Leadership development

Articles about development for leaders.

Is Your Mentoring Strategy Working?

Leave a Comment / Leadership development, Mentoring, Mentoring tools /

I got this article in a newsletter, and had to bring it on my blog. 

 

Mentoring aims to deliver strategic value for the organisation as well as personal benefits for individuals. How can you ensure that your mentoring strategy achieves these outcomes?

 

The critical first step is to clarify the strategic purpose of mentoring – why is mentoring important? Without clear, and meaningful goals, you may find it hard to gain support for mentoring, difficult to promote the value of mentoring and challenging to make it a priority for people.

To ensure your mentoring strategy works you have to answer the question "why mentoring?" First, you need to uncover the needs, wants and issues that mentoring will address from the perspective of the organisation and the people you want involved. Then, you can plan your mentoring strategy to deliver specific outcomes; and finally, you’ll be able to communicate the reasons for mentoring in a language that make sense to each group of stakeholders.

 

What Does The Organisation Need?

Most often, mentoring is used by organisations striving for:

  • Employee engagement – to attract, retain and develop people for increased productivity;
  • Knowledge management/skill building – to prevent the loss of both tacit and implicit information and develop skills, for improved capability; or
  • Culture change to influence behaviour based on values, assumptions, and common practice, for enhanced organisational performance.

You’ll need to find out exactly what the pressing needs are and be able to clearly show the impact mentoring could make. This might mean presenting a business case and/or linking to the organisational mission and values.

 

Why Should People Prioritise Mentoring?

You may be targeting a specific group with your mentoring strategy such as: graduates, women, emerging leaders, innovators, young professionals or indigenous people, however you need people who are not directly involved, as well as those who are, to prioritise mentoring. If they don’t it may be derailed by obstruction, competing demands or lack of support.

This is a time for two-way, rather than one-way communication. We have to get out there and listen. We can’t simply impose mentoring on people because we think it’s a good idea. They won’t buy it unless there is a personal reason that overrides other priorities. So, you will have to discover the needs, concerns and issues of the people as well as the organisation.

 

Develop The Strategy – Design The Program

The bottom line is that you have to know specifically, what you want your mentoring strategy to do before you can figure out how you will know that it is working. This is the foundation for designing mentoring programs. Do this to ensure that your mentoring works.

 

From Ann Rolfe http://mentoring-works.com/ 

 

Is Your Mentoring Strategy Working? Read More »

A Good Mentor can be a Valuable Career Resource

Leave a Comment / Leadership development, Mentor, Mentoring, Personal development /

 Doris Appelbaum says in this article that a good mentor is a coach, always challenging you, inspiring you and demanding that you do your best.

 

Mentors can improve confidence and lead to job opportunities you had not considered. They are familiar with a range of professional opportunities and are guides who have put aside self-preoccupation to foster the growth of new professionals.

 

The best mentors help develop the insight and self-awareness that assist with integrating professional life, military life, personal concerns and core values. 

 

To read the whole article,  click here: usmilitary.about.com/library/weekly/aa010603a.htm

A Good Mentor can be a Valuable Career Resource Read More »

The Next Generations of Leaders

Leave a Comment / Leadership development /

 

 

 

You will never maximize your potential in any area without coaching.  It is impossible. You may be good. You may even be better than everyone else.  But without outside input you will never be as good as you could be.

 

Strong words from Andy Stanley the author of the book "Next Generation Leader"

 

 You can order it from www.amazon.com to read more.

 

 

 

 

 

The Next Generations of Leaders Read More »

Is your organization talking about issues like these?

Leave a Comment / Leadership development /

I came across a company, called Perrone-Ambrose Associates (http://www.paamentoring.com/) and they are providing practical and impactful mentoring and coaching programs, tools, and services today for shaping the leaders of tomorrow.

 

They were saying that if your organization is talking about certain issues, like:

·         We need to do something to prepare people for leadership positions.

·         We hire and train people who then leave to work for our competitors.

·         Our people come up through one part of the organization and that’s all they know.

·         Our managerial and leadership ranks lack diversity.

 

It`s time to call for a intern mentor program. If you want to know more about mentor program send me an email on teg@mentorblogg.com

Is your organization talking about issues like these? Read More »

Mentor prepare yourself

Leave a Comment / Leadership development, Mentoring tools /

Good mentoring relationship starts with preparation by both parties. As a mentor you should be as aware as possible of what you have to contribute and how your potential contributions can match the needs of the adept.

 

The adepts too, might prepare a list of questions about what they hope to get out of the mentoring relationship.

 

The following checklist will give you an idea of the things you will benefit from clarifying as a mentor:

 

  1. What carees ecperiences have helped me most in my own professional development?
  2. What were the most important lessons learned from those lessons?
  3. What "truths" would I want to pass on from those lessons?
  4. If I were to contribute one quotation to my own book about succeding in this organization, what would that quote be?
  5. What have mentors done for me and my development? What kinds of mentoring experiences have been most helpful to me?
  6. If I had the power, what would I change about any of the mentors I have had?
  7. How relevant do I believe my experiences and my professional learning will be to the development of my adept?
  8. As a mentor, how would I like to be remembered?

Mentor prepare yourself Read More »

Why Mentoring is Good for the Legal Profession

Leave a Comment / Leadership development /

Some say that mentoring not only benefits the individuals involved, but also pays dividends for the profession as a whole. F.ex. even laywers who are just starting out at a law firm or lawyers who are moving into a new area of practice can learn from the experience of others through a mentoring relationship.

If you practice in a law firm you likely take for granted the fact there is a confidant down the hall who is instantly and easily accessible if a question arises. If you are a sole practitioner, you will appreciate this is a luxury that you don’t have. Mentoring can help newly called lawyers get a leg up on the incredible amount of learning that lies ahead. Law schools and bar courses simply cannot impart the skills and experience that are critical for practicing law proficiently.
No matter what the background of the participants, a mentoring relationship can accelerate the process through which critical skills are gained and can help prevent mistakes. When individual lawyers more quickly increase their skills to become an integral part of the profession and the administration of justice, the profession itself benefits.

Why Mentoring is Good for the Legal Profession Read More »

How to keep your talents?

Leave a Comment / Leadership development, Personal development /
Harvard Business Review means that the consulting industry have to start mentoring the talents more than today.

 

After many years with the focus on coaching Harvard Business Review means that mentoring is the next big topic. The consulting business up to the finance crises was “only” thinking about making the money, and not thinking about develop new talents.
 It is about time to put out the word mentoring, the ”new” buzz word. It is almost as it is create just for the purpose to hold the young talents motivated and that they want to stick to their employer.
Frustrated employer ignored are about to quit, finding a new company who appreciate them more. And not only are they leaving, and you must find a new person, but they are leaving with central competence. And therefore is it important to create mentor program inside the company for today’s young talent.

How to keep your talents? Read More »

Ryan Blair an entrepreneur and mentor

Leave a Comment / Leadership development, Personal development /

At Oslo Innovation Week in Oslo, Norway I went to a seminar yesterday with Ryan Blair (www.ryanblair.com).
Ryan having launched his career as an entrepreneur in 1998 – at the age of twenty – he has since earned a reputation as a technology pioneer and expert marketer, creating six successful companies and investing in several others the last decade.

Ryan is a passionate writer and speaker. His first published work was released in June of 2006, featured as a contributing author in the Power of Mentorship Vol. II. Ryan is presently working on a book about his life story entitled Faith of the Dots.

So he is a eager spokesman for mentoring, saying that a mentor more or less saved my life. Getting my to write down my goals in early years and learned me to go after it.

Hearing him talking about how importanthis first mentor was for him is huge. Setting goals he had to be able to visualize and then have the belief in yourself to manage your goals.

Something he talked a lot about was “give more than you receive”. Meaning that you can`t only ask your potential mentor for his time and good advice. And not giving anything back, everything from washing mentors car to give shares in your business.

Ryan Blair an entrepreneur and mentor Read More »