This is part of a series. You can navigate to other posts in the series from the list called The Art of Mentoring.

Natural Mentoring is one of the Three Mentoring Models described in The Art of Mentoring. As described in that article, Natural Mentoring understands the protégé as the leader of the relationship, and the passionate pursuit of his or her Dreams as the substantive focus of the mentoring activity.

Natural Mentoring is described as “self-activated" and "self-managed.” What that means is that the protégé decides how much or how little it is appropriate to let his or her passion and others determine the mentoring activities he or she participates in. It also means that the protégé gets to choose where, what and how mentoring resources are selected and applied to his or her mentoring activities and relationships.

The intensely personal nature of Natural Mentoring decisions means that it is difficult, if not impossible, to make recommendations about the extent to which a protégé should design, organize and activate their Natural Mentoring activities. However, the UIF does provide some suggestions a protégé may want to consider when it becomes necessary for him or her to make appropriate decisions regarding the design, implementation and activation of Natural Mentoring. Our suggestions for consideration of things the Protégé might initiate are:

It is up to each participant to decide what to include, when it should be included and how it should be managed.

This is part of a series. You can navigate to other posts in the series from the list called The Art of Mentoring.

The UIF has designed three types of Mentoring Programs, one for each of the Three Systems: Open System Mentoring, Collaboration System Mentoring and Closed System Mentoring. Each of these Mentoring Programs can be used with each of the Three Mentoring Models: Natural, Planned and Structured.

Structured Mentoring Model

This is part of a series. You can navigate to other posts in the series from the list called The Art of Mentoring.

The UIF has designed three types of Mentoring Applications, one for each of the Three Systems: Open System Mentoring, Collaboration System Mentoring and Closed System Mentoring. Each of these Mentoring Applications can be used with each of the Three Mentoring Models: Natural, Planned and Structured.

UIF Open System Mentoring Application

By definition, Open System Mentoring is Protégé-driven. When employing UIF Protégé-driven Natural Mentoring, a Protégé’s ensemble of self-enriching Mentoring Resources extend to include a large scope of various available assets. Considering all these resources collectively, the Protégé’s MentorSphere becomes the supportive framework surrounding the Protégé. By engaging our means and methods, UIF’s intended goal is that each Protégé will realize the benefits of self activated Protégé-driven Natural Mentoring. Employing Protégé-driven Natural Mentoring each Protégé creates a self-cultivated mentoring environment. UIF defines a Protégé’s natural mentoring environment – each Protégé’s individual mentoring ecosphere - a MentorSphere. Just as UIF recognizes that the Protégé owns the mentoring process, UIF Protégé-driven Natural Mentoring identifies the Protégé as the leader of the MentorSphere with responsibility over all of the self-selected Mentoring Resources.

This is part of a series. You can navigate to other posts in the series from the list called The Art of Mentoring.

The nature of a mentoring relationship is shaped by the activities of mentoring participants. Mentoring activities are determined by which of the nine matrix types are being used, separately, together, randomly or sequentially, in the process of mentoring.

Under Open System Natural and Planned Mentoring matrixes, relationships are protégé-driven as the protégé identifies mentoring resources and initiates activities to obtain the knowledge and skills needed to define and pursue his or her individual dreams and objectives. The Open System Structured Mentoring matrix includes achieving organizational objectives consistent with the protégé’s personal goals.

Under Collaborative System, a group of mentoring participants identify individual and/or organizational objectives, share leadership, and initiate activities to reach these objectives.

Under Closed System Natural and Planned Mentoring matrixes, the mentor initially takes the lead in building the mentor-protégé relationship by incorporating activities to help the mentor identify the protégé’s needs and ultimately to help the protégé identify his or her individual objectives. The Closed System Structured Mentoring matrix includes achieving organizational objectives consistent with the protégé’s personal goals.

Literally scores of activities can be used to build strong mentor-protégé relationships to reach identified objectives.

You will see a lot of references to the UIF Virtual Mentor. It is a work in progress and we hope to build out some truly unique experiences for participants in the coming months and years. The Virtual Mentor is more than just an application or web site; rather it is a suite of tools that work together to help you realize your dreams. MentorSphere™ is just one component of the Virtual Mentor Platform. Specifically it is the realization of the Navigation feature set - it allows you to navigate your way through all of the available Mentoring Resources.

UIF created UIF Virtual Mentor as a means to emphasize and respect the singular uniqueness of each individual. Each has the opportunity to become endowed and access www.MentorSphere.com to engage the basic application of the three personalized UIF mentoring resources of Navigation, Knowledge and Empowerment.

One way to get involved in UIF Virtual Mentor is by signing in to MentorSphere. Once signed in, you automatically become endowed to engage all UIF Mentoring Resources. Once initiated, your My Mentorsphere is available only to you and others you specifically authorize with access. You are the leader of your Mentorsphere enterprise.

Navigation using MentorSphere enables you to cultivate, activate, organize and access additional resources in pursuit of your dreams and/or in assisting others in pursuing their dreams. Engaging Navigation as a UIF Mentoring Resource provides operational capabilities that are able to assist you in navigating your life journey in search of your self-determined success and in the pursuit of your individual happiness.

UIF resources of Knowledge and Empowerment will be shortly available for you to engage at the basic Self-Evaluation level of participation. These resources assist you in identifying your unique set of core strengths, and in forming, focusing and empowering yourself to pursue your individual dreams. The mentoring resources you personally select, organize and activate in Navigation should be those capable of assisting you in focusing and pursuing your dreams. Every individual who uses UIF Virtual Mentor is identified as an Individual Participant no matter why they decide to participate and no matter if they come as a Mentor, Protégé or other participant.

UIF Mentoring Resources

In our ongoing imperative as the leaders in the field of mentoring, we continue to acquire and develop an extensive array of practical mentoring resources. Together with our long-established methodology, UIF’s ongoing development efforts will provide an entire platform of web based applications. Both our historical and many of our newer technology are now available to individuals interested in organizing self-selected Mentoring Resources within their MentorSphere mentoring environment. As the months proceed, UIF will be constanty upgrading and adding to our one-of-a kind web based infrastructure: UIF Virtual Mentor.

Presently in beta, UIF Virtual Mentor is a technically-robust, individually-activated, highly-flexible, multi-disciplinary integrated web platform. UIF Virtual Mentor is truly unmatched. UIF innovative technology provides individuals with unlimited access to self-enriching Mentoring Resources which otherwise would be improbable or impossible.

Continuing our mission of promoting Protégé-driven Natural Mentoring, UIF will develop an ever expanding set of practical tools based upon both traditional wisdom as well as cutting-edge technology. Consistent with this mission, UIF’s entire inventory of self-enriching Mentoring Resources will be available to individuals worldwide.

This is part of a series. You can navigate to other posts in the series from the list called The Art of Mentoring.

As one follows Telemachus through the Odyssey (see The Odyssey Influence), it becomes apparent that in the formation, focus and pursuit of his Dream, Telemachus, who is no longer a helpless infant, becomes the authority of his life. In order to achieve his Dream, he engages several necessary Mentoring Resources which include multiple Mentors and other non-human mentoring resources. Telemachus’ journey, from infant to his fathers return to Ithaca, enabled the UIF to identify three mentoring Systems, three mentoring Models and nine mentoring Types, each of which appear to have been necessary for his then moment in time, and each of which determines the characteristics of the participants, the nature of the Mentoring Resources then in use and Telemachus’ Mentoring Activities. Following is a description of each System, Model and Type.

Three Mentoring Systems
	Open System Mentoring - Protégé engages multiple resources - Protégé driven
	Collaboration System Mentoring - Participants share leadership - Participants control mentoring resources
	Closed System Mentoring - One-to-one

Three Mentoring Models
	Natural Mentoring  - Based on Individual Objectives  - Self-Activated and Self-Managed
	Planned Mentoring  - Based on Individual and/or Organizational Objectives  - Self-Structured and Self-Managed
	Structured Mentoring  - Based on Organizational Objectives  - Highly Structured

Nine Mentoring Types

After the UIF identified Three Mentoring Systems and Three Mentoring Models based on the context of Mentoring and Mentor as used in the Odyssey. Each Mentoring System was then understood to be able to be activated with each Mentoring Model, often sequentially and/or simultaneously in the same mentoring environment. Following is a description of each System and each Model in a Matrix of combinations that identifies Nine Possible Mentoring Types.

Matrix of Nine Mentoring Types
	Natural Mentoring	Planned Mentoring	Structured Mentoring
Open System Mentoring	Natural Open System Mentoring	Planned Open System Mentoring	Structured Open System Mentoring
Collaboration System Mentoring	Natural Collaboration System Mentoring	Planned Collaboration System Mentoring	Structured Collaboration System Mentoring
Closed System Mentoring	Natural Closed System Mentoring	Planned Closed System Mentoring	Structured Closed System Mentoring

Mentoring Misconceptions

The construction represented in most traditional mentoring practices generally recognizes two participants: Mentor and Protégé. This typical pairing portrays mentoring as a rigid one-to-one relationship between a single Mentor and a sole Protégé, generally to the exclusion of any other influences. Here a superior Mentor is almost always considered the authoritative figure that helps an inferior Protégé in need. Within this arrangement, the Mentor is the primary focus as the dominant driver and the Protégé is the subservient recipient as passive beneficiary of the assistance. Found in most organizationally prescribed programs, such limited mentoring systems mandate mentoring by appointing Mentors to Protégés. UIF identifies this restrictive type as Closed System Mentoring. Indicative of most premeditated programs, these initiatives often lack both the understanding and the advantages of naturally occurring mentoring. In the context of the Iliad and the Odysssey (see The Odyssey Influence) , this Closed System Mentoring context is represented by Odysseus leaving his infant son Telemachus in the control and care of family friend Mentor. It is in this context that most organizational programs are designed and implemented.

UIF identifies Open System Mentoring as being most robust in a Natural Mentoring context. Open System Natural Mentoring is represented in the Odyssey when Telemachus develops a dream, the passion to pursue it and accepts the leadership necessary to resolve his father’s whereabouts. He then leads the effort, engages and accepts Mentor, Athena (in a variety of disguises) and other mentoring resources he deems necessary to pursue Odysseus’ whereabouts. In an Open System Mentoring context, it’s the creator of the Dream that leads the effort, develops the passion and engages multiple mentoring resources to pursue it.

Mentor Misconceptions

The name “Mentor” was first coined within Western literature and a working description of the term is first explored within Homer’s Odyssey. Yet as explained here, the functional meaning of Mentor is not necessarily obvious. As illustrated throughout the Odyssey in which the goddess Athena assumes human form as Mentor and other disguises, it is difficult to know what the description of Mentor really is as well as tricky to decipher how the agent of Mentor actually operates. Understandably, most contemporary interpretations of Mentor stop short in identifying only one individual, considering only a first glance into Homer’s complex narrative. This limited view seems to be based only on the beginning of Homer’s tale – wherein during Odysseus’ absence an elder comrade named Mentor is placed in charge of Odysseus’ infant son – Mentor is thus conceived as a superior senior authority dictating to a subordinate younger person.

This is part 1 of a series called The Art of Mentoring. Think of this as a way to analyze and interact with all of the tools provided by VirtualMentor including MentorSphere. This also serves as an indicator of the UIF's approach to Mentoring and what distinguishes it from other mentoring tools and approaches. You can navigate to other posts in the series from the list called The Art of Mentoring.

Historical Reference: Homer’s Odyssey and Iliad

The concepts of Mentoring and Mentor are first introduced in the second Homeric epic, the Odyssey (circa 700 BCE), one of the first Greek sagas and one that has influenced Western culture for more than 2,700 years. The first Homeric work, Iliad, recounts as a mythical tale the facts surrounding the Trojan War, and when Odysseus departs for the ten-year Trojan War and leaves his infant son Telemachus in the care of a family friend with the name of Mentor, it sets the stage for the Odyssey. Four hundred years after the debut of the Odyssey, a short version of how Aristotle summarized Odysseus’ twenty-year departure is as follows:

The Odyssey: A Context for Understanding Mentoring and Mentor

The Odyssey from beginning to end contains the context and an understanding of the complexity and disclosure of different types of Mentoring and identities of Mentor. It is this context that has enabled UIF to appropriately define these terms and design applications for mentoring relationships consistent with the Mentoring Systems, Models and Types articulated in the Odyssey.

The Odyssey begins twenty years after the beginning and ten years after the end of the ten-year Trojan War. Two decades earlier, when Odysseus had set sail for Troy, his son Telemachus was an infant. At the opening of the Odyssey, Telemachus is now twenty and is sharing his missing father’s house on the island of Ithaca with his mother (Penelope) and with a crowd of 108 boisterous young men (the Suitors) whose aim is to persuade Penelope to accept the finality of her husband’s disappearance and hence marry one of them.

Prior to his departure to fight in the Trojan War, Odysseus places the well-being of his palace, his wife and his infant son under the aegis of a long-time loyal friend named Mentor. In this role Mentor is entrusted with the care and education of Telemachus, thus becoming the protective guardian and wise teacher of Telemachus during his formative years.

While growing up in the environment of the palace, his mother and the Suitors, Telemachus develops his Dream to resolve his father Odysseus’ whereabouts. When Athena, the Greek Goddess of Wisdom & Protection, first visits Telemachus, she conveniently assumes the human guise of the character Mentor to hide herself from a house full of Penelope’s Suitors. Disguised first as Mentor, Athena encourages the twenty-year-old Telemachus to stand up against the uninvited suitors, raise sail and go abroad in order to pursue his Dream to resolve the whereabouts of his long absent father, Odysseus. With the help of Athena, his father returns to Ithaca. Once together, he and Telemachus team up and kill the Suitors. Odysseus then attempts to re-engage his relationship with his wife Penelope.