Why should you take the time to mentor an employee? Why should you bother asking someone to mentor you? You’d be astonished at how easy and rewarding it can be.
Mentoring your promising employees can benefit them – and your company. Mentoring means taking personal interest in seeing that a mentee develops the talent and knowledge needed to succeed – to have a successful career and contribute as much as possible to the company and society. Mentoring differs from coaching and advising in its emphasis on developing a personal relationship and advancing the career of the mentee.
| A LEADER'S 6 GOAL-SETTING SECRETS |
Although finding a vision can be quite a creative challenge, the process of getting that vision implemented can be quite easy if you follow these six key steps. Step 1 – Vision. The first step in setting goals and priorities is to personally develop what the organization should look like at some future point, i.e. the vision. While the senior leaders set the vision for the entire organization, supervisors and/or managers should set the visions for their specific teams. And those visions need to support the organization’s goals. Your vision needs to coincide with the “big picture.” The term “vision” suggests a mental picture of what the future organization will look like. The concept also implies a later time horizon. This time horizon tends to be mid to long-term in nature, focusing on as much as 10, 20 or even 50 years in the future for visions affecting the entire organization. Manager- or supervisor-level visions should be on much shorter time horizons, such as six months to one year. The vision you want should be a picture of where you want your department to be at a future date. For example, try to picture what your department would look like if it was perfect, or what the most efficient way to produce your product would look like, or perhaps if your budget was reduced by 10 percent, how you could still achieve the same quality product. Once you have your vision, it needs to be framed in general, un-measurable terms and communicated to your team. Your team then develops the ends (objectives), ways (concepts), and means (resources) to achieve the vision. Step 2 – Goals. The second step involves establishing goals, with the active participation of the team. Goals are also stated in un-measurable terms, but they are more focused. For example, “The organization must reduce overtime costs.” This establishes the framework of your vision. Step 3 – Objectives. Now, establish your objectives, again with the active participation of your team. Definable objectives provide a way of measuring the evaluating movement toward vision achievement. This is the strategy of turning visions into reality. It is the crossover mechanism between your forecast of the future and the envisioned, desired future. Objectives should be stated in precise, measurable terms. The aim is to get general ownership by the entire team. Step 4 – Tasks. The fourth step is to determine tasks. Through tasks, objectives are accomplished. Tasks are concrete, measurable events that must occur. Step 5 – Time Lines. Now it is time to establish a priority for the tasks. Since time is precious and many tasks must be accomplished before others can begin, establishing priorities helps your team to determine the order in which the tasks must be accomplished and by what date. Step 6 – Follow-up. The final step is to follow up, measure and check to see if the time is doing what is required. This kind of leader involvement validates that the states priorities are worthy of action. For the leader, it demonstrates his or her commitment to see the matter through to a successful conclusion. – Donald Clark. |
It’s not just giving advice on how to work more effectively or handle a specific problem. Once you’ve hired the best and the brightest, you want to retain them long past the training period. You can earn their loyalty by putting them on the fast track under senior executive guidance. Some companies have formal mentoring programs, with senior executives establishing counseling relationships with junior executives and old hands assigned to mentor new hires. Some mentoring connections develop when senior and junior staff members are drawn together by common interests and one or the other decides to pursue a mentor-mentee relationship.
A mentored employee is likely to form a strong bond with you and your company and to be someone you can count on in tough times. You’ll find ways to channel the energies of terrific employees who may be feeling bored or underutilized. You can help them renew their enthusiasm and become more productive. You can reduce costly turnover by developing employees and increasing their productivity and job satisfaction.
MENTORING PROGRAM SETUP. When structuring a mentoring program, remember the following key essentials:
- Recruit mentors who are committed to the process. Even the most accomplished executive who has been with your company for years may not be enthusiastic or qualified for one-on-one mentoring.
- Set criteria for selecting mentee candidates. How will you choose the “best and brightest” for fast-track mentoring? Or you may want mentoring for all employees at a certain level in the company.
- Allow mentees to have a say in selecting their mentors. The mentoring process won’t work if the two parties are mismatched. Set up a training program. Few people are “natural” mentors. Have an HR staff member or outside consultant help mangers develop the necessary skills.
- Give mentors guidelines to follow. Aim to make the process as easy as possible. They may find it helpful, for instance, to receive a list of useful suggestions for dealing with certain personal and professional issues that arise with the mentee.
- Provide a “shadow mentor.” Mentoring relationships may suffer from misunderstandings or personality differences. The shadow mentor – perhaps your mentoring trainer – can help coach both parties back together.
- Allow enough relief time for mentors. They shouldn’t feel so squeezed by other responsibilities that mentoring becomes just a nuisance or an added source of stress. When setting up a mentoring program, encourage mentors to
- Listen as much as they talk. With encouragement, mentees will ask lots of questions. Make sure the mentor’s don’t interpret a question as a challenge. Instead, encourage them to answer as openly and honestly as possible. Share information generously. Of course, you’ll want them to keep certain information confidential; but the more trust they are able to place in mentees, the stronger the relationship can be.
- Stay focused on helping their mentees grow. The goal should be to provide guidance – not to impress by displaying knowledge or expertise. Have your company mentors treat mentees as equals. Be flexible. Encourage mentors to set regular times to meet or talk on the phone, yet be ready also to give spur-of-the-moment assistance. Mentees might occasionally ask for a last-minute breakfast or lunch meeting to discuss an urgent matter.
MENTOR TRAITS. So, what does it take to be a mentor? First, you do NOT need to be a teacher nor have a senior position in a large company. What you DO need is enthusiasm, commitment and a desire to see your mentee achieve their goals. Mentors essentially have the following characteristics:
- They are good listeners. That means active listening. In other words, paying attention to the words they use as well as the other things they are saying with their body language. It also means ensuring you have understood what they mean. This is especially important when your mentee comes from a different background than yours.
- They ask questions. This is probably the biggest trap that mentors fall into – expecting to know all the answers and feeling deflated when they don’t. Your role is to ask questions to help the mentee figure it out for themselves. If you keep answering their questions, not only will they not develop the ability to successfully answer their own questions, but you may be wrong and this could damage your relationship and their career.
- They share knowledge and experience. You have a lifetime’s worth of experience (whether you’re 20 or 80) and this experience is invaluable. Life is too short to make all the mistakes yourself, which is why it is so vital to learn from other people’s mistakes and successes. Just remember to share your knowledge and experience as an alternative, not the suggested nor preferred way ahead for your mentee. Let them make up their own minds.
- They encourage the mentee to fail. You may think this is a typo, but it is very true. There is a saying that the man who fails to make a mistake usually fails to make anything. We learn more from our mistakes than from our successes. When your mentee is reluctant to take a course of action because he or she may not succeed, encourage them to take the course they believe best, regardless of the change of failure. Nothing is certain. Nothing is guaranteed. Only by doing (whether we succeed or not) will we go forward and learn.
- They open doors. “It’s not what you know but who you know that makes all the difference” – how true that is. As a mentor, you have the opportunity to open doors for your mentee. This includes inviting them to certain functions where they can meet people, and directly putting them in touch with people who can assist in their career development. Remember that your role is to open the door – not push them through it.
MENTEE ADVICE. Pass these tips onto your mentees to ensure a successful dialogue:
- Don’t be shy. Successful people are generally pleased to be asked to share their knowledge and expertise. Encourage the mentee to seek mentors.
- Feel free to look outside the company for mentors. The person who will be able to help most may not be inside the organization. The important thing is to find someone who can provide perspective and guidance.
- Contact prospective mentors by letter or by e-mail. A phone call puts the other person on the spot. In your letter, explain what kind of advice you’re looking for and ask if the entrepreneur would be willing to share information with you. Cultivate multiple mentors. Networking with peers at industry and community functions can lead to many productive and mutual mentoring relationships. Trade associations are very good.
- Be respective. Listen to your mentor’s responses to your questions. Don’t argue. A mentoring session isn’t a showdown to prove who’s right.
- Be willing to share in return. Mentor others who may want to learn from or draw on your expertise.
- Be realistic. Don’t promise too much time to mentees. If you’re too busy to deliver, you’ll feel pressured and the mentee will resent being shortchanged.
AVOID MENTORING MISTAKES. Steer clear of these common mentoring blunders:
- Intervening too quickly with advice. Mentees need to learn by trial-and-error.
- Taking sides when a mentee is in conflict with a colleague. Encourage the mentee to work through the problem. Ask: “How would you like this to turn out?” and “How do you think that could be achieved at this point?”
- Expecting mentees to stroke your ego. Don’t look for frequent praise and compliments.
- Offering advice on personal problems. Stick to how those problems may impact the menetees’ work lives. If necessary provide referrals to a qualified professional.
- Know when to let go. At some point, you’ll need to move on and mentor others. Your mentees’ priorities will also shift and they may need to seek guidance from other people.
- Keep an open door. Let your mentees know that you’re always available for further occasional consultation.
- Risk management. Although there are relatively few “risks” associated with mentoring, it is worth noting the possible risks and putting into place some risk management practices.
MISMATCHES. This is where it becomes obvious that the mentor and mentee are not suited to each other. Please note, no one is at fault in this situation – sometimes this just happens, your personal styles may clash or you may not be able to find mutually agreeable times/places to meet. There are many reasons why mismatches occur.
If you put sufficient time into the relationship in the early stages a mismatch will usually appear during this time. Whenever the mismatch reveals itself, it is up to the two of you to decide whether the relationship is worth saving and working through your differences or whether terminating the relationship and finding other partners would serve both interests.
COMPETITION OR RIVALRY? It may sound childish, however rivalry between mentor and mentee can ruin a relationship. Be on the lookout for any actions taken by your mentee that may signal they are feeling a level of competition with you. This may be particularly evident if you work within the same organization or industry.
If rivalry is a problem, rarely can this effectively be dealt with so that it does not negatively impact the relationship. Remember though, most mentoring relationships occur for a purpose and rarely do they last a lifetime. If you feel that rivalry has developed, speak with your mentee and discuss whether the best option may be to wind up the relationship.
WHAT IF I FAIL AS A MENTOR? First, there is no such thing as failure, unless you don’t give something a go in the first place. When you elect to mentor someone, you have considered the role ahead of you and have given your commitment to assist this person with their development. Whether they actually develop and grow within their career/business is basically up to them. All you cand o is help them find the right questions and answers.
I NO LONGER HAVE TIME. When you took on the mentoring commitment, you had different circumstances – you had time available to work with your mentee – but now that the responsibility is upon you, things have changed. That’s life. Explain your changed circumstances to your mentee and maybe the two of you can work around it.
If not, speak with your mentee as to whether he or she would like you to do what you can to find a replacement mentor or ask him or her about alternate plans. (The mentee may even be willing to wait until your circumstances change again.) Eitehr way, this is a common occurrence and should not be looked upon as a failure.
The author is a sales training expert. He offers additional free sales and time management tips at www.trainingexpert.com.
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