spiritual.

Q: Does this concept of mentorship + apprenticeship resonate with you?

A: Mentors typically respond in the affirmative and describe how they also had someone like that in their life or how they try to do that with the people they’ve mentored/managed in the past. Mentees typically respond in the affirmative saying something along the lines of, “Wow, yeah, that sounds awesome.”

That’s great to hear! This apprenticeship approach also assumes the additional expectation from the mentor that you’re essentially “adopting” your mentee. You’ll be expected to work with them to find opportunities to invite them into your life and vice versa. That could look like you inviting them over to dinner with your wife and kids, so they can see how you interact with your family. It could look like you inviting them to a fundraiser gala you’re attending, so they can see how you act in a more professional context, or it could be you inviting them to mass or attending an event of theirs.

Those are a few examples, but we’re holding how the “apprenticeship” manifests a bit loosely because it should be catered to your individual relationship with the mentee. Each person and relationship is unique, so what you do with them will likely also be unique in that way as well.

Q: How does that sound? Is that something you’d be willing/able/open to doing?

A: Mentors/mentees will either respond in the affirmative or they will voice hesitation on the level of commitment that’s expected.

[If responds in the affirmative] Awesome! The next steps will be:

Mentees will browse mentor profiles to pick out whose background seems to match the mentees’ needs

Mentees will identify 2-3 mentors to “interview” (soft quotes) over the phone/Zoom for 30 min. They will discuss their “north start” reason for mentorship, and you two should discuss how the apprenticeship concept could look within the context of your specific relationship.

Michael will send out formal introduction emails and mentors/mentees will coordinate interviews from there.

After the interviews are complete, we’ll collect feedback to help make the matches for the next phase: the “3 meets.”

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