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The attendees bemoaned the fact that, despite having invested substantially in their mentoring programs, they were not seeing results. Interestingly, in most of the cases cited, the precise goals being sought could not be articulated. That was part of the problem. But it did not seem to be the real problem.
I probed some more and then asked: "How many of you serve, formally or informally, as mentors in your companies?" Everyone in the room raised their hand. I posed a follow-up query: "How many of you have had any training to learn to be an effective mentor?" Not one hand went up.
It is not surprising. Many people function as mentors in their companies, but few have had any preparation to effectively serve in the role.
Becoming a mentor requires developing capabilities in several key areas: Attitude enhancement
A defining trait of mentoring is instilling a sense of self-sufficiency, conscientiousness and confidence in the mentee. A good mentor is able to develop people not only from a technical (e.g., skills) standpoint, but also from a psychological standpoint. Mentors must be motivators. Motivation -– the positive mindset and mental fortitude needed to attain a desired goal -– falls squarely in the domain of behavioral psychology. This is not to say that mentors should be psychologists. But they should gain a basic understanding of how people form attitudes and, importantly, how those attitudes influence behaviors (both positive and negative). Communications and human relations Another crucial role of mentoring is imparting guidance about communications –- verbal and nonverbal. Mentors must be able to help their partners improve their interpersonal communication, public speaking and writing skills. Communication-focused guidance should also address diversity-related issues and other human relations aspects of interacting effectively with different stakeholder groups served by the company: employees (e.g., mentees’ co-workers), customers and prospects, business partners, and the community at large. Goal-setting
Last month we looked at goal-setting. To recap, successfully attaining goals begins with knowing how to articulate and pursue them. Here is a fact of life, though: Many people never set goals at all! Allow me to clarify. Surely, in business we are always setting goals as part of ongoing corporate planning. But ask a room-full of adults about their personal goal-setting, and few can say they have ever mapped out their own developmental objectives. Certainly, many people establish financial goals. But goal-setting is not only about envisioning how much you plan to be earning in five years or the desired magnitude of your retirement portfolio. Personal growth planning is about developing well-rounded skills and a balanced lifestyle as a means of attaining professional success. This is an often overlooked aspect of mentoring: helping younger, high-potential employees assess where they are, where they want to go, and how they are going to get there via a disciplined program of goal-setting. Above all, mentoring is about aligning mentees’ personal goals with the goals of your company (the topic of a future column). Critical Success Factors
Too often, companies jump into mentoring programs without giving thought to key issues: What specific knowledge (i.e., technical, managerial, strategic) needs to be imparted? Who should serve as mentors and how do we determine which people should be assigned to them? Over what time period will the program be run? Most important, how will we measure results to know whether or not we have been successful?
These are just some of the issues involved in designing an effective mentoring program. But the real challenge relates to the fact that many mentors need a little mentoring in mentoring. Focusing their development on the three skill sets cited -- attitude enhancement, communications and human relations, and goal-setting -- is a good place to start.
Was this information helpful? Please rate this article in the box below. Mr. Clemente welcomes comments and questions: mark@clementeonline.com
Return to Growing Concerns for more articles by Mr. Clemente.
MARK N. CLEMENTE consults with companies and professionals in the areas of sales and marketing, organization development, and leadership. A former director of communications for Coopers & Lybrand, he is the author of four books and dozens of journal articles on management development and corporate growth. His clients have included professionals from Big Five and middle-market accounting and management consultancies, as well as Fortune 500 companies. Mark speaks worldwide before professional and academic groups, and holds a master’s degree in strategic communication and leadership. Visit his firm’s website at www.clementeonline.com or contact him at mark@clementeonline.com
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