Corporate Mentoring Matters

Our “Best Practices in Mentoring” PowerPoint presentation provides a step-by-step demonstration of many of the key concepts of mentoring.

We designed it for use as a learning tool for professionals who want to increase their knowledge about mentoring and mentoring programs. You can also present it to senior managers in your organization to gain support for corporate mentoring programs.

To view your free copy of this presentation, you must first register. Once you submit your registration, you will receive an email confirmation with instructions on accessing the presentation.

Simply fill out your request for the Best Practices in Mentoring presentation. 

Choosing the right mentor can be a vital decision in your career, therefore, it is extremely important that you take your time to observe and research your mentor candidates prior to making a selection.  There are many factors for choosing a mentor.  Here are five questions we suggest that you should ask yourself:

1. Does the person already have a mentoree? 

It would be more beneficial to choose someone who does not already have a mentoree, or someone who currently has only one or two mentorees.  It’s important to your relationship to choose a person who will have the time to completely dedicate themselves to the mentoring relationship. 

2. Is the person well regarded in the organization?

It would be wise to choose a person who is respected by his or her peers and gets along well with many individuals within the organization including individuals from different departments as well as upper management.

3. Does this person personify professionalism and leadership?

A professional individual with excellent leadership qualities is usually a great person to consider because they possess skills and knowledge that was acquired either by being mentored themselves, or by years of experience.

4. Does this person have the skills and knowledge that you are looking for?

It’s important that you choose a mentor that you are going to be able to learn from and not just someone who is “popular” because the ultimate goal is to have a relationship with someone who will help you gain the skills and knowledge that are beneficial to your career.

5. Will this person be open and honest with you?

For a mentoring relationship to work, it is important for the mentor to be honest with you.  As a mentoree, you are in this relationship to gain insight on new skills and knowledge and so it is important to be a good listener and learn from your mistakes.  Therefore, it is sensible to find a person who is willing to be open and honest with you because ultimately they are looking out for your best interest.

While there are various types of questions to inquire about, these are just a few for you to consider while on your quest to find the right mentor.  But remember, the most important thing is to find a person who you feel comfortable with.  Good luck!

Happy New Year!  We hope that over the last few weeks you have had the opportunity to take some time to sit back, relax, enjoy your surroundings and last but not least, think of all the new programs you could be offering your employees.  With that in mind, the team at Management Mentors would like to announce a new feature that will debut this month…..it is a FREE webinar that will be held on the fourth Monday of each month starting on January 25^th from 1:00 – 2:00 p.m.  We are calling it M&M which stands for Mentoring Monday’s.  Each webinar will be lead by Rene Petrin, President of Management Mentors!  Each session will be kept to a small number of participates so that you are able to personally interact with and ask him questions.   Our goal is for you to gain some insight on the following:

• Corporate mentoring benefits
• Differences between mentoring & coaching
• Ideas on how to present a mentoring program to upper management
• An overview of the best practices in mentoring
• Q&A time with Rene Petrin

Attending one of our M&M’s will be a great opportunity for you to get some fantastic ideas that may help your company grow in 2010.  To learn more about the webinar, or to sign up for one of the available dates, simply click here.  Just in case you are wondering, there are no obligations for attending.  We just want to mentor you for a change!  And by the way, there will be something “sweet” in it for you, just for attending.

Wilbur Ross, Chairman and CEO of W.L. Ross & Co., recently told a reporter that the best advice he ever received was from a professor he had while attending Harvard Business School.  His professor told him “You’re better backing a mediocre idea that’s brilliantly implemented than a brilliant idea that’s badly executed.”  This great advice from his mentor helped him when his company purchased a group of underperforming steel companies.  He put his plan into action and it became the most efficient steel company in the country.  Wilbur’s advice to future business leaders is to make sure to ask the right questions.  He stresses that “the biggest risk is the question you forgot to ask, because the danger is always something you don’t know.”

As a Diversity Manager, you understand the challenges of trying to create a level playing field for employees as they seek to develop careers in your company. Invisible barriers and the “glass ceiling,” for example, still exist in many organizations.

While diversity training is an important strategy in breaking down these barriers, it often doesn’t go far enough. Too often, attendees leave these sessions knowing something about diversity but not really changing their perspective. Why? Because their behavior doesn’t change.

This is where a formal mentoring program that focused on diversity initiatives can help. Mentoring programs bring people together and empower them to share the “real” issues and, as a result, change the internal system to be more balanced and fair. Mentoring programs also take the theory from the classroom and provide a safe environment for honest dialogue between the majority/non-majority pairs. This type of exchange not only transforms the individuals, but also provides opportunities for them to effect change in the company.

If you’d like to learn more about how a mentoring program can support your diversity initiatives, download a copy of our free thought paper: The Power of Mentoring To Support Diversity Initiatives.

In a recent article, Nancy Peretsman, Managing Director at Allen & Co., was asked what advice she would give.  Among the advice she shared, she indicated that two people who have been prominent in her life have a favorite saying that she likes.  The first one is by her husband, Bob Scully, retired Co-President of Morgan Stanley.  He likes to say, “You have two ears and one mouth.  Use them proportionally.”  The second saying is from Herbert Allen, the CEO of Allen & Co. and he likes to say, “It’s tough to listen when you are talking.”  She has taken these saying to heart because it has helped her enormously throughout her career.  This advice can valuable to anyone including a mentor or a mentoree.  So the next time you are speaking to someone, don’t be so quick to jump right in, sit back and listen to what they have to say.  You may learn a thing or two.  

When searching for your “perfect” mentor, remember that a mentor should not be your hero, friend, or idol at your organization, but someone who has the time, patience, and knowledge to guide you to enhance your performance at your organization.  It should be someone who has the drive to prepare you to either accomplish what they have attained, or to excel in what they have accomplished.  So when you are out searching for your “perfect” mentor, keep in mind that it should be someone who will influence your life forever.

There are many qualities needed to be a good mentor.  However, there is a few that stands out that I would like to share with you.  They are:

1. Meet Regularly – If you don’t set aside the time to meet on a regular basis, you can almost be sure that your mentoring relationship will not blossom. 
2. Have An Open Door Policy – Having an open door policy will give your mentoree the feeling that they are important and that they can count on you.  Some mentors shy away from this because they are worried that their mentoree will be visiting every other day.  However, just like themselves, mentorees also have a full work load to attend to.  Still worried?  Then make sure to offer the open door policy with a few restrictions.
3. Provide Your Goals And The Company Goals – Mentors will probably be given a list of company goals that they need to accomplish for the mentoring program, however, once you sit down with your mentoree, it would be a good idea to set some personal goals as well.  Each individual is different, so it is important to have realistic goals that can be easily attained.
4. Share Your Passion – It is important for your mentoree to see the passion that you have for your position in the company.  You want them to see that it is acceptable to be enthusiastic about your achievements.  It will help them strive to work harder to attain their goals.
5. Introduce Your Mentoree To Your Network – Introducing your mentoree to your network will be beneficial to them because it gives them the opportunity to interact with a different level of employees that can share additional experiences that the mentoree may be able to relate to.  It also gives the mentoree a sense of inclusion among you and your colleagues. 

As I stroll through town watching all of the tourists shopping and visiting the nearby attractions, it is not the happy children jumping for joy that catches my eye, nor is it the sailboats sailing in the tranquil waters but that very familiar big yellow bus that drives by that captures my attention.  That big yellow bus, the local school bus, is a reminder that those lazy days of summer is about to end soon and all of the children, teachers and administrators will be back to work very shortly.  That thought reminds me of the important role that a mentoring program plays in an educational setting.  Educational Mentoring Programs are a great way to provide professional development to your employees.  It is a great way to encourage both new and established teachers and faculty the development needed to create schools that are structured for student and teacher success.  If schools are able to improve teaching, then they are able to improve student learning.  Therefore, it is essential for teachers and faculties to not only go to workshops, but to also collaborate with another individual, such as a mentor, to guide them in a way that will be supportive, informational and beneficial to everyone involved.  To learn more on how we can set up a mentoring program for your school, please click here.