Mentorship: The Backbone of Acceleration
The Spark Mill is recruiting for mentors for the Winter Thrive Accelerator - Let us know you are interested below.
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Acceleration is about setting the table for teams to come together and more deeply discuss and work on core issues that will help them execute on their mission and drive impact. We tee up a conversation around a critical aspect of nonprofit organizational leadership, and then we unleash the teams to do work on their own to figure how that works and fits in their context.
Wisdom has two parts: having a lot to say and not saying it.
Mentorship is an essential component of that process. A mentor's role is to ask clarifying questions, summarize conversations they hear around the table, and challenge assumptions. Mentor's get to be someone else's Yoda or Mr. Miyagi. Mentors are not required to have the answers -instead, they are there to help teams determine their own answers.
As I facilitate Mission Forward and Thrive experiences, it's beautiful to watch the mentor-team dynamic evolve. Teams are often pushed (gently) beyond where they thought they could go, and sometimes in directions they didn't expect. Sometimes, the mentor-team partnership continues beyond the acceleration experience, where the mentor can offer connections and support to help the team achieve their goals.
“Leadership is not having the right answers; it’s asking the right questions.”
If you are interested in learning more about Thrive visit The Collaboratory of Virginia - our host partner. If you are interested in mentoring, click the picture above to send us a message. If you are interested in applying to participate in Thrive, apply here - applications open to nonprofits through November 30.