MENTORING

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MENTORING

• Tel Aviv University
• November 8, 2007

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AGENDA AND GOALS

• Give general knowledge on mentoring
• Hear and address specific concerns
• Practice relevant skills

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WHAT IS MENTORING?

• Relationship (personal, dynamic)
• More experience / less experience
• Guide, role model, teacher, sponsor
• Knowledge, advice, support
• Toward full membership in profession

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ORIGIN BENEFITS

• Origin
• Mentor and Telemachus (Homer/Odyssey)
• Apprenticeships
• Benefits
• Mentee professional advancement, salary,
  professional ID, competence, satisfaction less
  stress, less conflict
• Mentor satisfaction, enhanced creativity,
  rejuvenation, generativity

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OUTSTANDING MENTORS

• Intentional (selection, investment, process)
• Address career and personal development of mentee
• Combine their excellent knowledge,
  experience/skill, and attitude

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SUCCESS
Knowledge
Attitude
Skill / Experience
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ATTITUDEBUILDING SELF-BELIEF

• Internal obstacles often tougher than external
• Universal internal block lack of self-belief.
• Increase through successes, ownership, others
  belief, being treated as equal.
• One of primary attitudes of mentor focusing on
  potential more than past performance.

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ATTITUDEIDENTIFYING STRENGTHS

• Current emphasis on identifying and leveraging
  strengths, rather than fixing weaknesses.
• Greatest room for growth is in strength
• Something can do repeatedly, happily, and
  successfully.
• Look for tendencies, yearnings, quick learning,
  and great satisfaction.
• Excellent performer rarely well-rounded.
• Manage around weaknesses - anything that inhibits
  excellent performance
• Get little better, support system, partner, stop.

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ATTITUDESTRENGTHS EXAMPLES

• Achiever
• Activator
• Adaptability
• Analytical
• Arranger
• Belief
• Command
• Communication
• Competition

• Connectedness
• Context
• Deliberative
• Developer
• Discipline
• Empathy
• Fairness
• Focus
• Futuristic

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ATTITUDESTRENGTHS EXAMPLES

• Harmony
• Ideation
• Inclusiveness
• Individualization
• Input
• Intellection
• Learner
• Maximizer

• Positivity
• Relator
• Responsibility
• Restorative
• Self-assurance
• Significance
• Strategic
• Woo

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ATTITUDEAFFIRMATION ENCOURAGEMENT

• Blend of personal acceptance and professional
  endorsement, belief in mentee.
• Show unconditional positive regard (listen,
  interested, ok if errs/fails, nonjudgmental).
• If believe can/cant right.
• Many novices question their competency.
• Mentees value encouragement support. (Prefer
  high EQ over high IQ in mentor.)

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ATTITUDEEXCELLENCE PERFECTION

• Expect excellence, not mediocrity.
• Most people more capable than think, and
  performance in line w/expectations.
• Not to expect perfection.
• Model both striving for excellence, and comfort
  with own limitations.

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KNOWING/MATCHING MENTEE

• Take time to study mentee as any new topic.
• Try to determine mentees talents and
  vulnerabilities, dreams and fears.
• Be accessible, listen, communicate.
• When possible, good to match traits, talents,
  interests, career aspirations, driveness.
• When possible, informal interaction before commit
  to mentorship.
• Consider own motivation, avoid mentor burnout,
  should be benefits for both.

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PROCESSSETTING THE STAGE

• Plan beginning, change, and ending.
• Importance of clarifying expectations (influence,
  even if not aware of them).
• Discuss RR, logistics, goals, communication,
  overall time frame.
• Discuss relationship boundaries.
• Discussion/negotiation can be more important than
  specific expectations.

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PROCESSCHANGE ENDINGS

• Schedule reviews/evaluations.
• Anticipate changes in life of mentorship.
• Address problems.
• Healthy ending.

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YOUR ROLE AS MENTORSPONSOR, TEACHER, MODEL, COACH

• Sponsor open doors mentee cannot alone.
• (Tailored to mentees career aspirations.)
• Teacher instruction, vicarious, self-disclose.
• Four learning levels.
• Enemies / friends of learning.

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YOUR ROLE AS MENTORSPONSOR, TEACHER, MODEL, COACH

• Intentional Modeling
• Invite mentees to observe you in action.
• Model ethical/moral, excellence without
  perfection, humility, balance, diversity.
• Coaching
• Unlock potential to maximize performance.
• Help to learn, rather than teach.
• Take mentee beyond what know.
• Increase self-belief, awareness, responsibility.

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SKILLS FOR CREATING CONTEXT OF GROWTH

• Nurturing creativity (protective setting).
• Thinking environment
• Attention, questions, equality, appreciation,
  ease, encouragement, emotion, information, place,
  diversity.
• Environment to increase awareness, can only
  change what aware of, increased awareness
  empowers.

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SKILLS FOR CREATING CONTEXT OF GROWTH

• Listening
• One way increase awareness, by mentor giving
  feedback on what perceive, requires keen
  listening.
• Hearing vs. listening.
• Concentration, practice, interest.
• Listening as active interpretation, generate
  meaning.
• Perceptual filters.
• Truth vs. interpretations/beliefs respecting
  viewpoints.
• Manifests nonverbal responses, verbal prompts,
  no interrupting, clarifying, reflecting.

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SKILLS FOR CREATING CONTEXT OF GROWTH

• Questioning
• Powerful questions, discovery vs. interrogation.
• Telling saves people from having to think, open
  questions increases responsibility.
• Questions that require different kind of focus.
• Good questions concise, well-timed, transparent,
  nonjudgmental.

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SKILLS FOR CREATING CONTEXT OF GROWTH

• Positive feedback
• Lets people know what doing right so can do more.
• Very motivating.
• Must be authentic.
• Corrective feedback
• Sometimes uncomfortable, but absence a
  disservice.
• Consider timing, balance with positive.
• Shows caring and creates trust.

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SKILLS FOR CREATING CONTEXT OF GROWTH

• Narrating growth and development.
• Makes implicit explicit.
• Mentees self-appraisal may be off-track, creates
  shift.
• Gives big picture view.
• Humor Laughter wonderfully soothing
• Sign mentor is human, approachable.
• Reminder not to take self too seriously.

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TAL CONSULTING

• carolyn_at_talconsulting.com
• 052-825-8585