rhyl macfarlane's List: Mentoring

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  <!-- pdedu_menu0-->    Mentoring Home   Mentoring Information Kit About Mentoring Mentoring Function Questions Phases of Relationships Mentoring Programs Resources For the Mentee or Protege For the Mentor
• What Is Mentoring?

• A Learning Collaboration—a developmental caring, sharing, and helping relationship with a focus on the enhancement of the protégé's or mentee's growth and skill development.

  The word protégé or mentee is used to refer to the person who is being mentored. In this site, we will use the word mentee. The focus of mentoring is on the mentee's career and psychosocial needs.

  Mentoring is just-in time help, insight into issues, and the sharing of expertise, values, skills, and perspectives. Mentors function as a catalyst-an a

• Research on mentoring stretches back to the early 1980s. While there are differences in the way mentoring has been defined in these research studies, the overall findings are fairly consistent over the span of years. Research has documented the following benefits of career mentoring relationships:

  • Enhanced career development and advancement of the mentee
  • Enhanced compensation for the mentee
  • Enhanced career satisfaction for both the mentee and the mentor
  • Increased managerial productivity for those who are mentees
  • Increased employee retention for the mentee

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• In finding a mentor, it is important to establish the goals of the mentorship and the core competencies needed for effectiveness in present and future positions. Identifying an appropriate mentor and objectives is critical to successful career planning. (See Table 1.) For example, a new campus IT manager hired from industry probably will need help acclimating to the culture and politics of higher education. In this case, it would be wise to seek a successful mentor who has a deep understanding of how the institution works and of the historical characteristics for managerial excellence within the organization.

• Table 1. Identify Phase Responsibilities
  Mentor's Responsibilities	Mentee's Responsibilities
  Have a clear understanding of your motivation for becoming a mentor	Have a clear understanding of your motivation for wanting to be mentored
  Agree to mentor based on a realistic assessment of your skills and leadership experience	Select a mentor based on preestablished criteria relevant to your career goals
  Be open to mentoring individuals from outside your discipline	Broaden your search for a mentor to include nontraditional fields and organizations
• Table 2. Negotiate Phase Responsibilities Mentor's Responsibilities Mentee's Responsibilities Have a clear understanding of your expectations for your mentee and the ensuing relationship Have a clear understanding of your expectations for your mentor and the ensuing relationship Clearly communicate your expectations Clearly communicate your expectations Be flexible-be willing to alter your expectations and change your plans Be flexible-be willing to alter your expectations and change your plans Have a plan (formal or informal) with milestones and defined deliverables Have a plan (formal or informal) with milestones and defined deliverables Codevelop an exit strategy Codevelop an exit strategy Try to adapt your feedback to your mentee's learning style Inform your mentor of your preferred learning style Be realistic about the time commitment to successfully oversee the relationship Be realistic about the time commitment to do homework and self-reflection

• Facilitate

  The facilitation phase makes up the bulk of the mentoring relationship: the mentoring plan is implemented, and the relationship with the mentor is developed. (See Table 3.) For a mentor, Patricia Battin reminds us, the facilitation phase "means conscious tailoring of opportunities for individuals that require them to stretch-and then helping them do it."³ For the mentee, this phase can be difficult, but ultimately rewarding-it means recognizing your strengths and weaknesses and addressing them through appropriate actions and opportunities.
• Table 3. Facilitate Phase Responsibilities Mentor's Responsibilities Mentee's Responsibilities Advise, don't dictate Actively listen and contribute to the conversations Advise on what you know; admit what you don't know or refer to others Understand your mentor will not have all of the answers-be willing to look them up Provide relevant examples and resources Access resources-do your homework Recognize your mentee's weaknesses but build on his or her strengths Acknowledge your weaknesses but build on your strengths Give constructive criticism Accept and reflect on constructive criticism Don't shy away from difficult conversations Don't shy away from difficult conversations Periodically evaluate progress and reassess the relationship Periodically evaluate progress and reassess the relationship Celebrate successes Celebrate successes Be reliable Be reliable
• Graduate

• Once the mentoring relationship has been established and fostered, it is important to understand the parameters for when the association should change or end. (See Table 4.) Ending a mentoring relationship does not mean it has failed. Often, it simply means that the initial goals of the mentorship have been attained, and it is time to "graduate" and move on.
• Table 4. Graduate Phase Responsibilities Mentor's Responsibilities Mentee's Responsibilities Be sensitive as to when the relationship has run its course Be sensitive as to when the relationship has run its course After mentoring relationship is finished, follow up on successes Provide mentor with updates after mentoring relationship is finished Provide a summative evaluation of the experience Provide a summative evaluation of the experience Don't forget to say thank you Don't forget to say thank you and give credit where credit is due Mark the graduation with a celebration Mark the graduation with a celebration Repeat the mentoring process with others Give back to the profession and volunteer to mentor others

• When ending a mentoring relationship, remember to thank a mentor for the knowledge and time provided. In the ensuing years, communicate your career progression. A mentoring relationship often evolves into a long-term professional friendship.

• Sometimes, after a mentoring relationship begins, it may become apparent that the mentor chosen is not a good match for the mentee's PD [professional development] needs. Perhaps the mentor has extenuating circumstances (for example, increased workload or family issues), or the participants simply cannot communicate effectively. In these cases, it is best for the two to have an honest conversation as to what is working and what is not working; if mentor and mentee cannot reconcile the differences, they should mutually agree to terminate the relationship.

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