Making the most of mentoring…
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The late Hugo Chavez considered Fidel Castro to be his. Richard Branson says that Freddie Laker was one for him. Apparently, Ayrton Senna played the role for countless F1 Drivers. And even Steven Spielberg considered Stanley Kubrick to be his. I am talking about mentors.
In all walks of life, mentoring is an important cog in the development wheel; although it is probably more accurate to say that mentoring can be an effective development tool, but only when mentoring programmes are well-designed and managed. It is important to understand that mentoring can produce negative outcomes if not managed effectively and there are many reasons why mentoring relationships can break down, from badly defined schemes to unrealistic expectations on behalf of either party. Still, for all the potential pitfalls, there are numerous findings which show that effective mentoring makes a positive contribution to both individual and business performance.
The many benefits of mentoring have been highlighted time and time again in a range of studies over the years and, when well-managed, the potential downsides associated with mentoring programmes can be overcome, or at least minimised. Here are some general points to consider about effective mentoring programmes.
Mentoring Model
Any successful mentoring programme must consider four interdependent dimensions: the business, the programme, the participants and the development:
The Business: Programmes should be both people-centric and business focused in approach so that they meet the needs of all those involved, yet fit within the strategic vision for the organisation.
Does the culture within your business currently support the mentoring concept?
Are there already strong relationships between your senior and more junior managers and/or key employees
Are you willing to provide the necessary resources and support to underpin the mentoring programme?
The Programme: Programmes should be structured, but flexible enough to allow relationships to develop naturally over time.
What will the programme look like? Will it be confined to senior executives mentoring more junior managers, or will it also be targeted at including ‘fast-track’ employees? Could it also involve middle managers mentoring some employees?
What are the specific goals for such a programme in your business?
What will the mentoring programme entail? What development areas will it target?
How will mentors and mentees be matched up?
How long will the relationship last for each mentor-mentee grouping?
The Participants :Mentoring is relationship based, so issues such as trust, confidentiality, communication skills and compatibility are all important considerations and need to be accounted for when you design and implement the programme.
Will the mentors and mentees be committed to the concept?
Do the mentors have the required mentoring skills at present? Is training required to support them?
The Development: Programmes should have a broad development focus and the key areas for supporting mentees should be defined so that all mentor-mentee relationships focus on similar themes: management style, communication, business planning skills, etc.
How will the expected developmental outcomes for each individual be defined?
Can you use a management competence model to help define the broad development areas that could be addressed through mentoring?
How will individual development needs be dealt with under the mentoring programme?
By considering the above factors and thinking through questions such as these, you can devise an approach that has the right balance of formality and informality, which pairs the mentors–mentees for best effect and has defined common development areas so that all relationships focus on similar needs.
Mentoring in Action
To create a timeline for your mentoring programme, you could pair mentors and mentees for a period of one year. Aft r that the pairings can be rotated; and by doing so every 12 months each mentee gets to interact with, and learn from, more than one manager – and particularly it might be necessary to pair certain mentees and mentors together in order to help an individual to develop specific skills on their development list. Of course, all mentors will approach the mentoring role in different ways, but there are certain phases that all mentoring programmes should follow:
Phase 1 – Initial Contact The initial phase of developing the mentoring relationship should be seen as a ‘getting-to-know-you’ time, whereby the participants meet – as required – on an informal basis to develop a rapport between them, and to start building a bond of trust. The environment created at this point is obviously critical, as it will set the tone for the remainder of the relationship. It is also useful at this early stage to discuss how both parties view the mentoring relationship developing, and to clarify perceptions about what the process is likely to entail; the mentor should encourage the mentee to broadly identify how he or she sees their career progressing in the short- and medium-term future. Th is information will be useful during Phase 2 of the process. In effect, clear but informal ‘terms of reference’ should be agreed between each pairing and the logistics of the process finalised. This phase might happen during the first month.
Phase 2 – Identification of Development Needs As highlighted, it’s important that a broad field of development areas be devised for the programme, based on your management competence model, so that all mentoring relationships focus on similar things. Within that overall template, the priority needs of each mentee still need to be defined. Once the mentee’s development areas have been identified, it is important that they are then prioritised and the most relevant gaps addressed in that coming year. It is critical too for the mentor not to be over-ambitious about how much he or she can be of assistance to any particular mentee – no one manager can have the skills and knowledge to help in all development areas. So, the mentee’s needs must be matched as far as is possible with the capabilities of the mentor. This phase might happen during the second month.
Phase 3 – Development Once the needs are identified and prioritised, and goals for the year ahead established, it is then a matter of determining how the mentor can support the mentee in these areas. It should be up to each mentor–mentee pair to collectively determine how often they need to meet to address the agreed development needs, but minimum contact requirements should be devised as part of the programme to avoid ‘drift ’. This phase goes on for the greater part of the year.
Phase 4 – Evaluation It is important for the mentor and mentee to regularly review progress, both to address the development needs and review how the relationship is evolving. What’s more, a broader evaluation of the programme is necessary and this can be attained through appraisals, by examining core metrics such as management turnover rate and indeed via individual performance measures for participating managers and employees. This overall evaluation should happen after each annual mentoring cycle.
The points covered here are intended to give a flavour of what is required to manage an effective mentoring programme and of course there are related concerns about ensuring that all mentors have the right attitude and skills to make the most of the initiative. Yes, it can be a challenge to set up and manage an internal mentoring programme, there’s no denying that fact, but the key is to find the right level of formality and to devise an approach that suits your business and has commitment from all those involved.
Finally, developing your employees at various levels, particularly managers, is not optional these days because if you really want to get the best from people then you must continuously train, coach and mentor them so that they have the skills and attitudes to deliver at a high level. Clearly, maximising the returns from these activities is never easy, but it’s worth the effort when you consider that doing so is good for employees, customers, you and ultimately for your business.
In short, the more you give in terms of employee development, the more you get in return.
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