Mentors’ consultations within the 5th cycle: Why is personal agility important for improvement?
The second mentoring consultation for the fifth generation of mentors within the “Creative Mentorship” program took place as the final part of this cycle is entering its final phase. We participated with great pleasure in the exchange of knowledge, energy and important information, led by Marina Delić, head of the training and development department at GI Group, the main educational partner of “Creative Mentorship”.
These consultations were an opportunity for all mentors of the 5th cycle to review their work with the mentees so far and discuss the upcoming steps. With only two months left until the end of the program, we realized that we had the opportunity to do a few more things: first, to think about where we wanted to go and what else we can do together with the mentee to get closer to the desired goal. Bearing in mind that the course of this year’s cycle has changed significantly due to the COVID-19 pandemic, in addition to referring to “Where are we?” and “Where do we want to go?”, Marina shared with us some tips on how to increase personal agility and resilience in the new circumstances, as well as that the “new normality” gives us the opportunity for additional self-realization, even if we are prevented from continuing or achieving different, projects and ideas. We got an unexpected opportunity to turn to ourselves and think about what we like and what we want to invest time in?
One way to see things more easily and answer these questions is to use the “flying balloon metaphor” and ask ourselves: In order for a balloon to take off, what do I have to discard? The answer to this question can very often be daily work, obligations, or routine. That is, the entire experience brought to us by the living conditions due to the pandemic, taught us that when we do not force things, we come to new knowledge in completely unexpected places.
Another thing we can rethink and improve is personal agility. The method we can apply is to replace our firm belief, i.e. mindset, with a developmental one. A development Mindset helps us grow. Unlike the fixed one, according to which we assume that our personal qualities and abilities are unchangeable, the developmental mindset helps us experience every situation as an opportunity for learning and progress. With this attitude, we see that our qualities and abilities are changeable; we become open to change and realize that failure is not a sign of incompetence or bad choice. This is especially important in a situation where changes are constant and rapid.
Developing resilience can also contribute to the further development of our agility. By creating a reflex to focus only on the things we can influence at a given moment, we reduce the pressure we impose on ourselves. Also, networking and connecting with others is of great importance, because in that way we can find support and overcome challenging times more easily.
Finally, when we find ourselves in a situation where we find it difficult to focus or need to look back or perhaps improve personal productivity, we can ask ourselves the following six questions:
What is really important now?
What have I achieved in the previous weeks?
What is important (or not important) this week?
In which ways can I do this?
What am I going to do this week to make steady progress in what matters to me?
Who can help me?
In the search for answers, we can come to new, very important insights and development and life guideline. By taking the time to think about this, we also reduce the pressure we tend to impose on ourselves, especially in the “new normal” in which we now live.
