Customer Reviews

The Mentor's Spirit: Life Lessons on Leadership and the Art of Encouragement

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I wasn't expecting much from this tape. The book hadn't impressed me very much and I was thinking, "same old..."
However, as I listened I realized that Sinetar really has uncovered new ways to view mentoring. She distinguishes mentoring spirit from mentors in a unique, compelling way. Think of light flowing through a pane of glass. We care about the light -- not the glass. Similarly, the mentor is only a transmitter. What we want is the spirit transmitted by the mentor.

From this perspective, any person, group or even physical object can be a mentor - anything that embodies a spirit that offers us insight, understanding or support. John Muir, for instance, chose nature as a mentor to escape a horrendous family situation. And she never met the artist Ben Shahn, but she learned from his artwork. I can relate: I learned from Cynthia Cooper's book She's Got Game (which I also reviewed) -- and I've never held a basketball.

Most important, our own silence helps us grow and any meditation, quiet time or sabbatical can enrich us the way a mentor might.

There are many other gems on this tape and I plan to listen again...and again. Perhaps most interesting is the glimpse we get into Sinetar's own life and business. We learn that she regularly takes sabbaticals lasting several months -- and once a week she won't work at all. She no longer attends corporate dinners in the evening, although it's normally considered part of the consultant's job.

Sinetar recognizes that people have to be careful as they operate within an organization, and I think she underestimates the dfificulty of carving out space in a structured hierarchy. However, I have met folks who swim with ease in the corporate sea, and those will probably resonate even more, as Sinetar gracefully combines spirituality, personal growth and business systems.

I was reminded of Carolyn Myss: Despite widely divergent styles and content, both authors create and integrate.
Sinretar is far more accessible than Myss and her spiritual challenge is more of a gentle hill than an icy mountain. But don't expect Sinetar to offer a cake walk. One of the best parts of the book compares Olympic level goals with more mundane, amateur achievements, and she cites Neil Postman's wonderful book about our entertainment culture.
We want everything to be like television: no effort, no preparation and pleasantly entertaining, she says. As a former college professor, I have to agree: I've heard a college senior say, "I like this text because it has a lot of pictures."

Heading for a vacation trip? Pack this one in the car and prepare to come back refreshed and, quite possibly, changed.

I found the concepts of this book hard to follow, although Sinetar writes well enough. Like her "Do What You Love...", it was somewhat abstract and did not offer enough pragmatism for my taste. However, there were "golden" moments in the book, especially when she describes actual events and people who embody her definition of a "Mentor's Spirit". A book to be read AND discussed with others. A book for those who aspire to be a different sort of mentor and are ready to take on the awesome responsibilty Sinetar seems to imply.

Marsha Sinetar, author of The Mentor's Spirit, also wrote Do What You Love, The Money Will Follow, (1987), a book that was influencial in my decision to pursue teaching as a profession instead of pursuing the almighty buck. Because of that fact, I began reading The Mentor's Spirit. I enjoyed the inspiring words of wisdom, just as much or even more so than her first book I read.

Rather than a step by step guide to mentoring, Sinetar focuses on what she calls the mentor's spirit. This book elaborates on the mentor and the mentor's spirit, both of which affirm our potential to become 'distinctive contributors within the context of our life in community.' Each Life Lesson provides insights on the art of encouragement, calling the reader to make a difference in their world. She takes a somewhat philosophical approach, interspersed with personal stories. However, this book is not for everyone since some will disagree with Sinetar's chapter on Spiritual Intelligence.

Marsha Sinetar has written an instructive book on mentoring. She states that the mentors spirit is all around us. She finds it in films, fables, art, music, poetry, or whatever ideas and images move us toward the integrity of the heart. This is what society needs. We all need to become a mentor to someone in all aspects of our daily lives. At the beginning of each of the 12 lessons there is a quote that really informed me on what qualities make up a good mentor. One that caught my attention was the one at the beginning of the 6th Lesson: "Authentic dialogue promotes mature self-governing work teams who walk the talk." How true this is in today's work force. As a mentor myself in the school system her bits of wisdom can help anyone who is in charge of helping a new teacher cope and adjust to the challenging job of teaching our youth. The book is written in a fashion that will not be a threat to a mentor. Not only can one apply it to the school setting but also to the corporate world. Business people who are responsible in helping an organization accomplish its goals will find this book a godsend. Even though this book uses biblical quotes I found these to be just as helpful as her own life experiences. A true mentor draws from all sources. I found this book translates well to educators, people in business, or those who are looking to improve their interpersonal relationships. Her ideas about mentoring can make communication clearer and leaders can emerge.

Mentoring is now a new concept that becomes increasingly popular in companies, government agencies, schools and volunteering organizations. Sietar unfolds a way to use our inborn "spiritual intelligence" to see the world and everything in it as a potential mentor - not only are humans beings our mentors, but books, articles, songs, nature and silence as well. Mentors are the artists of encouragement.

A must have book for spiritual individuals.

By Thei Zervaki,
author of Globalize, Localize, Translate

I will say that when I first got the book, I wasn't really into it. I didn't really identify with the author or her point of view. All of her ideas, though explained clearly and easy to follow, seemed a little removed from reality. Then she would interject a personal story and the book began to flow. I will say that even though the ideas are great and Sinetar definitely has a way with words and key phrases (mentors are "artists of encouragement"), it is the personal nature of the book that allows the reader to buy into what she is saying.

Some writers use stories to fill up space and take readers away from what little they are trying to say. Sinetar uses her personal stories to build meaning onto her subjects. Genuine stories like her father's poker buddy are heartwarming and yet contribute heavily to the work as a whole. Along that same vein, the references she use are meaningful and cover a broad range of genres and writers. I especially enjoyed her references to C.S. Lewis and the Bible. It is obvious that she has a Judeo-Christian perspective, but her writing is not confined to any particular religion, race, class, or gender.

This book translates well to educators, people in business, or those who are looking to improve their relationships. Her ideas about mentoring can make communication clearer and leaders emerge.

Although the book is titled, "The mentor's spirit," it does not use the word, "spirit" in an exclusively Christian sense; in fact, Sinetar states the following, "the mentor's spirit is the `almost anything' that deepens our sense of the sacred or our understanding or transmits a kind of gladness about life itself" (p. 7). She does, however, acknowledge God as the "ultimate reality," and that God was the "divine inner image" that "tugged at [her] heart and conscience," (p. 24). She mentions, "Free spirits, the gifted, and life lovers of every age enjoy large-hearted friends with empathy for another's hunger to be real . . . . When we look beneath the surface of appearances for whatever's real and lasting in ourselves and others, we can become capable mentors . . . . It's the spirit within that mentors, as our being affirms the oneness of being" (p. 24-25). The problem with this statement is that "oneness of being" is left up to the interpretation of the reader. In another section of her book she describes "wholesome spiritual depth" as, "Stillness of being, individualized one-on-one attention, the growth of self-respect and authentic relationships . . . . Without individuals there's no lifeblood, no energy" (p. 113). "Spiritual depth" and "lifeblood/energy" should have been ascribed and mentioned as coming from God. Despite the lack of directness in certain parts of the book, there is good information within its pages.

For example, "When mentors succeed as our personal guides, it's because they fully experience us--as we are. And vice versa" (p. 24). In terms of Christian mentoring, this statement might refer to being honest about one's self and being authentic to those around us--Romans 12:3 says, "Be honest in your estimate of yourselves, measuring your value by how much faith God has given you." Sinetar mentions the importance of "inner stillness," and notes, "the Spirit of truth abides within our stillness and that's our teacher" (p. 75).

Sinetar concludes her book with flowery words that confuses more than it clarifies: "I see the mentor's spirit reflected in whatever or whoever helps me demonstrate that truth, the heart's wisdom, whose goal is to live the truth. On a universal note, only the law of our authentic being, the law above the law, frees us to be fully ourselves--thinking, feeling individuals with a distinctive, sacred life clamoring for animation at every turn" (p. 152).

This book translates well to educators, people in business, or those who are looking to improve their relationships. Her ideas about mentoring can make communication clearer and leaders emerge. Another book that I recommend is "He Never Called Again".
These two books are highly recommended.

The Mentor's Spirit lifts what is often thought of in corporate America as at best a duty and at worst a chore to a calling. Sinetar uses case study and example to instruct and inspire.

She place high value on mentoring as way to practice good stewardship with our God-given talents. At it's most effective, mentoring is a sponateous response to the desire to help others grow and succeed.

In this world of chaos and confusion and confusion, as usual, Marsha has cut through the complexity and with elegant simplicity instructs each of us to discover our unique calling and inspires us to become "artists of encouragement." The Mentor's Spirit is a model for making a difference in our world.

Read it and learn! Read it and be inspired!

I'd use this for corporate - leadership seminars. with people -- like managers, counselors and the like. Every chapter unfolds a bit of the author's personal climb up the success ladder, as well as 'life lessons' on what she calls the art of encouragement. An easy or a deep read, depending on the level of attention and background one brings to the book.