Kategori: Mentoring tools

Articles about the tools used for the mentor, the mentee, the coordinator and other that work with mentoring.

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You have to have empathy

As a mentor you always have to be on top, and you can´t have a «bad» day. If you do, pretend you don´t. One of the best tools for a mentor is to show empathy with the mentee. It is one of the greatest gifts you can give to anyone, the gift of attention.

The more you care, the stronger you can be. Don’t operate on the heart with a hatchet. Show your contempt for the problem and your concern for the mentee.

Be sensitive to the plight of others. You have to know about the tragedies as well as the triumphs, the failures as well as the success.

How do you build a bridge between age 12 and age 40? By remembering.

Some small techniques and  afterthought.

You have to have empathy…

 

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MENTOR-model

The premier for a new tool, called the MENTOR-model was a success yesterday.
The MENTOR-model is a model for the whole meeting and would help mentors in their meetings with the mentee.

The participants also come up with several different ways to use the tool, and in ways I haven´t thought about.

Thank you!

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GROW-model of mentoring

To support the information on managing the mentoring process, the following GROW model can be used to develop a practical approach to the mentoring session.

The model will help the mentor prepare for the session, and will provide a useful structure to the discussion. A number of questions have been provided at each stage of the model,
however they are suggested questions only, and it is important to adapt them to your own style to ensure an effective mentoring session. Each mentoring session should work through each part of the GROW process.

The GROW mentoring model will help the mentee to identify career goals, and options to move towards their goal, and importantly to discuss what might need to change to
allow this to occur.

GOALS – REALITY – OPTIONS – WRAP UP

Do you use this tool or maybe you have another tool you use. Please shear them with us.

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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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Stay in the Question

Having all the answers isn’t a good thing, says Tim Hurson, productive thinking and creative leadership expert. “Productive thinking requires us not to rush to answers, but to hang back, to keep questioning even when the answers seem obvious.”

Being OK with ambiguity fosters creative thinking, he says, but acknowledges it’s hard to do. “We are patted on the head for coming up with that one right answer quickly—the faster you answer, the smarter you are,” says Hurson, who’s also the author of Think Better, An Innovator’s Guide to Productive Thinking. “This drive for singularity and speed continues in our adult lives. In business, the successful manager is the one who is decisive and always has the right answer.”

But being able to stay with the question is one of the most powerful thinking skills you can develop. Here’s how he says to do it:

“Question. The more we question and the more we stay in the question, asking it over and over again, the more useful our ultimate answers will be.”

“Remember, initial ideas usually aren’t ideas at all. They are little more than regurgitations of the patterns we already have. The reason they arise is simply that they lie so close to the surface of our consciousness. They have little to do with productive thought. They are merely recalled.”

“Live in your question until you can see the vast panorama of possible answers.”

“Make lists all the time. Ask why things are the way they are. Ask how things might be different. Always be making lists.”

“Your mind is a treasure box of ideas, inspirations and insights ricocheting and resounding through your hundred billion neural connections,” Hurson says. “Sometimes you just have to wait for them to come into view.”

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Why You Need To Train People For Mentoring

The purpose of training is to enable mentors and mentorees to establish effective relationships. Some programs simply introduce people and leave them to «get on with it». Occasionally, this works. But people need to know what is expected of them, how to go about it and why it is important and you need to be confident they have the skills for mentoring.Why Train?

  • Building a relationship of rapport and trust can be tricky when there are many individual differences;
  • Managing people is different from mentoring people; and
  • Motivation will be critical to success.

Mentoring is different from other workplace relationships. It is professional and personal, it deals with rational and emotional motivation and it non-directive but offers guidance and advice! The paradoxical nature of mentoring needs to be understood and the key skills developed.
In addition, participants usually need ongoing personal support and reassurance. Establishing an interactive network of participants will add value. This is most likely to happen when participants meet and work together in training sessions.

Training Mentors and Mentorees

The role of the mentor, communication styles, strategies and practical techniques for applying the mentoring process can be explored in workshops. It is usually beneficial to provide mentors with an initial session separately from the mentorees so that they are able to discuss any issues candidly.

Mentorees need to be primed to make the most of the mentoring experience. Their responsibilities, communication and goal setting are topics you want to cover in their training.

Bringing mentors and mentorees together for a workshop is highly desirable. This way you can enable them to identify expectations of each other in a non-threatening group process. You can also ensure that they have a common understanding of mentoring etiquette, procedures and reporting. Being part of a group reduces the feeling of isolation and you can set up a mechanism for ongoing group contact. Within this workshop mentoring pairs can have a structured first meeting to break the ice. Debriefing the meeting as a group, you can draw out do’s and don’ts for effective future meetings.

 

The author of this article is Ann Rolfe, and was first published 04. februar 2010 on www.mentoring-works.com.

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Return on Investment

You may or may not have to put a dollar value on your mentoring strategy but you will need to identify some success indicators. Here are a few thought starters.

  • Staff retention
  • Return to work after maternity leave or injury
  • Representation of target group in grade, roles, positions, locations
  • Percentage of applications for internal jobs or promotions
  • Number in the target group who won a position or promotion
  • Number who participate in training, education or development opportunities
  • Number of external (target group) applicants for jobs
  • Benchmark comparison, industry average, other organisations

Some of these are easy to put a dollar value. For example, mentoring programs specifically designed to attract and retain graduates. Recruiting graduates is expensive and there is no ROI if you lose your new person within two years. Gen Y has been notoriously career-oriented and mobile. Some organisations, such as government agencies cannot pay big dollars to get or keep graduates, so mentoring is a cost-effective strategy attractive to the career development focus of this group.

Likewise, many organisations are not ready for the exodus of experience when baby-boomers retire. Being mentors can help keep them, engage them and increase their productivity while facilitating knowledge transfer.

You can probably find some figures within your organisation or industry regarding the replacement cost of staff. Obviously it varies depending on the role. But a ballpark estimate of around 2-3 times annual salary per person could be a starting point. You can’t ignore this kind of money. That’s why one of our major banks was a trailblazer twenty years ago, with mentoring as part of a suit of programs for women on maternity leave. They realised that the cost of losing their talent and experience, long-term, was unacceptable and avoidable.

One way to evaluating ROI is to look at the cost of not having mentoring. Last year one of my clients launched a career-focused mentoring program. However, the GFC meant that the program coincided with a job freeze! Yet because of the mentoring, participants spent twelve months enthusiastic about their employer and confident about their future instead of succumbing to disenchantment. That’s how mentoring works!

The author of this article is Ann Rolfe, and was first published 08. march 2010 on www.mentoring-works.com.

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To Lead, Start with Yourself

As a leader I frequently get asked the question:

What is my greatest accomplishment— the greatest thing I have ever seen happen as a leader?

And after reading an Earl Nightingale article he titled “The Greatest Things,” I thought I would compile my own list of a leader’s greatest “things.”

The list I am going to share with you over the next few months is very subjective. I suggest that after I share them with you, you do your own assessment—because there is no right or wrong answer. What I am giving you is my own subjective and personal thinking on leadership. So let’s get started with the first one.

The Leader’s Greatest Victory—Victory over Self

My greatest victory every day is victory over self. I don’t want to put this in past tense because this is a daily battle I have to fight. Not a day goes by where I don’t have to work on myself and battle the temptations of self.

When people think of leadership, the common thought is a leader’s greatest victory is with others. That is a normal and understandable thought process. Because what do leaders do? They lead others. They are taking people someplace, right?

Read more of the article «Maximum Leadership» from John C. Maxwell right here at this link:

www.successmagazine.com/john-maxwell-leadership/PARAMS/article/924

Enjoy!

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What To Talk About When There’s Nothing To Talk About

In the time-poor environment that we have created, mentorees are very concerned about wasting their mentor’s time. Mentorees are often hesitant to contact their mentor or schedule meetings when they have no burning issue to discuss. This is a mistake.

You might feel there’s no point meeting at times when you have no problems. When you are working toward longer-term goals and are progressing but have no current actions or outcomes to discuss, a meeting may seem unnecessary. And it’s easy to skip meeting if you are very busy with day-to-day activities and haven’t focused on your personal development since the last mentoring conversation.

It is good to have an agenda for mentoring conversations, even if it’s just a few bullet points, because it shows respect for the mentor’s time, it helps maintain focus and provides both parties with a sense of accomplishment and completion. However, a lack of an agenda should not stop a mentoring conversation. Mentors may need to take the lead to reassure their partner of their commitment because mentoring conversations when it seems «there’s nothing to talk about» may be vital.


No Problem
Mentoring conversations are not just about solving problems or making decisions. They are about the availability of a person, with whom to have a conversation that provokes creative and critical thinking. A key benefit of mentoring is the relationship. However, the relationship needs to be established and well maintained if problems or important decisions are to be confidently shared when they do arise.

Conversations about what is going well are extremely useful too. Celebrating success is not simply a feel-good exercise. The purpose of mentoring is to create and capture insight, then use it. Reviewing positive outcomes and satisfaction will reveal and reinforce the constructive behaviours that led to success and clarify personal values and priorities. By listening and questioning a mentor can facilitate much greater awareness and positive actions that will enhance the mentoree’s life.

Long-term Goals
People often use mentoring to identify career direction and work towards it. These goals are not usually achieved over night but as a result of specific actions over time. So naturally, there will be pauses between. In a mentoring program over a finite period, the early momentum can come to a halt after initial action steps are implemented. Some mentoring relationships can survive long gaps between contacts but some won’t. People wonder how best to get value in the interim.

It is useful to have a «default agenda» a standard format that produces constructive conversation. This could be as simple as reviewing the week/fortnight/month’s highlights and low points and accomplishments. The mentor may ask a series of questions that prompt reflection and learning, such as: «what’s working well for you, right now?» and «what could be improved?» My mentor asks: «what is your greatest challenge, right now?» A new, short-term goal and actions, or at least awareness and focus, often result.

Personal Development
No matter what qualifications, age or career stage one has achieved, on-going personal development is a must. Even if an individual development plan negotiated with a manager, linked to performance appraisal and formalised, taking personal responsibility for self-directed learning and development is essential. It is easy, to let the demands of day-to-day work and hectic life style get in the way of personal aspirations and our growth as a human being. If we lose sight of what is truly important, if we have no sense of purpose, life can become a meaningless round of chores interspersed with moments of instant gratification.

Mentoring conversations are all about discovering meaning and purpose – for mentors as well as mentorees. The mentor might share his or her own life-lessons and insights that led to personal development. This can be immensely valuable to both parties .

The social support offered by relationships, should not be underestimated in the too-busy life so many of us lead. When you don’t have time, or have nothing to talk about may be exactly the time to have a mentoring conversation! Investing time really communicating another human being, taking time out to pause and reflect or simply stoping to smell the roses (or the coffee) is never a waste of time! That’s how mentoring works.

The author of this article is Ann Rolfe, and was first published in 2010 on www.mentoring-works.com.