Some mentoring programs simply introduce the mentee for the mentor and leave them to «get on with it».
But people need to know what is expected of them, how to go about it and why it is important and as the coordinater of the program you need to be confident they have the skills for mentoring.
The purpose of training is to enable mentors and mentorees to establish effective relationships. Because it´s not the same to manage people at work and to have a mentee. You have to build a relationship and trust on a short period of time.
And as a mentor you need the right communicating styles and techniques for applying the mentoring process.
No, as Ann Rolfe in Mentoring Works says: Effective mentoring results from a set of attitudes, behaviors, skills and motivation. Training, complemented by ongoing support and follow-up, significantly increases your return on investment. That’s how a mentoring program works.
I always train the mentors in my program and I use my training “The Big Five”, which is the five most important tools/techiques for the mentor to use in the 1-on-1 meetings.
The five tools are:
- Active listening
- Effective questions
- Feedback
- Be responsible
- Recognition
Under the whole the participants sit two and two and train on the tools. I don´t believe in a training where the trainer talks all the time and the participants sit and takes note. Everything is gone in the minute they walk from there.
So to be a good mentor you must practice, practice and practice…