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By Debbie Gin (originally written for ATS Colloquy Online)

There is one thing I would change if I had my journey to do all over again: I would have been more intentional about completing my crew. I would have figured out earlier where the holes were in my crew and strategized how I might connect with folks who could help me develop in specific areas. I would have created a mentor map of influencers in my life and identified the areas where I needed additional guidance.

Mentoring and the four pillars of formation

At a recent ATS Women in Leadership conference, I led participants in an exercise to create a mentor map and to identify the gaps in it. Borrowing from the Roman Catholic notion of “four pillars of formation,” we identified mentors (i.e., individuals, communities, services, other resources) in our lives who could be understood as informing each of the four formational areas: human, spiritual, intellectual, and pastoral/vocational. There are a number of resources that provide a more thorough explanation (e.g., Program of Priestly Formation), but here I offer brief descriptions of the pillars and place my mentors in this framework, as an example.

Human formation involves developing character and qualities that make us more fully who God created us to be. Mentors #2 and #3, with their emphasis on knowing my value and maintaining integrity, informed my journey in this area. I bolstered my sense of self-worth and gained a healthier understanding of intention for the greater good with guidance from these two.

Intellectual formation resides in the cognitive realm, in the academic realm for me in higher education. Encouragement from Mentor #4 to develop my intellectual capital led me to immerse myself in a discipline (or two). Not only did I gain knowledge purely for the joy of learning, but because of him, I was also better prepared for the strategic role that knowledge would play in my emerging professional journey.

Pastoral formation, or vocational formation for those of us not in parish ministry, is about development of professional skills and perspectives needed for functioning in your career. Mentors #1 and #5 provided frames for traversing the political terrain gracefully, while making sure that I didn’t burn my networks. I have also been formed vocationally by a number of reverse mentors, younger professionals with a natural disposition for technology and social media.

Spiritual formation encompasses personal growth in faith and the development of religious disciplines. My church’s lead pastor can be located in this quadrant, while also straddling the vocational formation area. Our mutual exchange (when I was the church board moderator, lay counterpart to the lead pastor position) took place where spirituality meets social relevance. I also find my mother in this quadrant, intersecting with the human formation area. I have learned from her to become more completely human as I form in my spirituality.

Special guidance for women—seek out a sponsor

At the ATS event for emerging women leaders, I also shared findings from a study I conducted on the pursuit of administration in higher education. I identified a profile of women who would pursue upper-level administration, specifically in theological education. One aspect of this profile is having had ample opportunities to use leadership training. But finding opportunities to lead is often difficult for women because of systemic reasons (e.g., women are not seen as having good potential to lead).

One way to address this difficulty is to find another kind of mentor, a sponsor perhaps. This is a person of influence, who has access to leadership circles that you do not. For me, this was my dissertation advisor, a revered expert in diversity. She gave me access to intellectual circles in my guild nationally, which led to others calling on me and my expertise because she saw me as having expertise. Another sponsor in my journey was a critically aware white male colleague who is well-networked and well-published. He provided introductions to circles that were previously closed to me locally as well as nationally.

My journey in leadership has been slow but steady, and I am grateful for where I am currently located. Of course, the journey may have taken half this time had I found the gaps in my mentor map earlier and figured out ways to fill these gaps. I believe firmly, however, that we are meant to learn throughout our lives. It is never too late to be intentional about mentoring. So go complete your crew!

Dr. Debbie Gin is Director of Faculty Development and Research of The Association of Theological Schools.  She and her husband currently live in Pennsylvania.