TIPS-HOW TO MENTOR.
Mentoring-core aspects
1. Mentoring involves a one to one contact of equals, in a defined and agreed relationship, with the aim to learn and to improve, personal and professional effectiveness
2. Mentors need to have varied styles, from directive/telling to coaching, facilitating, and delegating/supportive styles
3. Mentoring values can be detailed in a mentoring agreement
4. Mentoring roles will vary during the relationship and need to be identified
5. Mentoring activities involve using organisational and interpersonal procedures and processes
6. A reminder that people do think differently - “no one size fits all”-and four general thinking styles are commented on in appendix -four general learning styles along with the appropriate mentor action needed.
Learning and mentoring
7. Learning is a cycle of do-reflect-reconsider/reconstruct-revise-do etc
8. Learning involves doing- “I Learn, therefore I do”
9. Ten effective learning conditions are detailed and the links to mentoring are noted
10. Mentoring can assist individuals in this learning process, which needs to ask themselves-do I need a mentor
What is mentoring? - An overview
11. A mentor helps another person to learn and to change
12. Mentoring can be an informal arrangement or can be formally arranged
13. In companies, the business case for mentoring must be articulated
14. Mentoring is a powerful way of supporting individual learning, team learning and company learning
15. Mentoring can be short term with limited objectives, or can be over a longer term with wider objectives
16. The benefits from mentoring to companies, mentors and mentees are available
17. Support is critical in learning
18. Mentoring can be used to challenge and open up differences through positive conflict, whilst avoiding destructive negative conflict
19. When challenging, positive compliance lets people shape the outcome, but negative compliance forces an outcome and discourages challenge
20. Mentoring can foster a learning culture, for individuals, teams and companies
Selecting and choosing mentors
21.Mentoring is about helping the mentee to grow in self confidence, to
develop independently, be autonomous, and have personal and professional
effectiveness
22. It is built on mutual trust, regard and respect, openness and honesty
23. The relationship needs to benefit both parties
24. Mentor qualities are varied
25. The line manager should not mentor their own people, but should be involved, be knowledgeable and support the relationship
26. The relationship succeeds if both parties are willing volunteers and both are involved in the selection process
27. Characteristics of a good mentor and a good mentee are available. Correct selecting and matching of mentor and mentee will prevent and help to overcome any subsequent problems
28. Selection of mentors is important, see the items covering in the appendix checklist and then be alert to the problems that can occur
29. Characteristics of successful (company) mentoring schemes are available
The mentoring life cycle
30. The three stages of mentoring were identified as follows:
- Starting, the initiating, orientation, or courtship stage
- Core, the establishing, adolescence, honeymoon, nurturing, or dependency, followed by the maturing, developing independence or autonomy stage
- Ending, the mourning, termination, or divorce stage
31. Preparation for mentor and mentee is needed
32. Questions are needed to establish rapport
33. Agendas for each of the three stages are available
34. During the three stages, the roles changes as follows:
- The mentee, from dependency to independence
- The mentor for, directive to supportive
35. Details to enable checking on “are we there yet” are available
36.Mutual feedback questions that can be used at the “end” are needed
Mentoring skills
37. The four core skills of mentoring were identified as follows:
- Listening skills-an active process that is not well practised. The Listening skill Checklist details what is needed.
- Intervening skills involves challenging and reflecting through questioning. Examples of questions are available
- Feedback skills should be specific, honest, objective, direct and developmental. Checklists for giving and receiving feedback are available.
- Focus skills involves examining and reviewing, again details are available.
38. An finally, a 50 point Checklist for mentors to self assess themselves is available-which significantly concluded that mentors must themselves be active learners continually in their own learning Mentoring-process and documentation
39. Templates for documentation can be helpful to ensure a formal process is followed when conducting mentoring. Examples are available.
40. The “Right” conditions for learning are the “Right” individual values/beliefs about learning, the “Right” environment and the “Right” resources Mentoring-the ultimate target
41. The end for mentoring is an autonomous and accountable person
42. However learning should never stop and the spiral of doing-reflectingreconsidering/reconstructing-revising-doing- etc. must continue.
These Tips are based upon the book “How to Mentor and Support
Learning” by Stuart Emmett, published 2003 by Chandos
Publishing/Spiro Press. ISBN 1-90429-865- 6. Complete details are available in this book, available from: http://www.capita-ld.co.uk
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