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. And, while you are at it,let us know what topics you’d like to hear more about.
If you are lucky, your organization is already convinced about the value of mentoring, and has set up a mentoring program that you are invited to participate in. If mentoring is not a formal part of your workplace culture, you … Continue reading
Mentoring Tip 10: Mentoring requires no less than careful preparation of the mentoring partners. When self-preparation is ignored, more often than not, the results are dissatisfaction with the outcome or derailment of the relationship. To get your relationship to a … Continue reading
Here are some more of my tips for mentoring excellence: Mentoring Tip 5: Some mentoring partnerships end with successful completion of learning goals. Some do not for a host of reasons. Even unproductive or unsatisfactory mentoring relationships can benefit from … Continue reading
12 Tips for Mentoring Excellence Mentoring Tip 1: Long distance mentoring communication often gets accomplished in sound bites – a quick email, a fax, or very short conversation. At other points, longer conversations or exchanges take place. Knowing which to … Continue reading
We are frequently asked for hints about how to establish a good distance mentoring relationship. Our response is always the same. Establishing a meaningful human connection and building the relationship are the foundation for building effective distance mentoring partnerships.
It is important to establish agreements from day one and to be accountable by continuously checking in to make sure you are on point.
TAKEAWAY: Tips for distance mentoring success:
1. Invest time and effort in setting a climate for learning.
2. Be sensitive to the day to day needs of your mentoring partner.
3. Identify and use multiple venues for communication.
4. Set a regular contact schedule but be flexible.
5. Establish milestones and consistent checkpoints.
6. Make sure that communication results in meaningful learning.
7. Share information and resources – but never as a substitute for personal interaction.
The heart of the mentoring relationship is learning. We recommend keeping a journal as a sure way to reflect upon your relationship and enrich your learning. Give yourself time to regularly write about your experiences. Examine situations. Note your feelings. Consider what happened and what was really going on. Don’t dwell on the detail. Capture a brief description and note some specifics, enough so that when you review this later on, you will be able to recall this clearly. Whatever stimulates your thinking will help you better understand your own behavior so note your frustrations, curiosities, and “magic moments.”
TAKE AWAY: If you get stuck, keep writing. Reflect on why that is so at this particular time. You may find that all you needed was a starting point and the rest will follow.
It is so critical that mentee’s have the tools, knowledge and capability to drive a mentoring relationship. Lory and I are so pleased that our book, The Mentee’s Guide, seems to be resonating with many different audiences. Here’s a link to a recent review: http://www.nacada.ksu.edu/Journal/bkrev_1178.htm
I hear the common refrain: “We don’t have time for mentoring.”
It is important to invest time in your professional growth and development. Sometimes lack of time is a perception rather than a reality.
Other times, it is a simply a matter of approach. My experience is that being a mentee could be a whole lot easier if people approached it with a different mindset. That mindset means starting with an understanding of mentoring, what it can do for you and how it can support your personal and professional development. Sort out your needs. Then, you can enter into a mentoring relationship poised to make the most of it.
TAKEAWAY: Remember taking time can save time for you in the long run!
Here are some tips that will help you find the time for your mentoring relationships:
• Reflect on your purpose.
• Be clear about your own goals and objectives.
• Consider what you are willing to contribute to the relationship.
• Identify the characteristics you are looking for in a mentor or mentee.
• Use your network to search for the right mentor.
Each mentoring relationship is just as unique as the individuals in it and needs to work for both mentoring partners. However, some degree of proscribed structure in the way of timelines or organizational goals usually exists in a mentoring program.
Formal mentoring programs generally fall under the aegis of an organization, and many organizations now are pushing to ramp up the level of practice for both the mentor and the mentee in informal mentoring relationships as well.
When mentoring partners are totally accountable for their own participation, solely determining frequency, duration, content and outcomes, the mentoring relationship is considered informal. How each of these gets played out varies considerably. Popular wisdom to the contrary, informal relationships run the gamut from casual, catch-as-catch-can conversations or “conversations on an as-needed basis” and information sharing to more structured, formalized relationships.
TAKEAWAY: Whether formal or informal, mentoring relationships follow predictable cycles characterized by key tasks associated with each phase. The phases include preparing (getting ready), negotiating (establishing agreements), enabling (mentoring at work) and reaching closure (integrating and moving forward). Knowing what to expect contributes to a more successful mentoring relationship.
The paradigm for mentoring today has shifted from the old pediatric model of sage on the stage to guide on the side. Instead of taking someone completely under their wing, mentors honor what we now know about how adults learn most effectively – through give and take.
Mentoring is a reciprocal learning relationship in which the mentor and mentee agree to a partnership where they work collaboratively toward achieving mutually defined goals focused on developing mentee skills, abilities, knowledge and/or thinking.
TAKEAWAY: Mentoring now is learner-centered. It requires a shift in thinking and behavior from the mentee as passive receiver to the mentee as active, self-directed learner. The role of the mentor is more facilitator than authority. Instead of knowledge transfer, mentoring focuses on critical reflection and application of learning.
Lois Zachary's Mentoring Expert Blog 