A role model is an individual who sets an example to another in terms of behavior and success. A role can be emulated by other people who show admiration for what they have been able to achieve. Young people especially get inspiration from those who have gone ahead of them. It may be simple but it took the effort of one sociologist known as Robert Merton who formed the phrase in his career. In his hypothesis, Merton stated that every person compares themselves with other reference team of people who take up a similar social role they are currently pursuing. One of the examples is the manner in which fans get to imitate and idolize professional athletes as well as entertainment artists.
Mentoring takes a more close approach where the person who aspires to be like the other he or she admires gets to be trained in a somewhat similar path of success. The person gets to learn a lot from the other. The trainer can as well be a role model. Therefore, mentoring is a mutual understanding that exists between two or more individuals. It is a strategy through which people get to learn from one another. Conventionally, most of the mentors are people who have gone ahead and accomplished certain things in life. However, it cannot be limited to race, age and gender alone. It is a certain way through which people get to communicate.
A true role model is a person who has the qualities that other people admire and such individuals who have affected others in manner that makes them want to make the best out of their lives in the same or better way. Role models establish their own goals and objectives and take up a leadership role to help themselves and the lives of other people as well. Becoming a role model has to do with the performance of actions that affect others in a positive way. People can identify role models when they start to experience certain progress and individual growth.
It is no doubt that for anyone to offer a mentorship program, they must be role models. However, they must be role models who can still identify with their background and the far they have come and how they came to be where they are at present and always with a desire to see what they can do to help others who are stuck where they have been able to come out successfully.
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