Inspiring Developer

Evidence of Knowledge Acquisition

The competency of inspiring developer is one that describes mentoring and growing
others in a genuine manner. In order to be a mentor, it is important to also be mentored and
impacted by another individual in a positive way as well. Being a mentor to others implies the
importance of moral leadership. Positions of mentorship are positions of influence, which can be
taken advantage of and used in coercive and negative manners. Because of this, it is important to
practice moral development in individuals when in a position of any leadership. According to
Wren (1995), one powerful way of learning moral behavior is through the process of observing
others (p. 489). Thus, in any leadership position, but especially one in which an individual is
looking for guidance in life, it is important to display moral and appropriate behaviors.
Additionally, in order to be a moral and effective leader, the attention must be placed on the
mentee. George (2007) states that, only when leaders stop focusing on their personal ego needs
are they able to develop other leaders (p. 45). Therefore, in order to be the best developer of
others, the focus must shift away from self-needs.
Another large factor of being an inspiring developer of others is to practice servant
leadership. Mentoring is a way of serving someone else, and the principles of servant leadership
are largely applicable to this competency. Some of the key practices of servant leadership are
self-awareness, listening, coaching, not controlling, and unleashing the energy and intelligence
of others (Keith, 2012). Each of these ideas are greatly useful when engaging in a position of
developing others. Self-awareness suggests that we need to know what impact we are having on
others, so that we can lead them well, which is certainly true for any type of mentoring
relationship (Keith, 2012). An awareness of the influence that is held in a relationship is vital to

ensure that no one is being taken advantage. Having a sense of self-awareness is the first step to
having emotional intelligence as well, which is vital in a mentoring relationship (George, 2007).
Second, listening is clearly a vital point in mentoring and developing others, as the point
of these relationships is to know someone on a deeper level. Third, coaching and not controlling
others is imperative in that a mentoring relationship is not about creating superior and
subordinate roles. Rather, the focus should be on participating, guiding, coaching, and
facilitating (Keith, 2012). Finally, as an inspiring developer, the leader should be able to
encourage their colleagues to make more decisions on their own (Keith, 2012). The purpose of
a mentorship is to guide and develop another individual so that they may be able to take new
wisdom and utilize it to make future decisions more effectively. Therefore, a leader must be able
to encourage their mentee or followers to begin making decisions on their own, based on the
information that has been given to them during the course of the relationship. In these ways,
being an inspiring developer is very closely related to servant leadership.
Interpretation of Knowledge
This competency was one to which I related the most closely upon entering the MAiL
program. Small group and one-on-one settings are what I identify most closely with as a leader. I
am passionate about building meaningful relationships with others, which generally requires an
intimate, small group setting. The way in which my perceptions have changed due to the courses
in this program is that I now view these relationships as opportunities to lead and be an example
to others. In the past, I simply viewed it as building a relationship and becoming closer to
someone. Zachary (2012) discusses the various elements that are important for mentors. These
elements are to ask questions, reformulate statements, summarize what has been discussed, listen
for silence, and listen reflectively. Prior to learning these ideas, I understood mentoring to be

much less structured and intentional. I was intentional in that I reached out to my mentees often
to stay connected and relationally close. But that is not enough because it does not create the
vibrant environment that a mentorship should create when in discussion. Mentoring is beyond
just creating relationships. There is also a teaching aspect that is vastly important to understand
and appreciate when mentoring others. In order to activate the teacher side of mentoring, there
must be much more intentionality in what is being discussed and how the time is being utilized
in each meeting.
Additionally, Zachary (2012) provided a huge foundation upon which to build a
mentoring relationship. He laid out a variety of tools and suggestions for the time periods before,
during, and after the mentorship. One of the ideas that I found most helpful was maintaining
momentum through checking-in and then enacting very intentional listening. I have always felt
that I was a good listener, but until this, I was not aware that I was not listening actively enough.
I did not truly observe and probe the responses that I received in discussion, I often took them at
face value. Zachary (2012) however, suggested that many observations can be made simply
through listening to how an individual responds. When I was able to begin paying more thorough
attention to responses and connect them to what else might be going on, I was able to open up
conversations to be much more meaningful.
Application of Knowledge
Anecdotal. When I was an undergraduate at APU, I was a d-group (discipleship group)
leader during my senior year. I led four girls once a week in discussion about their personal and
spiritual lives, and focused mostly on becoming close as a group and building a friendship so that
the rest could come naturally. Something that I struggled with was keeping the group on task.
After a few months, any agenda I had originally used had gone out the window and our meetings

mostly became social events filled with obscure conversation. This was not necessarily bad, as
we were still creating meaningful relationships, but we were losing focus on the spiritual aspect
and focusing more on surface conversations. We continued to meet for one year after I
graduated, but when the rest graduated and headed in different directions we slowly dissipated.
About halfway through the MAiL program, I reached out and suggested coming together once
again. We are not able to meet weekly due to the very different schedules that each person has,
but we meet once a month now and have much more meaningful and intentional conversations.
We are able to pray for one another and be there when necessary, and also be off topic and have
fun. It has been very impactful for me to bring our group back together and utilize the tools from
this program in order to make our meetings even more dynamic.
Academic. During the Leadership Development and Practice course, I was challenged
to seek out a mentee and begin a relationship utilizing the skills I was learning in the class. In
order to create a dynamic relationship right off the bat, I structured our meetings (based on the
class requirement) by identifying what she wanted from me as a mentor. I then created agendas
for each meeting and adjusted them as needed based on how the meetings went, as well as if she
wanted anything to be altered. This was a much more structured way of mentoring than I had
ever attempted. However, the results were very encouraging as we were able to continue making
adjustments and talking until we came across what worked best both for her as a mentee, and me
as a mentor.
Originally, we were going to read a chapter of the Bible each week before meeting and
come ready to discuss anything that stood out. However, through utilizing Zachary (2012) and
asking for feedback at the end of each meeting, that quickly shifted into something entirely
different. We began utilizing one of Zacharys (2012) points of connection through the sharing

of resources and information, by bringing in background on various verses and sharing the
information and then discussing it on a personal and applicable level. Employing the knowledge
gained through this class allowed me to better lead and facilitate, and ultimately create a very
meaningful mentoring relationship. Attached below is an example of one of the session designs
that I laid out for this particular mentoring experience.

1. Discuss the Bible verse that was chosen in depth.

a. Utilize engaged leadership style question, listen, motivate, encourage
(George, 2007, p. 192).
b. Enabling Growth (Zachary, 2012, p. 155-176).
i. Creating a learning environment (Zachary, 2012, p. 159) although we
did not discuss doing this, I would like to look into the verse in
commentaries and articles in order to bring some background information
and depth to the conversation. I believe that this could help provide more
meaningful context to the reading. She is a very logic-based person, and I
think that she would appreciate the additional knowledge.
ii. Building, maintaining, and strengthening the relationship (Zachary, 2012,
p. 162).
1. In addition to discussing the verse and what it means to her, I will
challenge myself to be vulnerable with her in order to establish
further trust in our relationship and provide a safe space for her to
do the same.
a. Vulnerability is a strength (George, 2007, p. 125).
2. Talk about life and if there is anything happening that she needs to talk about.
a. Building, maintaining, and strengthening the relationship (Zachary, 2012, p. 162).
i. Talking about our lives and bonding in both a lighthearted and deep way
through natural discussion will help us to build a stronger relationship.
3. Get feedback on how she liked what we did, and what we could do for the next meeting
to make it more meaningful.
a. Asking for feedback (Zachary, 2012, p. 179).
b. Suggest journaling before the next meeting in order to stimulate better
conversation.

Creation of New Knowledge

In order to move forward and continue learning as a mentor and leader, one goal that I
have set for myself is to seek out a mentor. It has been quite a while since I have had someone to

mentor me, as I had never understood the importance of having a mentoring relationship as both
a mentor and a mentee. The last experience that I had with a mentor was not healthy, which has
caused me to be hesitant in seeking out another. I would like to find a mentor within the next six
months either through church or possibly through APU and begin meeting with them on a
regular basis. Specifically, I would like to have a one-on-one mentor because I already meet with
small groups of women and would now like to have the individual relationship with someone.
My second goal is to seek out mentoring opportunities more readily. I do meet with my
d-group once a month, but I would also like to challenge myself to be part of the Heart-to-Heart
program in which a staff member at APU mentors an undergraduate student. I have been hesitant
to do this, but I have been receiving emails requesting more mentors and feel that it would be a
great goal to set to mentor a student for a year. Thus, during the 2014-2015 school year, I would
like to sign up and mentor an undergraduate student for at least one year. If that relationship is
complete after one year, I would also like to create a goal to sign up once again in the following
year and continue to mentor students that are seeking out a mentor.