New location – See you there!

All good things must come to an end as they say. However, in some cases the good things don’t end, they just change locations. And that is precisely what we are doing. We are blogging about mentoring at www.centerformentoringexcellence.com/blog where you can count on getting valuable information and tips to improve personal and organizational mentoring. Interested in developing yourself and your organizational leadership? Then visit us at www.leadservs.com/blog. Come check us out at both sites. And, while you are at it,let us know what topics you’d like to hear more about.

GenYs look for mentors who can offer them hands-on experiences that will empower them to take the next step. They prefer positive, collaborative, achievement-oriented mentors who will take them seriously. They naturally seek mentoring because they see their growth and development as a priority.

The definition of mentoring varies among cultures. How the word mentor is culturally understood can alter the very essence of a mentoring relationship. For example, the word mentor might be closely related to teacher, supervisor, or expert in another cultural context. It might not translate directly, or it could connote a negative association because of a perception that it is a position of weakness to seek a mentor.

Effectiveness in a cross-cultural mentoring relationship depends on a mentor’s cross-cultural competency.

Here are some strategies to increase your competency:

1. Become Culturally Self Aware

Identify the culturally derived values and assumptions that could affect your relationship. It may be that you were brought up in a culture where sharing feelings is inappropriate or that a one-on-one learning relationship is seen as weakness. What values and assumptions do you hold that someone might not readily understand from a culture other than your own?

2. Develop a Working Knowledge of and Appreciation for Other Cultures

Seek information about your mentee’s country. What do you know about its people? Its politics and government?  Key historical and cultural achievements? Dominant religious beliefs and practices? Family and social structure? Educational system? Economics and industry?  Geography, sports, entertainment, and symbols?

3. Improve Your Communication Skills

Ask open-ended questions. Paraphrase and reflect feelings and content. Repeat and rephrase. Talk about areas where there might be cultural misunderstanding. Check for understanding by asking what specific words, phrases, or expressions mean. Avoid examples that are regionally or culturally specific. Whenever possible, use universal examples and be as descriptive as possible.

4. Become Culturally Attuned to Other Cultures

Be aware that people from other cultures do not always express their feelings verbally. Avoid asking questions that are personal, embarrassing, or probing.

Learn more from our workshop Mentoring Across the Generational Divide

 

Presence Counts

A plant manager got up at his monthly operations meeting to address his 245 employees.  “I am very proud to announce,” he said stone-faced, with his eyes glued to his notes, “we have been named ‘most productive operation’ in the company.   It’s a great day for all of us.” No one clapped, no one cheered, and no one believed him.

Think for a moment about your experience in facilitating someone else’s learning.  Did it go well? Were there some things you could have done better? Chances are if you are like most mentors, you could become even more adept at facilitation.  Help is on the way:

Knowing the right type of questions to ask and how to ask it, is an important mentoring skill. It facilitates deeper learning and engages the mentee as an active learner.

There is an old saying that goes, “If there is no target to aim at you will hit it every time.”  When goals are not defined mentoring proceeds along a meandering path. Clarifying and articulating learning goals requires inquiry and conversation so that the goals that are selected, are meaningful and guide the work of the relationship.

Being knowledgeable about a mentee’s learning style offers a starting point and assists you in knowing when to step forward and when to hold back, and how to honor specific learning styles that help to facilitate the learning. For example, if your mentee is a very logical person who is data driven and fact-oriented and you are someone who operates more intuitively, you will adjust the learning in a manner more suitable to your mentee’s needs.

What is your learning style? How might it impact your mentoring relationships?

Learn more about the goal driven mentoring relationship and Begin with the End in Mind

A good relationship is the basis for a strong partnership.

Mentoring relationships need to be well-established.

The Three P’s

Without the presence of learning, mentoring doesn’t exist. It is the purpose, the process, and the product of a mentoring relationship.