Forfatter: MentorGuru

Thor-Erik Gulliksen is a leading authority and internationally recognized expert in mentoring, coaching, and personal development. With 20+ years of experience in leadership, marketing, education, and training, he has designed mentoring programs that have empowered over 800 individuals to unlock their full potential. As the author of Adepthåndboka and Mentorhåndboka, and the host of the podcast The Talk by Mentorguru, Thor-Erik is a trusted voice for those seeking growth and success. He is known for his engaging workshops, thought-provoking keynotes, and a unique blend of humor and practical tools that inspire both individuals and organizations. His expertise has been acknowledged internationally, making him a sought-after mentor and speaker across borders. Thor-Erik Gulliksen has been recognized as a leading international expert in mentoring, with his work influencing professionals and leaders globally. When he’s not on stage or behind the microphone, Thor-Erik is crafting his next book or article – always driven by his mission to help others grow.
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Certification Levels for Trainers in JCI

But first: WHAT IS JCI – JUNIOR CHAMBER INTERNATIONAL (WWW.JCI.CC)

 

 

JCI is a worldwide community of young active citizens ages 18-40 who share the belief that in order to create positive change, we must take collective action to improve ourselves and the world around us. With over 5,000 Local Organizations in more than 115 countries and territories, JCI forms a vibrant international network with nearly 200,000 members. Engaging in activities ranging from community development to international projects, members demonstrate their social responsibility and improve themselves through participation, leadership and action. The global citizens of JCI are committed to becoming better leaders to build a better future for all.

 

And for us trainers in JCI we have a guide to follow and a certification program. Maybe the only one in Europe.

 

 

For the trainers:
 

To guide trainers along the path of excellence, JCI Training has established a Certification Program – a road map to achievement in the field of training. The program provides incentives and opportunities for members to improve their technical skills through specialized training, career development programs, and active participation in training efforts in the field.

 

JCI members are encouraged to seek advanced certification after successfully completing the JCI Trainer course. 

 

 

JCI Trainer

The first step is to acquire the necessary presentation skills by attending JCI Presenter. With newly learned presentation skills, JCI Trainers are equipped to offer their local organizations a wide range of training sessions available from JCI.

 

 

A JCI Trainer seeking admission to level 1 – Certified Local Trainer (CLT) – is required to:

 

* After graduating from JCI Trainer (Prime), complete 25 hours of training in courses organized by JCI Local or National Organizations.

 

 

CLTs will continue conducting training at the local level or higher until they complete the total hours to attend a JCI Designer course.

 

 

A CLT seeking certification at level 2 – Certified National Trainer (CNT) – is required to:

 

A. After becoming a CLT, conduct 25 additional hours of training. A minimum of 20 hours must be conducted in courses organized by JCI Local or National Organizations officially affiliated to JCI and recorded in JCI database and having JCI members as participants. 5 hours of training outside JCI is accepted.

 

C. After fulfilling item A, attend and graduate from a JCI Designer course. 

 

CNTs have the opportunity to make even more meaningful contributions to JCI by providing regional and national training, and developing new training courses.

 

 

 

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Mentors and Mentoring: Being a Mentor

 (Part 3 of the Series)

 

In Part 1 of this series last week we looked at what a mentor is and does. In Part 2 we looked at ways to find a mentor. In this article, we will review some of the factors involved in becoming a mentor.

 

First Mentors

The former CEO of Hewlett-Packard, Lew Platt, believes in the value of mentoring, In a letter addressing HP’s K-12 program, Platt sees "educating our children as both a business and a social imperative. After all, the young faces we see today are the faces of the workforce and customers of tomorrow." He recommends getting personally involved – "Speak to a class. Be a mentor for a student or teacher, either in person or by e-mail."

The State of California’s Resources Agency also has a mentor program that outlines the Qualifications of a Mentor, What Mentors Do, and What Makes You a Mentor that are all worth reading.

 

Adult Mentors
Mentors are common in educational settings. This University of Oregon site provides guidance in selecting a mentor as well as outlining the role and duties of the mentor.

 

Business Mentors

So what does it take to be a business mentor? It takes the same level of interest, commitment, and confidence in your own abilities that it takes to mentor a student. It also requires that you be sincerely interested in someone else’s growth. You won’t win any awards, but you will have the satisfaction of having done an important job.

Who becomes a mentor? Why do they do it? The answers are as varied as the people involved. Some of us were lucky enough to have had a mentor and want to repay that. Others just want to help out, be a positive influence, or give something to their community.

What ever your reason for being a mentor, you will find it a special experience. Nothing can quite match the self satisfaction you get from sharing your experience to help others.

 

Talk About It


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The Myth of What We Manage

Perhaps it is merely semantics, but an underlying problem I find that people have, as it relates to the success in their life, lies in a proper understanding of what exactly it is they manage. Think about it. We have time management (in fact, I present a seminar on this very topic, some of which is excerpted below), and financial management, and relational management, weight management, career management, and many, many more.

The fact is, though, we don’t manage any of those things. What we do manage is ourselves and how we relate to those things. We don’t manage time. Time clicks by, second by second, whether we do anything or not. What we do manage is ourselves, and our activities, as the time passes. We make choices as to what we will do and be involved in. The problem as well as the solution lies not with time, but with us.

So as we live our lives and pursue success, one of the keys to grab onto is the idea that the most important thing we can manage isn’t a thing at all—it is ourselves!

How, then, can we manage ourselves? Here are some thoughts.

Make sure that the above is firmly ingrained in your thinking: I only manage myself. I can choose how I will act and react in every situation. Dwight D. Eisenhower said, “The history of free men is not written by chance, but by choice, their choice.”

Know your priorities. Do you know from top to bottom what your priorities are? Have you decided what the top 10 things are that you want to spend your time on? How about with your money? Only after you know these things can you properly manage yourself into choosing to live in line with your priorities.

Learn to say no with a smile on your face. Here is where most of us fail. We do not choose to say no to those things that are not a matter of priority (the reason why is another article, and probably a few counseling sessions at that). Someone calls us up and asks us to do something for them (usually because they haven’t managed themselves and would like our help picking up the pieces), and we say, “Uh, I guess so.” Then what? We usually kick ourselves for the rest of the day. “Why did I ever say yes?” Instead, practice this: “Gee, I am really sorry, but I am not going to be able to be involved this time. I am sure you will be able to find somebody, though.” Go ahead and try it right now. Weird, isn’t it? That is because we don’t say it very often.

Schedule your priorities into your schedule, budget or whatever structure governs that particular area of your life. For example, do you have a financial budget that you yourself set? Then do you first and foremost allocate your money in that way, say, at the beginning of the month? If you do, you will eliminate even the opportunity to blow your money on impulse decisions and expenses because your money has already been committed to the priorities of your own choosing. The same principles apply to your management of time.

Remember, one of the greatest gifts God gave us is the ability to choose. And we can choose to manage ourselves appropriately according to our priorities. As we do, we will find ourselves feeling less and less of the personal pain and frustration we sometimes feel when we are out of control and not managing ourselves based on our priorities.

by Chris Widener

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Mentors and Mentoring: Finding a Mentor

(Part 2 of the Series)

In Part 1 of this series we looked at what a mentor is and does. If you have decided that a business or personal mentor could be a benefit to you, the link below will start you toward finding the right mentor.

Government Resources

Sometimes a government agency will offer to match entrepreneurs, or others in a Mentor Program which seeks to link those new in business with experienced business owners in a non-competing industry.

In the United States you can contact the SCORE Association (Service Corps of Retired Executives) for a free business counselor. The Department of Defense (DOD) has a Mentor-Protege Program too.

Organizations

Sometimes you can find a mentor through a professional or trade organization to which you belong, or that you can join.

  • The Oak Ridge (Tennessee) Chapter of Professional Secretaries International has a mentoring program designed to help ensure active participation of all members in Chapter activities.
  • Another Australian site is Mentor Resources Of Tasmania, a mentor program sponsored by the Rotary International organization. It is designed for «keeping small businesses in business.»
  • The Culinary Institute of America also has its own mentor program.
  • Another mentor program to assist women is the Mentor Program of the Society of Women Engineers, Baltimore-Washington Section.
  • Marisol Productions has a great article that describes the types of relationships between mentors and proteges. It also talks about how to find a mentor.

Referals

Far and away the best place to look for a mentor, however, is right in front of you. Look around you at work. Is there an individual who you admire and respect? Someone who has always impressed you with their insight and preceptiveness?

Maybe your boss or your boss’s boss. Maybe it’s a Vice President in a different division. It could even be the older individual who isn’t currently a top executive of your firm, but who you know has lots of experience.

Approach that individual and ask if they would consider being your mentor. Depending on the individual, and your current relationship, your proposal will vary in the amount of detail and how it is delivered. At the very least, let them know what why you selected them and what you hope to learn from the assocation. If appropriate for the specific individual, you can also discuss amounts of time to be commited and what you will contribute.

Don’t put it off. What can you lose? Even if they decline to be your mentor, and few will, they will be flattered that you asked.

NEXT TIME

Do you have what it takes to be a mentor? Check the next article to find out what it takes to be a true guide and friend to another individual.

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On a bad day

The global banking crisis, big business bankruptcies and the share market plummeting, has hit some people hard. It can be easy to succumb to the doom and gloom of the media or become overwhelmed by events. This is when a mentor may step in with words of wisdom, a reality check or a huge challenge.

Having taken a multi million-dollar hit to his business, one CEO thought his business might not survive the latest impact of the global crisis. Telling his mentor what a terrible day it was and suffering the pain of possible failure, he expected sympathy. Instead, his mentor pushed a shift in thinking with a series of sharp questions: How many days have you been in business? How many terrible days have you survived? You have survived the loss of a loved one and rebuilt your life. Was that without pain? After that knee reconstruction, was getting back into sport without pain? Take another look at this situation, how might it just be the best thing that ever happened? There is always an opportunity for the astute during a downturn.

The mentor’s comments were not just spin, hype or motivation. There is truth in the saying: What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger. Who in life cannot look back on an event that was terrible at the time yet shaped a better future? We are inspired by the para-olympians, stories of ordinary people who have done extraordinary things after suffering adversity and everyday heroes who act in the moment of catastrophe. In times of crisis a mentor will remind us of these simple truths.

On a bad day, a mentor will provide empathy rather than sympathy. A mentor will listen and allow you to ventilate your natural emotional response to events. They are non-judgemental and will understand how you feel about your circumstances but a mentor won’t play the pity party game.

A mentoring conversation is not about glossing over, dismissing or ignoring events, pain or emotion. On the contrary, the mentoring conversation allows you to confront issues, process disempowering thoughts and feelings and choose a new response.

The mentoring conversation focuses on stimulating reflection and action. Using questions that stimulate thinking your mentor will challenge your thinking to overcome blame, shame and negativity. They will help you put things in perspective, consider a different point of view and ultimately choose a way to move forward.

Ironically, the current economic situation provides a metaphor. The direct cause and effect of the financial misadventure in sub-prime mortgages is only part of the picture. It is the crisis of confidence in the financial market that may cause a ripple effect to grow into a tsunami. It is how people feel, what they think and what they do in response to any event that produces the real outcome. Panic or despair will exacerbate any crisis.

Likewise in life, it is not what happens to us but our reaction to what happens that produces results. Mentoring enables you to process thoughts and feelings and choose a response. A mentor’s cool head and a warm heart, skilful listening and powerful questions are the reasons why mentoring works.

Fortsett å lese «On a bad day»

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How To Give Good Feedback: 11 Simple Rules

Giving feedback isn’t just a great way to help employees around you perform better. If done properly, it will also make them feel better! Read the 11 simple rules below on how to provide good feedback to a team, employees or fellow workers. These rules came from an article in www.leadership-expert.co.uk

 

Simple Rule 1: Give feedback the time it deserves. Great feedback isn’t shouted to an employee across the carpark at the end of the day. Try to dedicate time for the sole purpose of giving feedback, whether it’s just a minute or part of a formal meeting. Properly announce your intentions by asking, “I would like to give you some feedback on X, would that be OK?”.

 

Simple Rule 2: Be Honest. The purpose of giving feedback, (whether positive or constructive), is to align the persons perception of their behaviour with reality. If your idea of feedback is to spoon feed half-truths in an attempt to shift their behaviour to suit your ends, you may be only making things worse.

 

Simple Rule 3: Use the ‘compliment sandwich’ or more exotic varieties. A compliment sandwich is where you offer a compliment followed by a constructive point, and closed with a further positive feedback point.

The theory is that this approach will help the conversation end on a positive note. However a word of warning to those dealing with savvy employees & especially middle management (who may use this technique themselves); don’t strictly stick to this exact recipe because it is a very transparent strategy.

If an employee actively recognises you are using a compliment sandwich, they may choose to ignore the positive comments in the belief that the ‘true’ purpose of the conversation is for you to communicate the constructive point, and this may cause them to react defensively.

 

If you want to read more www.leadership-expert.co.uk/how-to-give-good-feedback-employees-team-collegues/

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Personal Branding – PIMP YOURSELF

You heard about pimp my car right? But pimp yourself is a pretty new word (at least for me).

My partner in Trainifique, trainifique.com , was interviewed in a blog about branding.

They start the interview like this:

Today we have a wonderful trainer, motivator and a guy who cares for information security to present to you. How did Kai Roer make it and how does he measure success? Let’s see…

If you want to read the rest, click here:

www.jci.ee/bc2010/personalbrandprofile-kai-roer

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Marketing YOU

 

You know how to market your product or service, but do you know how to market yourself? You are the critical factor to successfully selling your product or service, so make sure your marketing medium and message aren’t outdated.

It’s not just social networking.


Facebook is no longer a site only used for reconnecting friendships or indulging your teenager’s need for constant communication. As of April, Facebook now has 200 million users, and its fastest growing segment is 35 years old and older. If you don’t have a page on Facebook, you’re missing out on an easy advertising medium. It takes just minutes to create a Facebook page, and soon, you can be establishing yourself as a leader in your field, developing your personal brand and creating more visibility for yourself, your product or your service.

 

Sign up with LinkedIn so you can easily be found with a Google search. LinkedIn is a business networking site where you can personalize your own page, broadcast your professional history and post testimonials from others. The contacts you link up and interact with, the more expansive your network. View LinkedIn as an opportunity to build your contacts, expand your network and increase your credibility.

 

Twitter began as a way to easily stay in touch with family, friends and business contacts by answering a simple question: What are you doing? But, now, Twitter also can be a marketing tool. Users “tweet” by sending short messages via mobile texting, instant message or the Web. Savvy business owners tweet to draw attention to a product, event, resource, blog or Web site. Use Twitter to find out what people are saying about a competitor or you. Show the human side of your business by discussing the good things people in your company are doing. Find out your contacts’ interests, or share some of your own. Get feedback on a problem or answers to questions. Organize meetings or “Tweetups.” Or, follow your mentors by seeing what they are tweeting about.