Module Nine Mentoring

A Few Questions… Think of a person you consider(ed) to be a mentor. How did that person assist you? Be specific. Was the relationship always positive for you? For the other person? Did you ever assist the person in a meaningful way? How so?

Mentoring Functions – What do Mentors Provide? Career functions Challenging work assignments Protection Exposure/visibility Sponsorship Coaching Psychosocial support Friendship Counseling Acceptance Role modeling

Mentoring Phases – How do Mentoring Relationships Evolve? Initiation (first six to twelve months) Get acquainted; establish expectations Cultivation (two to five years) Time during which most mentoring occurs; protégé gains competence and skills Separation (undefined) Protégé, having gained needed support, seeks autonomy; often marked by feelings of loss or distress Redefinition (undefined) Relationship redefined as parties become peers; this phase does not always occur

Mentoring Benefits Benefits Protégé Mentor Organizational More promotions Higher incomes Greater job and career satisfaction Clarity of professional identity Enhanced self-confidence Personal learning Mentor Heightened personal and job satisfaction Faster promotion rate Development of base of support within the organization Organizational Enhanced employee retention and organizational communication Improved leadership development

THE MENTOR/LEADER - DEVELOPING SUSTAINABLE LEADERS (Boyatzis, 2006) Leadership requires the exercise of influence or power Leaders are under a steady flow of stress related to the exercise of power and its responsibility For leaders to sustain themselves, the human response to stress must be ameliorated. To sustain their effectiveness leaders should emphasize coaching (with compassion) as a key part of their role and behavioral habits (Boyatzis et al, 2006)

Potential Mentoring Relationship Dysfunctions Sabotage (e.g., a mentor or protégé could ignore the other party or seek revenge for a perceived wrongdoing) Negative relations (e.g., a mentor may exploit or bully the protégé) Submissiveness (e.g., if a protégé becomes overly dependent upon a mentor) Deception (e.g., active attempts to deceive the other party)

Mentoring Alternatives: Other Developmental Relationships A mentoring relationship—a relationship between a senior, more experienced mentor and a junior protégé—is one type of learning vehicle Other types Peers at “co-learners” Community organizations Teams Family members Friends outside of work Task forces Network groups

Diversity and Mentoring Gender Race Age

Successful Formal Mentoring Programs A clear set of objectives aligned with human resources and business strategy Sponsorship by senior leaders Communications and training Choosing appropriate mentors and matching of mentors and protégés Evaluation and review of the mentoring program The need for a skillful program coordinator

Newer Mentoring Themes Mentoring to aid expatriate assignments (e.g., assignment of pre-departure, on-site, and repatriation developers) E-Mentoring Leveraging one’s developmental network in a turbulent career context

Developmental Network “A group of people who take an active interest in and action to advance a focal person’s career.” Spend a few minutes thinking about who is in your network.

Using Your Developmental Network to Experience Growth Create a career and personal growth plan Identify goals, desired skills, strengths to build upon Identify your current developmental network Conduct a gap analysis Consider skills and strengths you need to get to a desired future state; key events that need to happen Outline what your network should look like in order to “fill the gaps” How can you foster a network that will be responsive to your needs?