2.1 The 5 C Model
The 5 C model (Pegg, 1999, p. 139) supports a mentee who wants to focus on a particular set of challenges or has a range of options to decide between. The 5 Cs are:
- Challenges – an issue or problem the mentee is currently facing
- Choices – the options available to them for dealing with that issue or problem
- Consequences – the consequences of choosing one option over another
- Creative solutions – other solutions that the mentor and mentee might come up with during their discussion
- Conclusions – a decision about what to do next and a commitment to take action.
Harvey (2020) offers a useful list of the possible questions/prompts that a mentor could use at each stage, including:
Challenges
- Which is the first challenge you would like to explore?
- What outcomes would you like to achieve?
- What three things can you do to give yourself the greatest chance of success?
Choices
- What possible options do you have for tackling the challenge?
- What are the pros and cons of each option?
- What would happen if you ‘did nothing’?
Consequences
- Explore how attractive each option feels.
- Describe all the possible negatives.
- Rate the attractiveness of each option on a scale of 1-10.
Creative solutions
- Looking at the options you have generated, is it possible to take the best parts from each option and create a new road? How would this look?
- Learn from your own successful history.
- Explore best practice and positive models.
Conclusions
- Prepare your action plan with the key steps.
- What can you do to get some early success?
- Reality check – rate your desire to pursue this option, and rate the possibility of success on a scale of 1-10.
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