Mentoring

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Mentoring

• Stuart Reidy-Crofts
• The ORS Group

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What is Mentoring?
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What is Mentoring?

• Mentoring programmes take on different shapes
  and structures, depending upon the needs of the
  organisation, the needs of individuals,
  organisational structure, culture and the
  objectives of the programme.

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What is Mentoring?

• Mentoring Is Not New
• Mentoring has been around since the time of
  the ancient Greeks. As Homer tells in The
  Odyssey, when Ulysses went to war he asked his
  friend, Mentor, the son of Alcimus, to give
  advice to his wife and son. Hence, a mentor --
  one who gives advice and assistance.

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• The accepted idea of mentoring
• -- an older, experienced individual providing
  information and advice to help in the growth and
  development of someone who is younger and less
  experienced.

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• Advice is what we ask for when we already know
  the answer but wish we didn't.
• Erica Jong

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• At the most basic level, mentoring is about
  teaching and learning.
• At their very best, mentoring relationships take
  advantage of the aspects of an organization's
  culture that have made it successful and--without
  institutionalizing or dehumanizing--transmit
  these qualities to a firm's next generation of
  leaders.

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Where Does Mentoring Fit In?

• Training doesn't offer an opportunity for
  one-on-one interaction and detailed information
  on specific issues of concern over time as these
  issues arise. Mentoring provides this
  opportunity.
• Mentoring should not be confused with line
  management it is about support, development,
  and problem solving by sharing experience.
• Mentoring also provides the opportunity for the
  imparting of organisational philosophies, values
  and culture.

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Counselling

• Mentoring should not be confused with
  counselling.
• Whilst mentors and managers spend time assisting
  proteges to deal with problems, when they become
  too emotional or personal, It is not the mentors
  job to be a lay counsellor to their protege.
• Duty of care issues mentors need to stay within
  their boundaries.
• Confusing these roles may impact upon the
  effectiveness of the mentor.
• Other avenues for this such as EAP the mentor
  can assist in identifying the appropriate
  assistance.

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Coaching

• Mentors have typically walked the path of their
  protégé.
• Coaching is more about mutual accountability it
  involves pushing limits and can thus be
  challenging.
• Often provided externally

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Setting up a Formal Mentoring Programme

• Define the business case for mentoring
• Establish a mentoring strategy and set goals
• Select proteges and mentors
• Provide mentor and protégé skills training
• Link up proteges and mentors
• Evaluate the programme.

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What are some of the benefits of formal mentoring
programmes?

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Benefits of Formal Mentoring Programmes

• Increased staff satisfaction and morale
• Increased organisational productivity
• Supports retention, development and engagement of
  high performers
• Can upgrade employees skills and knowledge.
• Promote diversity of thought and style.
• Accelerate leadership development
• Preserve institutional memory and facilitate
  organisational learning
• Develop successors
• Foster collaboration

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Setting Programme Goals

• Organisations need a clear understanding of
  what the mentoring programme is intended to do.
  This should be based on the current/long term
  needs of the organisation.Is it intended to
• Groom an employee for management?
• Acquaint new employees to the organisation?
• Be an integral part of the overall staff
  development process?
• Reduce turnover?
• Improve recruiting efforts?

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Roles of the Mentor

• Guide
• Setting an example and modeling behaviour.
• Show different paths and warn of pitfalls
• Share strategic views
• Assist in reflecting on attitudes, skills,
  patterns of behaviour.
• Ask challenging questions to get others to think

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Roles of the Mentor

• Catalyst
• Motivates
• Provides enthusiasm foster initiative
• Discuss ideas, visions and concepts

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Roles of the Mentor

• Ally
• Provide a risk free environment to vent
  frustrations, share difficulties, and seek
  perspectives.
• Appraise behaviour
• Be candid without being judgmental or critical

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Roles of the Mentor

• Advocate
• Champion the ideas and interests of proteges to
  gain exposure and visibility.
• Open opportunities for learning experiences
• Mentors can also open doors and connect proteges
  into networks.

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Who makes a good mentor?

• Some of the qualities of an effective mentor
• Positive outlook and attitude - enthusiasm
• Caring approach toward others
• Experienced practitioner
• Compatible personal chemistry (similar or
  different?)
• Exemplary employee and professional
• Good communicator, empathic listener
• Worthy of trust, admiration and respect
• Dedication to learning
• Recognising they may not have all of the answers.

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Who makes a good mentor?

• Not enough to be good at their job and
  well-connected. They must have
• A track record of motivating and listening to
  other employees.
• A good track record with the company
• An understanding of the politics of the
  organisation
• A willingness to make a time commitment and want
  to help others.
• Understand they should point proteges in the
  right direction, but allow them to find their own
  path.

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Key HR Elements

• Has to be buy in from top management not just
  out of HR
• HR needs to set the goals of the mentoring
  programme, and design it based on those goals.
• Responsibility for paring of mentors and proteges
• Set realistic expectations for both parties
  -possible ups and downs of relationship.
• Follow up the pairs to ensure all are happy.

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Key HR Elements

• Human beings, who are almost unique in having
  the ability to learn from the experience of
  others, are also remarkable for their apparent
  disinclination to do so.
• Douglas Adams (1952 - 2001), "Last Chance to See
• Mentoring programmes should be a part of a
  broader HR strategy

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Other issues to consider

• Confidentiality the importance of trust
• Impact of possible negative mentoring experiences
• No fault termination in the first three months
  minimise the stigma
• Who to include
• Formal vs informal mentoring
• Size, culture and structure of the organisation

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Variations on the Mentoring Model

• Multiple mentoring
• One-on-one mentoring not always possible.
• Capitalises on unique skills of many individuals
• Supports team building
• Good for cross training on specific skills
• Makes experienced individuals available to
  multiple learners at one time.

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Types of Multiple Mentoring

• Mentoring circles One mentor working with a
  group of proteges
• Peer or team mentoring groups not always led by
  a formal mentor group mentors often provide
  mentoring to each other.

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Other Variations

• Consultant Mentors
• When no one in the organisation who has the
  skill set or specific experience required.
• Reverse MentoringIssue of technological change

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• Traditional Mentoring Mentoring Today
• Informal relationships. Combination of
  formal
• and informal programs.
• Senior mentor/junior Reverse
  mentoring (juniorProtege. mentor/senior
  
  recipient), peer mentors, team
  mentors and consultant mentors.
• For select few. For all who can learn
  from the
  experience.
• Mentor and protege share Mentor and protege
  often common backgrounds come from
  dissimilarand personalities.
  backgrounds and possess
  different strengths.

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The ORS Experience

• New and inexperienced professionals are linked to
  senior staff.
• Less formal mentoring relationships are
  encouraged.
• Peer/team mentoring groups established eg case
  reviews, professional groups.

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Discussion

• Would a mentoring programme work in your
  organisation?
• What form would it take?
• What issues do you think would arise?
• What benefits do you think would be derived?

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Thank You