Mentoring has been called ‘the glue that makes training stick’. As a mechanism for the transfer of business skills it promotes faster and more effective learning and can help encourage an organisation-wide learning culture.
There are many definitions of mentoring but that which is most commonly acknowledged and recognised is probably:
“A defined and agreed relationship between two equals with the aim of learning and improving personal and professional effectiveness”
The idea that mentoring is between ‘two equals’ may cause some surprise but it is important to recognise that effective mentoring is built on the notion of fundamental equality – it is essential that the mentor never adopts a ‘superior’ stance and the individual being mentored should never be made to feel ‘inferior’.
Increasingly, mentoring is being used within companies to improve personal performance through helping individuals address and overcome specific problems and challenges in a way which is both meaningful and motivational for them.
Invariably those who have been mentored are passionate about the experience and often go on to become mentors themselves
Mentoring is a process by which an individual advises and supervises a more junior or less experienced person, providing a role model for their behaviour. This being the case, it is important that those individuals themselves actively support and demonstrate the qualities, characteristics and behaviours that they are looking to their mentees to emulate and replicate.
Additionally, in a group situation, it is essential for the good of the organisation as a whole, as well as the individual mentees, that:
Knowing what you want to achieve
For these reasons it is important that the organisation involved decides upon the key performance indicators (sometimes known as key competencies) against which it expects all personnel – leaders, managers and staff – to perform.
Key performance indicators are based on what the organisation needs and/or wants to achieve overall. An example of key performance indicators are:
These indicators can be applied to any role within the organisation and individual objectives set and measured for contribution to them.
A will and passion for development and change
In respect of the mentoring process, it is important that mentors and mentees understand the significance of three key aspects of mentoring:
The first two of these are aspects of the process which both parties will need to acknowledge and understand. However, it is the third aspect, behavioural change, where most training and support will be required.
The business benefits
Rather than taking a very narrow focus, an effective mentoring programme should form part of a programme of helping enhance the way the organisation develops and supports individual and team potential in order to meet its business objectives.
By adopting a mentoring programme you can expect to see a number of positive benefits for individual colleagues and for the organisation as a whole.
Effective mentoring, when used at all levels:
Personal benefits
The benefits to the individual being mentored are huge. Having a mentor can help you re-focus, look at your role objectively and remember what your original goals and plans were. Most important, it can help you to do something about them!
This said, it’s important not to overlook the benefits to the mentor. Mentoring requires a number of enviable skills and talents and the process helps mentors develop them further:
(c) Dianne Bown-Wilson, The M3 Consultancy
www.m3consultancy.co.uk