
MENTORING TOOLKIT
The MUST guide for new, future and aspiring managers
The roots of the word Mentor, goes to Odyssey a significant ancient Greek epic poem authored by Homer. Mentor was a character that Odysseus trusted and from the time he left to fight for the Trojan War, he put Mentor in charge for his son and his palace. The goddess Athena usually was using Mentor’s form to appear to Odysseus or his son, to advise them and help them avoid disastrous situations .
Later, Socrates is referred as Plato’s mentor with the main thrust of his teaching to be the dialogue, as through this procedure the true knowledge can be acquired. Also, he supported systematic questioning, the participation in critical debates and developing self-knowledge.
The similarities among Socrates dialogue and the definition of mentoring nowadays are not major, but the way his student, Plato mentored Aristotele was the beginning of the today’s concept of mentoring. His philosophy of learning consists of three aspects: the practical that includes political and ethical actions, the theoretical which involves observation, thinking, looking for the truth and achieving knowledge and last but not least the productive aspect.
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