Assessment Time!

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One of the helpful tools Mentoring Warriors offers in developing a mentoring relationship is the Self-Assessment Tool. Self-Assessment It was developed in conjunction with the writing of the book Mentoring Warriors. Wichita State University’s Department of Psychology completed a beta-test of the Self-Assessment to evaluate the consistency of responses. The good news is that very little tweaking was needed before publishing the assessment.

“It’s a great tool to get a pulse on where someone needs focused mentoring.”

The assessment aligns with David Riffel’s book, Mentoring Warriors, in that it assesses where a man is at (of any age) in six primary categories of life:

Self-Management- This covers everything from basic hygiene to managing time and finances. 

Life Skills- We aren’t all mechanics, but having a basic understanding of how things work and how to fix things is helpful to any man.

Education-Career- The real question is, how are you wired and what type of work or vocation would best fit you?

Faith- Too many young men leave home with a rudimentary understanding of faith, to no faith at all. Often, the early twenties become an age where faith is either tested or forgotten. The questions in this section help gain a pulse on where a man is with his faith.

Relationships-Whether it’s relationships with parents, employers, girlfriends, wife, God has wired everyone to thrive in healthy relationships. 

Identity-What does it mean to be a man? How does purity fit into your manhood?

By answering 37 questions (none of which have a right or wrong answer), a mentor can get a good pulse on where the mentee (warrior) is at. It helps hone in on where mentoring resources should be spent.

Here’s a true story of how the Self-Assessment works.

Through a presentation David Riffel did at a church’s men’s breakfast on mentoring, a young man in his early twenties approached him asking if they could talk about mentoring. He was looking for a mentor. 

David suggested that he go online and take the Self-Assessment. The young man did. A couple of weeks later, the two grabbed coffee and walked through his responses to the self-assessment. His overall score indicated a need for mentoring. 

The Self-Assessment proved helpful in that it highlighted some areas where he needed focused mentoring, primarily in his manhood identity and career choices. 

That set up a plan moving forward for David and this young man to meet and discuss, addressing specific issues.

The story doesn’t end there. Over the next 18 months, this young man met a woman, fell in love, got married, and became pregnant!  Many of his core manhood identity issues were addressed in a way that, although he was still on the journey, his focus was now centered on Christ and how manhood is bestowed.  He was in a much better spot to develop a marriage relationship.

Here’s another story. A call came in from a pastor who discussed with a young man from his church asking for a mentor. Mentoring Warriors reached out several times to this young man, asking him to complete the Self-Assessment. The young man never followed through, which frankly, is an indicator of whether one is truly serious about mentoring.

In that sense, offer a young man the opportunity to take the Self-Assessment online.  If he doesn’t follow through, it probably means he’s not ready for a mentor.  

Studies have shown that the most successful mentoring relationships are those where the young man (mentee) takes initiative.  

How to interpret the Self-Assessment responses. There are six possible scores a person can give themselves per question,

Scoring Basis 

0-I’m rotten at this. Horrible. Non-existent 

1-Sort of existent but in great disarray.  

2-Sometimes I can fake having my act together, but I really don’t know what I’m doing half the time. 3-Some days, I can handle this. Other days are a disaster. 

4-More wins than losses. I still could use some help fine-tuning. 

5-Not a major issue for me. But some outside perspective would help. 

Here’s one question under Self-Management. The sub-category is Personal Hygiene. 

People say they can smell me coming and wonder when I last showered. 

Based on the scoring list above, he can respond accordingly.  0 would mean he needs help with personal hygiene.  Now, this may seem awkward, but to be honest, some young men have never been shown how to shave or use deodorant.  It might seem like a non-glamorous thing to help with, but this could be a crucial first step in helping him through manhood.

Other questions included in the Faith category are on Theology.

I know what I believe and am able to articulate it to others 

Again, a score of 0 could indicate a need to walk through the Gospel with him. A score of 3 or 4 could mean he understands the Gospel, but doesn’t know how to live it out. As a mentor, inviting the young man to tell his faith journey can shed light on gaps in his faith or areas where he needs to be challenged. This is all good!

A few reminders.

A healthy mentoring relationship is safe. The young man MUST feel he can trust you with anything. If he tells you he lost his virginity in high school and is filled with shame, as his mentor, extending grace and inviting him to bring it before Jesus is one way the Lord can use your mentoring relationship to move this man from a purity stronghold to one of freedom and victory.

In my mentoring of young men, purity is a major issue. Many who asked for mentoring struggled with lust and pornography.  The Self-Assessment became a good way to open that door for further discussion.  Learning to shift one’s understanding of male sexuality towards a Christ-centered view is a great step in the right direction of transformation.

Use the Self-Assessment. If a young man fills it out, have another good friend of his complete the same Self-Assessment on the young man. This might give another perspective on where the young man needs focused mentoring.

If you need a one-on-one tutorial on using the Self-Assessment, reach out to us at Mentoring Warriors Help Line

Warrior On!