One of the most powerful discoveries about how humans understand the world around them came about by accident. In the early 1990s, a group of researchers led by Dr. Giacomo Rizzolatti, a neuroscientist at the University of Parma in Italy, placed small electrodes in the brains of monkeys near the regions of the brain responsible for planning and carrying out movements. If the monkey picked up something, an electronic monitor that was connected to the wires in the animal's brain would sound -- "brrrrrip, brrrrrip, brrrrrip" -- to register the firing of those neurons.

Then something happened -- something so unusual that the researchers thought it had to be a mistake. If the monkey saw one of the scientists doing something -- eating an ice cream cone, picking up a peanut or raisin, grabbing a banana -- the monitor registered the firing of brain cells as if the monkey had done it, when all the animal did was watch.

"It took us several years to believe what we were seeing," Rizzolatti told The New York Times. The structure behind the phenomenon was discovered to be what they called "mirror neurons," cells scattered throughout key regions of the brain that mimic everything the monkey sees another do.

Subsequent research found a far more complicated set of mirror neurons in people. This "human see; human do" circuitry is believed to be why a yawn can be contagious, why even a newborn will stick out her tongue if she sees someone else do it, and why American boys sometimes mimic the idiosyncrasies of their favorite baseball players at bat. "It explains much about how we learn to smile, talk, walk, dance, or play tennis," said a 2006 cover article in Scientific American Mind magazine. "At a deeper level, it suggests a biological dynamic for our understanding of others, the complex exchange of ideas we call culture, and psychosocial dysfunctions ranging from lack of empathy to autism."

The discovery of mirror neurons, as one researcher said, "completely changes the way we think about how the brain works." "Mirror neurons will do for psychology what DNA did for biology," said another. The implication is that that humans don't just passively observe other people in action, but in their minds, "do" whatever they see. When a soccer fan's favorite player scores a goal in the World Cup, part of the fan's brain has him, the fan, scoring the goal. The phenomenon helps to explain the power of television and movies to put viewers themselves into the action.

Though the discovery of mirror neurons was recent, the relationships they drive are an ancient idea. The word "mentor" is derived from the character Mentor in Homer's epic poem, The Odyssey. Mentor was given responsibility to counsel Odysseus' son Telemachus during his father's absence.

The concept perpetually reemerges in forms such as the relationships between master craftsman and apprentice, doctoral candidate and thesis supervisor, or resident physician and intern. Musicians learn by watching better musicians. Surgical students look over the shoulders of experienced surgeons. There is something about working closely with someone who supervises the less experienced person's progress that cannot be accomplished as well in any other way.

Most important for business, the ancient idea and the scientific discoveries demonstrate that if a company wants its employees to quickly assimilate "best practices," there is no faster conduit to a protégé's brain than watching a good role model in action. From this fact stems the Sixth Element of Great Managing, measured by the statement "There is someone at work who encourages my development."

A conduit to other elements of managing

While all of the 12 Elements require personal manager-to-employee or peer-to-peer interaction, the Sixth demands a higher degree of personal investment by the counselor in the education of his charge. For this reason -- and the power of mirror neurons when one person serves as mentor for another -- the Sixth is also a conduit to the other elements of managing.

It is difficult to get traction on any of the other elements without the Sixth. Consider the fairly large group -- on average, 4 in 10 -- who feel that neither their manager nor anyone else is looking out for their development. A mere 1% of those who have no mentor are able to achieve real engagement with their employer through the strength of the other 11 elements.

Conversely, two-thirds of employees who report having someone at work who encourages their development are classified as "engaged," while one-third are "not engaged," and less than 1% are "actively disengaged." These statistics indicate that regardless of whether a company's Web site or personnel department promises it, having a mentor is fundamental -- part of the unwritten social contract workers anticipate when they are hired. (See "At Work, Feeling Good Matters" in the "See Also" area on this page.)

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Article from The Gallup Management Journal