Mentee Role

From passive receiver to active learner

Mentor Role
From authority to facilitator

Learning Process
From mentor directed to self directed; from face to face to multiple and varied opportunities

Focus
Knowledge transfer and acquisition to
critical reflection and application.

Lois J. Zachary, President

Mentoring Alignment
People Values Vision Understanding

Strategy
Structure Communication

Lois J. Zachary, President

Accountability in Mentoring People

Setting Goals Clarifying Expectations Defining Roles and Responsibilities Monitoring Progress and Measuring Results

Gathering Feedback
Formulating Action Goals Integrating Process Improvements

Lois J. Zachary, President

Instead of moving directly from observation to active Coaching or Mentoring, you must pass through an intermediate step: discussion.

Perhaps the single most important tip for being a great mentor

is getting off to a good start with each new protg. A good

start is defined here as an open-ended conversation in which mentor and protg get to know each other, establish rapport, understand each others expectations, and identify a set of mutually agreed goals.

The Initial Meeting

Mentors Job Come prepared Learn whatever you can about the protg before your initial meeting. Recount your own mentoring experiences to your protg. Explain what worked and what didnt. Protgs Job Same.

Talk about the big picture

Listen and ask question.

Discuss the protg needs

Seek mutual agreement on goals and expectations Seek agreement on responsibilities

Ask questions and listen.

Explain where you are and where youll like to be and how mentoring might help.
This is what I hope to achieve through this mentoring relationship. And I agree to do .

Explain what you can and what you cannot do.

I will do .

The Initial Meeting

Mentors Job Set a timetable Lets work on this for three months. Then will review progress and determine if we should continue. Check my calendar for suitable times. Nothing we discuss will go outside this room unless we both agree otherwise. If this relationship isnt producing the results you expect, or if you disagree with my advice, say so. neither of us has time to waste. Protgs Job Same.

Agree on meeting times and who will set them Insist on confidentially

I will take responsibility for finding dates and times that fit into your schedule. Same.

Agree to be candid

I will tell you if this relationship isnt working for me. I wont waste your time.

Once you are prepared, enter into dialogue with the employee about what youve observed. As you do so, stick to observations of actual behaviors instead of your suppositions about personal motives.

In a dialogue, one person offers proposition or asks a question and others respond, shedding light on the

question, and often opening new avenues of inquiry.

The iterative, back-and-forth of dialogue brings people closer to the truth.

Open Pause Reflective Fact Finding Summary

Career development is a practical business. It has no other

purpose than to produce good results. Consequently, your advice and feed back should point to things that are within the capabilities of your protg. That which is theoretical or beyond the other persons control is a waste of time.

a) Recognize your emotions and responses - Name your emotion and then act. b) Reframe the feedback

- Reconstruct the feedback process to your

advantage. Reacting to the feedback positively. Seeing the positive things in the feedback.

c) Break up the feedback on the task.

- Divide up the large task of dealing

with feedback into manageable, measurable and set realistic time frames for each.

d) Getting the feedback you need

Seek regular feedback from your boss rather than wait for the annual performance review to come around. The proactive feedback process consists of your manageable steps:- Self Assessment, External Feedback, Absorbing the Feedback, and Taking Action Toward Change. Feedback conversations with colleagues can after serve as a form of dress rehearsal of the real thing.

e) Taking action

- The proactive feedback process involves coming to conclusions about, and acting on, the information you have received. HBR April03

Fear of Feedback has many a cause, examples, ridicule; criticisms on self; non-response to feedback, etc. Fears and assumptions about Feedback often manifest themselves in psychologically maladaptive behaviors such

as procrastination, denial, brooding, jealousy, and selfsabotage.

First Meeting:

Get acquainted and establish a relationship

Find commonalities and share personal interests, hobbies Share professional background, education, and areas of expertise Learn about what is most important to each one of you

Set expectations

What does the Mentor expect from the Protege? What does the Protg expect from the Mentor? What will the Mentor provide or not provide? How will we measure and evaluate outcomes?

Complete a Contract Agreement

Refer to Contract Agreement in the Mentoring website, download it and complete it Print the completed document refer to it so you stay focused and aligned

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On-Going Meetings

Set a specific time, date, and location Have an agenda prepared in advance Have a summary of notes from the last session Meet at the agreed time and be punctual Follow up on action items from last meeting Agree on what will be discussed in next meeting Agree on action items to be accomplished against devp plan Proteges and Mentors have one final meeting to share learnings and celebrate their success
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A mentors job is to help other people help themselves. Protg wont learn to help themselves if you come to the rescue whenever they encounter problems.

As in coaching, it is always best to separate bad or

inappropriate behavior from the protg persona. Doing so will

prevent that person from feeling personally attacked and will make discussion easier and more objective.

Never forget that the protg is responsible for his or her own success. As a mentor, you are merely there to lend support and advice, and to open doors from time to time. If your protg has the right stuff, he will already understand the importance of planning. Use you superior knowledge and experience to help him improve the

plan.

Your protg needs and support from many people.

Part of your job as a wise and resourceful guide to establish a broad foundation of support for the protg within the organization and with key external stakeholders, primarily suppliers, customers, and strategic partners.

Do that and your protg will have a solid base on which to build a successful career.

Consider the following Common Mistakes:

Talking too much. Failing to listen.

Losing control of your emotions.

Directing the subordinate toward something he will resist without emotional preparation.

 Doing someone elses job for them. Knowing all of the answers all of the time. Imposing ready-made solutions that worked somewhere else. Being brilliant at doing the job, taking initiative, etc.

Importing and applying hi-tech and perhaps culturally inappropriate

solutions.

The best mentor put themselves out of the mentoring business by helping their charges to fend for themselves. There is nothing more satisfying to a good teacher than saying of his

student, shes at the point where she can teach herself.