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The purpose of a mentoring program is to give learners assistance and guidance in their career.

Learners must feel confident knowing that there is a structure or system that they can approach for guidance, advise and information. Once the goals are identified it is much easier to make decisions regarding various program elements and it is possible to use the goals as a way of determining whether the program detail is on track or off track.

The following principles are vital to the success of a mentoring program:

1. The mentoring program should fit the culture of Old Mutual and the setting in which it operates.
2. Examples of assistance and guidance that could be offered are the following:

Learners can:

1. know that they can approach their mentor with their worries, frustrations and concerns about their workplace training.
2. approach their mentor to find more information on workplace training aspects.
3. approach their mentor for advice regarding “difficult workplace” issues.
4. approach their mentor for guidance if they feel unsure of their ability or competence in workplace aspects.
5. be matched with a particular mentor, the key to such a successful match is NOT the degree of similarity between the mentor and the learner but the mentor’s ability to tune in to, understand and accept what the learner is experiencing.  The success of the mentoring match is dependent on monitoring that relationship that develops between the partners.

Mentors must be assured in action (not just in words) that they will be getting something valuable out of being a mentor; that their time will be well-spent, that they will grow or learn, etc. Mentors need to experience value when they interact with the learners. It cannot be a one-way relationship where the mentor does all the giving.

Partnering a mentor to a learner

The following guidelines are used to partner up a mentor with a learner:

Make a list.
The mentor should make a list of things that he/she would have wanted to know when if they were in the position of the person who will be mentored. The list might include information about the mentor, about the assistance, guidance or advice that Old Mutual will be able to offer and the expectations concerning the mentoring relationship. These details must be written down in note form.

Be clear about purpose and boundaries.
Gift-giving, acting as an advocate for career advancement, loaning money, or becoming involved in dispute resolution with a colleague should be out-of-bounds for mentors. Mentors should feel comfortable talking about ethical or moral issues, however, and he/she must be clear about ground rules.

Create an agenda.
Identify some items for an agenda. Some typical items are (1) getting to know each other, (2) logistics, (3) goals and expectations, (4) concerns that might interfere with our meeting together, (5) initial impressions, (6) questions I have about you, and (7) why I think I can be a worthy mentor. Always make sure that you call the person by the name they prefer to be called.

Listen deeply and ask powerful questions.
The two skills that are essential for successful mentoring are (1) in-depth listening, that is, suspending judgment, listening for understanding and providing an accepting and supportive atmosphere; and (2) asking powerful questions, that is, questions that are challenging in a friendly way and questions that help the other person talk about what is important to that person. Seldom ask “why” questions. Most of the questions can be described as “open-ended” and usually start with “how” or “what.”

Plan for the next meeting.
At the end of a meeting, ask for any ideas about what you might want to discuss at the next meeting. Also ask for an impression of how this meeting went and what you and the learner might be able to do (or stop doing) next time to make the next meeting as good or better.

Experiment with process.
Over a period of several meetings, you might use coaching, role plays, simulations, experiential learning activities, brainstorming, and other techniques. The parties could go for a walk together; sitting on a bench sharing lunch, or in some cases, attend a special event all have meaning for relationship building.

Focus on wisdom.
The mentor must see him/herself as a resource, catalyst, facilitator, idea generator, networker, and problem-solver, but not as a person with all the answers. Share what you have done (or have learned), not as a prescription, but more as an example of something from which you gained some wisdom. Feel comfortable contributing ideas or suggestions, not as a sage, but as a collaborator.

Maintain and respect privacy, honesty, and integrity.
Be careful of the disastrous consequences that can accompany violating the above values. You can’t offer confidentiality in the legal sense, but you can do your best to ensure that “what is said in this room stays in this room.”

WAYS OF MENTORING

When most people think of mentoring, they think of experts sharing technical knowledge with less experienced individuals in a profession. Certainly sharing one’s expertise is a large part of mentoring, but so is the communication of support, challenge, feeling and many other kinds of information.

Guidelines for mentors to assist learners to do successful planning of work schedule

• Find out how you can be the most helpful in the area of planning the learner’s work routine.
• Team up at least every two weeks to meet for discussion and guidance sessions.
• Let the learner describe various difficult work situations and how these situations worked out.
• Let the learner show you how they organise their planning for the day, week or month.
• Share your ideas about planning for contingencies.
• Talk about how and where to anticipate workplace difficulties and how to deal with such situation.
• Describe the labour saving steps the learner can use in planning that pay off later in reduced workload.
• Talk about the areas of work where the learner feels confident and successful in (praise the learner regularly – this will reinforce confidence).
• Collaborate on a specific work related problem and guide the learner how to tackle such a situation or issue.
• Work together to design a new approach to deal with specific work related problems.
• Share information or advice that has worked well for you.
• Offer to share your knowledge or show where other information can be found.

Suggestions for Sharing Expertise

• Provide opportunities for the learner to talk about any workplace concerns and to ask questions.
• Listen with interest when he or she talks about a particular problem or worry, and if asked, offer your own reaction or analysis and support.
• Be willing to share information about your own workplace successes and failures, if appropriate.
• Offer to demonstrate certain procedures/techniques that the learner has problems with.
• Brainstorm a wide range of solutions that might be fitting for common problems.
• Talk about the importance of routines and describe the routines that contribute most to a department’s management.
• Describe ways to let the learner know you understand his/her needs and concerns, and demonstrate ways to link that knowledge with long-range and short-term planning.
• Share examples of ways to enhance the learner’ self-concepts.
• Talk about the most difficult management problems you have encountered and the various ways you could have address them.
• Describe techniques you tried that didn’t work and analyse why they didn’t work, demonstrating an experimental orientation.
  Communication checklist for mentors

• How do I perceive myself in the many roles a mentor plays?
• How well do I understand the learner’s overall expectations for our mentoring relationship?
• In general, is my communication with him or her effective, including verbal and nonverbal communication
• What is my objective in this specific conversation or message?
• Does my delivery mode (face-to-face, phone, written communication) fit my purpose?
• Am I too formal or informal for the purpose of this communication?
• What assumptions have I made or shared in this communication?
• What kind of response do I expect from the learner?
• Am I prepared for a very different kind of response?
• Have I given him or her enough time to respond, to ask questions or to ask for clarification?
• If I think I have been misunderstood, can I clarify and paraphrase?
• Am I willing to set aside my own communication agenda to listen to his or hers at any time?
• How should I react to his/her communication to further our mentoring relationship?

Support can be communicated in many ways. Mentors find it helpful to make a list of the various kinds of support they are comfortable providing as they share their expertise. The examples below illustrate a few ways that mentors communicate support:

• A nod of the head, a smile, or a wink at a tense moment.
• A compliment, a pat on the back, or a hug after a challenge has been met.
• A coffee break or lunch together at a time when the learner needs to talk.
• An opportunity to spend an evening together reviewing the results of a task or planning for the next one.
• Information about ways to gain the support of key individuals.
• Suggestions for acquiring scarce resources.

It becomes important then, for mentors to become sensitive to the growth needs of those to whom they mentor, and attempt to offer optimal challenges for their learner’s professional development. Some mentors develop mentoring plans to help maintain optional levels of challenge for the learner.

Conclusion

Mentors need to offer their learners challenges that stimulate professional growth and cause them to stretch. Challenges lead to the development of new levels of expertise.

When the amount of challenge is well matched to the learner’s readiness for growth, the tasks become motivating. Challenges that are not matched well with the individual’s level of development can be overwhelming and create feelings of being unable to cope. Then, rather than producing growth, the challenge may lead to frustration, panic or feelings of failure.

Author: Louise Whyte

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