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Frequently
Asked Questions
1.
Why mentoring?
2.
What does it take for mentoring to be successful?
3.
How do you know when your organization is ready?
4.
How does structured and unstructured mentoring differ?
5.
What are the different ways mentoring can be focused?
6.
How long should a mentoring relationship last?
7.
Why is it important to have a systematic approach?
8.
What does a Process Coordinator do?
9.
How does a Subject-Matter Expert add value?
1.
Why
mentoring?
Mentoring is one of the most cost effective tools an
organization has for the development of its people.
In today’s business environment, organizations usually face one
of three situations – (1) business is great and individuals are so busy
they don’t have time to attend training and development activities; (2)
the organization has downsized and with a leaner staff, individuals are so busy they don’t have time to
attend training and development activities; or (3) the organization has
cut budgets and in most cases has eliminated any (or the biggest portion
of) budgets focused on training and development activities.
In any of these scenarios, whether business is great or is
failing, development of an organization’s workforce becomes even more
vital. Individuals need to be
efficient in their jobs so that they waste less time.
This means not only learning new skills to ensure that they are
able to function in their job more efficiently, but ensuring that they
have the development they need so that they are not wasting time struggling in areas where they feel less competent.
In addition, the business environment is in constant change and
individuals within organizations must continually learn new skills (or
ways to execute present skills in new ways) in order to not only keep up,
but to move forward.
Mentoring offers a way for individuals to “learn while they
are doing”. Also, within a
given organization, there is a wealth of talent that exists and mentoring
assists in tapping into that
talent and making the most of it – it creates a true Learning
Organization.
In summary, mentoring is so important because:
·
Mentoring is one of the most valuable tools that an
organization has for the development of its people.
·
Mentoring highlights and makes the most of an
organization’s internal talent and emphasizes its knowledge capital.
·
Mentoring is time-saving and allows individuals to
learn on the job on a Just-In-Time
basis.
·
Mentoring reinforces formal training.
·
Mentoring gives an individual ownership of continuous
learning and helps to create a true Learning Organization.
·
Mentoring allows individuals to learn without
spending time away from their jobs!
2.
What
does it take for mentoring to be successful in
an organization?
In order for any mentoring initiative to be successful, it
must be positioned as a business strategy.
Mentoring is no longer a warm,
fuzzy, feel-good initiative – it is a business strategy!
It is vital that this initiative is tied to organizational goals
and it must be measured.
In order to be effective, there needs to be a type of structured
approach when rolling out and executing the initiative.
An organization would never consider seriously rolling out any
business strategy (such as TQM) without a specific, structured approach in
place to ensure success.
3.
How
do you know when your organization is ready for a mentoring program?
“Mentoring” is a hot topic today within organizations, but
there may not be specific signs
or clues that indicate that
mentoring is needed. Some indicators that may be verbalized which will cause an organization
to look into this initiative include:
·
When
training and development budgets are cut (or totally eliminated) and it is
clear that individuals still need development.
·
When
business is great, people don’t have time to spend off the job for development, but still need to obtain development.
·
When an
organization realizes that its e-learning initiatives need support.
·
When an
organization realizes that its training initiatives need support.
·
When an
organization looks for more cost-effective ways to develop individuals.
·
When key
individuals within an organization have indicated that they feel
“mentoring” is an important step to take.
·
When
employee surveys indicate that “mentoring” is something that is
desired.
4.
How
does formal (structured) and informal (unstructured) mentoring differ?
There are many different opinions regarding the meaning to the
phrases, “formal (structured) mentoring” and “informal
(unstructured) mentoring”. When
an organization implements a mentoring initiative it is important to
communicate what is meant by these phrases.
We believe that a formal (structured) mentoring initiative is
one that is tied to business objectives and is measured.
The idea is not to “structure” (as in a verb) the relationship
between the Mentor and the Mentee so that they can’t get anything
accomplished, it is to provide a “structure” (as in a noun) so that
individuals have answers to the following questions:
·
What is
my role as a Mentor (or Mentee)?
·
What
happens if I don’t like the Mentor (or Mentee) with whom I’m paired?
·
How will
we know that we have accomplished anything?
·
Will I
get any training (whether as a Mentor or Mentee)?
·
Where do
I go if I need help?
·
Is this
supported by the organization?
·
What is
my manager’s role in this (whether the Mentor’s manager or the
Mentee’s manager)?
Historically, individuals thought mentoring just sort of
"happened”. But more
and more surveyed organizations and executives are concluding that without
some guidance there is “nothing surefire about finding a suitable
Mentor”, or “ensuring the success of a mentoring relationship or a
Mentoring Process” without a well thought out design or plan. In
order for mentoring to be a successful
business strategy there needs to be a more systematic approach to it.
It’s the difference between
READY --> AIM --> FIRE!
and
READY --> FIRE --> AIM!!
5.
What
are the different ways mentoring can be focused?
We
look at mentoring in five different focuses – Organizational and
Cultural Mentoring, Skill/Competency-Based Mentoring, Networking and
Career Path Mentoring, Team Mentoring and Distance Mentoring.
Based upon different situations
there are different needs for mentoring and this often brings together
individuals a bit removed from the traditional networking or career
pathing view of mentoring. Offering different focuses for mentoring allows
a larger group of individuals to experience the advantages of a Mentoring
Process both from the role of a Mentor and as a Mentee.
Individuals can participate in mentoring from all position levels
and during all phases of their professional career.
6.
How
long should a mentoring relationship last?
All timeframes may vary, but a rule-of-thumb when the major
focus of the mentoring relationship is Organizational
and Cultural Mentoring the time frame is usually around six months.
When the focus is Skill/Competency-Based
Mentoring the time frame is usually six to nine months, but could be
more depending on the complexity of the skill/technology and the
complexity of the Mentoring Learning Plan. The goal is not to take on too
much in one Mentoring Learning Plan, but to focus accomplishments in
smaller time segments and then redefine the relationship with a new
Mentoring Learning Plan.
If the focus is the more traditional Networking/Career-Path Mentoring, the time frame involved could be
as long as eighteen to twenty-four months, again depending on the focus of
the Mentoring Learning Plan.
With Team Mentoring
or Distance Mentoring the time
frame is based on the mentoring focus mentioned previously. However, with
Distance Mentoring, communication or technologies can affect this time
frame.
There are five phases to a mentoring relationship -- the last
two being separation and re-definition.
When a Mentee has learned all that he/she can from a Mentor, he/she
will separate from the present
mentoring relationship with the formal role of “Mentor”, but a new relationship will be re-defined
between both individuals now as one of peers, equals, colleagues,
associates, etc.
7.
Why
is it important to have a systematic approach to mentoring?
Without a systematic approach to a
mentoring initiative it will be viewed by the organization as a nice,
warm, fuzzy, feel-good “program” and not a Process and a business
strategy. In addition,
chances are that there will not be any type of specific measurement for
success beyond the “feel-good”, “everyone liked it” , “smile
sheet” evaluation approach. Without
a systematic approach and a business strategy focus, few organizational
initiatives are ever sustained for the long term.
Historically, individuals thought
mentoring just sort of "happened”.
But more and more surveyed organizations and executives are
concluding that without some guidance there is “nothing surefire about
finding a suitable Mentor”, or “ensuring the success of a mentoring
relationship or a Mentoring Process” without a well thought out design
or plan. In order for
mentoring to be a successful
business strategy there needs to be a more systematic approach to it.
It’s the difference between
READY --> AIM --> FIRE!
and
READY --> FIRE --> AIM!!
Without a systematic approach to a mentoring initiative, it is
impossible to determine…
·
if the
organization is receiving any type of return on investment for the time
and effort spent during the initiative
·
if the
types of learning taking place will help the organization meet its stated
goals and objectives
·
and worst
of all – if bad habits, unwanted behaviors or mistaken ways of
performing the job are being communicated and passed on
8.
What
does a Process Coordinator do?
There are actually two components to this role – one is as a
“coordinator” which tracks the Process overall as well as the
Mentoring Learning Plans. This
is to ensure that everything is tied to the original business goals and
objectives set for the initiative and tracked to the measurements
established.
The second role is as a “counselor”.
This role provides guidance to all individuals associated with the
initiative (including the respective managers/supervisors).
The counselor acts as a “third party” that individuals can come
to, talk with and look to for guidance if specific problems arise during
the Process or the Mentor-Mentee relationship.
These roles can be one individual or divided among more than
one individual.
9.
How
does a subject matter expert add value?
Because every organization has a wealth of internal talent –
the subject matter expert – it is important to be able to use that
talent in the most effective manner possible.
It is important to understand though, that an individual who
is a subject-matter-expert may not be qualified to mentor someone in his/her area of expertise.
It takes different skills to be a subject-matter-expert than to be
a good Mentor. We all know
individuals that are really good at what they do, but could not (and
possibly should not) mentor others.
When qualifying individuals to be Mentors, it is important to
consider not only areas of expertise, but whether an individual wants
to be a Mentor (no one should be forced
into this role) and if he/she has the additional skills
that are necessary to mentor others.
