What is a Mentor?
Growing up playing basketball, my coaches all had different approaches to teaching us and running a team. One of my favorite coaches had a trifecta of leadership skills: he challenged us, supported us, and taught us to do better. The skills he taught us transferred beyond basketball, too. Not only did we learn how to play basketball, but he also wanted us to learn how to be polite, introduce ourselves to others, and interact with people. It was the beginning of a professional repertoire that, as middle and high school students, we didn’t realize we were developing.
We learned how to be professional, and we also learned how to be resilient. If we lost, we tried harder the next day. If we swore, we ran laps backward. We worked hard for the 2.5 hours we were on the court. As a middle schooler, I quickly learned what hard work looked like.
In graduate school, I rode to work with two students in the PhD program. They each had different supervision styles, but they shared a common skill: they remained positive, even on difficult days. Neither of them would gossip or complain. The 3 of us rode in a car together, a perfect time to complain or gossip, and it never happened! I remember watching one of them in a classroom by herself with a student who was throwing chairs, knocking over tables, throwing materials, and ripping up papers. This was startling to me, as a new professional in the field of ABA, I hadn’t seen challenging behavior occur before. My supervisor remained neutral during the incident and never said anything negative during the car ride back to the city. Instead, she spoke positively about her day.
The two people I reflect on had different titles. One was a coach, and the other was a supervisor. Today, when I think back on my experiences with them, I realize they were both mentors. The impact they had on my life went beyond what I would expect from a coach or supervisor. Yes, they engaged in the behaviors that coaches and supervisors should: they taught me, challenged me, and evaluated my performance. But they also had a different, more lasting impact.
My hope as a BCBA mentor is to help guide you through your career. There will be some situations where I can tell you what is right or wrong, but in many situations, we will need to process things together to identify the best next steps. I want to create a space where you feel safe to learn, even when that learning comes through making a mistake.
Ultimately, I hope the professional you become also changes you personally—that you develop the resilience, professionalism, confidence, and perspective to tackle not only the challenges of your career, but the challenges of life, too.