Mentoring Made Easy
Tuesday, September 20, 2016
What is Mentoring?
One of my favorite pop culture images is the "Mean Joe Green and the Coke" commercial. A kid comes up to this HUGE, dirty, and limping football player and offers him a drink of his coke. Mean Joe drinks it all and starts to walk away as the dejected little boy watches. Joe turns and says, "Hey, kid, catch," and throws him his jersey. That was the beginning of a mentoring relationship between Joe, the seasoned veteran, and the inexperienced boy. They each shared something of
In today's business world, mentoring is a partnership that works to develop the skills and leadership abilities of the less-experienced members of an organization or of different organizations. This facilitated learning process enables the mentee to take ownership of their development. Mentors take
Do You Need a Mentor?
No matter where you are in your career, if you are asking yourself any of the following questions, NOW is a good time for you to consider a mentor:
- Where am I in my career? Just beginning, middle of my career, thinking about a change, achieving results but wanting more, or facing the end of one chapter and the beginning of retirement?
- What are my expectations of the company where I work for me personally and professionally?
- How do I know that my goals are the RIGHT goals for me?
How Do You Establish A Mentoring Partnership?
Mentoring partnerships can begin informally or formally. Here are a few examples of informal mentoring:
- A manager attends a recognition event and takes the opportunity to talk to a leader of the organization about a project and asks her for ideas on how to handle a particularly difficult situation. During the discussion, the leader gives some helpful insights about a similar
effort, and offers a copy of a presentation that she gave about it. The manager follows up with the leader to thank her and to let her know how much her advice helped. The door is now open for additional mentoring.
- In the process of checking out another department to understand what they do, a supervisor requests an informational interview with a senior manager from the department. During the interview, the supervisor's well-researched questions impress the senior manager. When he comments that the supervisor has really "done his homework," the supervisor asks the senior manager if he would be interested in becoming his mentor.
- Another mentor/mentee pairing began while working on a presentation for a professional organization to which they both belong. The mentor sees the potential in the mentee and offers to mentor her.
In facilitated or formal mentoring relationships, the organization that is implementing the program usually determines the criteria for pairing mentors with mentees.
What Do Mentors Do?
Whether formal or informal, mentors must be prepared to invest time and effort in helping their mentees. Mentors provide perspective, an empathetic ear, and much more. According to mentoring expert Gordon Shea, there are seven types of assistance that mentors can give, which are helpful in encouraging mentees to grow:
- Help a person to shift his/her mental context
- Listen when the mentee is facing a challenging opportunity
- Identify mentee feelings and provide feedback
- Effectively confront negative intentions or behaviors
- Provide appropriate information when needed
- Delegate authority or give permission
- Encourage exploration of options
According to Shea, these seven items are very critical for personal and professional growth. They will not meet all of a mentee's needs, but they meet the key needs and can help a mentee face career challenges, make decisions about them, and move on.
Mentoring Resources
For further information, please review the following books on mentoring:
Bell, Chip R. Managers and Mentors: Building Partnerships for Learning.
Berrett-Koehler, 1998.
Shea, Gordon F. Mentoring: A Practical Guide- How to Develop
Mentor Behaviors. Crisp Publications, 1992.
Wickman, Floyd and Terri Sjodin (Contributor). Mentoring: The Most Obvious Yet Overlooked Key to Achieving More in Life Than You Ever Dreamed Possible: A Success Guide For Mentors and Proteges. Irwin Professional, 1996.
Liesl Piotti is a consultant,