What Makes a Great Mentor?
These are the three attributes of every great mentor.
The Three Marks of a Great Mentor
(And why you might be more ready than you think)
At some point, every great character stops being the hero.
They become the mentor.
If you're entering the second half of your life—or even just a second act—you might be feeling this shift already. You’re not the fresh-faced upstart anymore. You’ve done some things. Failed some things. Learned a lot the hard way.
And now... someone out there might need you.
Because in every great story, the mentor is the one who’s been through their own adventure—and chooses to show up for someone else’s.
The Obi-Wan Shift
When we first meet Obi-Wan Kenobi (the Alec Guinness version—thank you very much), he's not battling stormtroopers or chasing space dragons.
He's just… present. Waiting. Watching the horizon.
He’s lived a story. He’s carrying loss and wisdom.
And he’s ready for when Luke is.
Every hero needs a guide.
Maybe you're not the hero of this chapter anymore.
Maybe you're the one someone else is quietly looking for.
If so—here are three signs you might be ready.
(And yes, they all start with “P.” Old preacher habits die hard.)
1. Patience
A mentor’s clock runs differently.
They don’t chase down the hero. They don’t push their wisdom. They wait.
Obi-Wan in the desert. Yoda in the swamp. Gandalf always showing up just in time.
They all know what the mentee doesn’t yet:
The apprentice will be ready… when the apprentice is ready.
2. Presence
Mentors don’t hide—but they don’t hover either.
They show up, even when they’re unnoticed.
They stick around. They hold space. They let trust build over time.
Presence is quiet power. It says, “I’m here when you need me.”
And sooner or later… you will be.
3. Playfulness
The best mentors have a trickster vibe.
Yoda messing with Luke. Mr. Miyagi assigning fence-painting chores.
There’s a twinkle in their eye—a lightness beneath the discipline.
Because they know something deeper:
The point isn’t just the outcome. It’s the journey.
The training. The growth. The moment itself.
A playful mentor teaches this without ever saying it out loud.
The Mentor Era
The world doesn’t just need more leaders. It needs more guides.
People who are patient enough to wait, present enough to be trusted, and playful enough to remind us all that joy matters, too.
You probably have that in you.
So maybe walk through the rest of this week like old Ben wandering the desert.
You never know when the next whiny farm kid you meet might need help saving the galaxy.
(And yes—I know exactly how nerdy this post is.)
The world does need more guides...patient, present and I am crazy enough to believe that joy and playfulness are a result of the space created from presence. Thanks for your heart and brilliance.
Guiding my sponsees through their recovery is the one of the most challenging and rewarding things God has given gifted me to do. And the three P's you write about here are exactly spot on.