Doing, knowing and being: bringing Athena out of the shadow to illuminate the mentoring archetype and to guide practice
Creators: name: Lippi, Julian
Publisher: name: RMIT University
Year: 2024

description: This thesis is an exploration of the construct of mentoring and its transformative power in the development of the self. The concept of Athenic mentoring is offered and framed, in Jungian (Jung 1958;1996;2002) terms as an archetypical encounter between two people that can facilitate a significant transformative shift (metanoia) in the development of the personal and professional self. These shifts are initially at the level of 'being' but influence the more visible dimensions of 'doing' and 'knowing'. 'Doing' and 'knowing' can be articulated in terms of practice knowledge and skills (Schön 1987a). 'Being' is framed in both Jungian (Jung 1958;1996;2002) and Rogerian (Rogers 1973;1996) terms as engagement of the authentic, grounded and integrated self, in ways that may be largely and initially unconscious, but that can be taken up in conscious awareness and are ultimately reflecte d in overt, observable behaviours. <br><br>Cunningham's (1988) framework of holistic interactive research was chosen as a method that allowed the researcher to draw on, as well as to reflect upon, his own experience in order to generate data. Written narrative and oral story-telling (Reason &amp; Hawkins 1988) have been fundamental to the creation and analysis of data. Indeed, the process of writing has been an important source of self-understanding, revelation and integration for the author. The power of archetypal story-telling - most obvious in the ancient stories of human challenge, development and triumph, such as that of Athena(Mentor), in the Greek tradition - is acknowledged and explored from this perspective. In this respect the researcher has followed Megginson's (2000) advice that research into mentoring deserves and demands 'vivid stories'. <br><br>The research approach also reflects Strauss and Corbin's (1990) suggestion that by staying close to the data ('grounding' theory in the data) before a deep immersion in the literature, the researcher will be more open to the insights that the data might reveal. <br><br>The starting point for the research was the researcher's observation that, in the context of being a 'hired mentor' in an organisational setting, 'turning points' occurred that could be characterised as significant, transformational shifts in the energy and perspective of the person being mentored. While these shifts were reflected in important changes in work, choices and outward behaviour and practice, it was not obvious when or how the shifts had occurred. The initial research questions were framed as: what does the mentor do that leads to this turning point? and, can this be identified so that mentors can improve their chance of achieving it in practice? <br><br>Later, the research journey itself led to a broader and richer framing of the research questions as a deeper exploration of the level at which transformative development of the self plays out and the implications of that for mentoring itself. The initial research question eventually was reframed as: How does the mentor need to be? <br><br>Major sources of data were stories of ten people who have been in mentoring relationships (either as mentor, mentee, or both). The researcher's own experience was also a significant source of the data. <br><br>In its presentation, the thesis attempts to 'track' and make transparent the ways in which listening to and writing down the stories of others, the researcher's own stories, engaging with the literature and writing reflective notes iterated with the construction of this particular conceptualisation of mentoring in 'Athenic' terms. <br><br>Both contemporary Western literature (the majority of it American) and translations of Homer's (1980; 1998) accounts of Athena as mentor were used initially to explore the nature of mentoring. Later, the Jungian (Jung 1958;1992;1996;2002) and post-Jungian (Hillman 1975;1996) literature on the notion of the archetypes; Buber's (1996) conception of relationship as 'I-Thou'; and Rogers' (1996) evocation of 'becoming a person' all helped to describe more richly the dynamics of Athenic mentoring - both in terms of the nature of transformative personal change and the dynamics of the relationship that facilitates it. <br><br>A major outcome of this research is the differentiation of Athenic mentoring (which facilitates the transformation of a person's 'being') from mentoring that helps to develop what a person 'knows' or 'does'. This differentiation will hopefully contribute to our understanding of the mentoring process, but at the most pragmatic level, will make it easier to navigate the complex and poorly 'mapped' contemporary literature. <br><br>It is concluded that Athenic mentoring might not be, fully or even partly, recognised until well after it occurs, and that because it involves the pyschodynamic and largely unconscious interplay of one person's dominant archetypes with those of another, it is not something that can be easily orchestrated or arranged. This challenges contemporary notions (Burke &amp; McKeen 1989; Murray &amp; Owen 1991; Cunningham 1993; Hay 1995) that mentoring can be packaged, 'commodified' and paid for in a similar way to coaching and counselling. <br><br>As a stimulus for further work, it is suggested that the role of mentor can be understood as completing or starting aspects of the development of self that have not been initiated or concluded in the parenting relationship; and the possibility for being a mentor or a mentee continues throughout life, or for at least as long as there remains the possibility that a 'Dream' (Levinson, Darrow, Klein, Levinson &amp; McKee 1978; Levinson &amp; Levinson 1996) can be fulfilled.