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Diversity and Inclusion

 

Diversity & Inclusion initiatives are commonplace in organisations today, as they strive to harness the talents of an increasingly diverse workforce. In this webinar, we will explore diversity beyond gender to consider:

  • Why Diversity Mentoring is important right now
  • Examples of Diversity Programs that target different groups
  • Issues to think about when designing mentoring for diversity.

Webinar Presenters

  • Melissa Richardson, Managing Director, Art of Mentoring
  • Professor David Clutterbuck, CMI and Clutterbuck Partnership

Lessons in Diversity Mentoring
Today’s organisations must be able to capitalise on diversity – tapping into a multi-cultural workforce, managing the demands of an increasingly well-educated and experienced cadre of female managers and facilitating virtual teams and alliances in a global workplace. By facilitating cross-group understanding and supporting disadvantaged or minority groups within an organisation, mentoring is emerging as a powerful method for encouraging organizational diversity. However, mentoring within or between unique groups comes with unique problems. We outline below some of the key lessons that have been learned thus far in “diversity mentoring”.

1. Define the Purpose Carefully
Any mentoring program should be clear about its purpose, but this is particularly the case with “diversity mentoring” because it is so easy to generalize. A mentoring program that is simply to “support women in the organisation” is likely to lead to a large number of lunch meetings where everyone wonders what they are doing here.

2. Know Your Audience
There is a genuine risk that good intention leads to unintentional insult. We have seen a number of instances where mentoring programs intended to support a specific group were perceived as devaluing that group. So for example a program designed to support a specific racial minority may lead the group to feel that they are considered “not good enough”. It is important to understand the perspective of the group you are trying to support.

3. Make Programs “Opt In”
For any mentoring program to be successful it is critical that both the mentors and the mentees want to be there. This is even more important for diversity programs, particularly cross group programs where you are asking people to listen and understand others with substantially different perspectives.

4. Ensure Quality Trumps Quantity
If you are running a diversity program it is tempting to want to include everyone who fits the diversity objective. But the truth is that establishing a bad mentoring relationship is far worse than having no relationship at all – particularly when dealing with delicate diversity issues. It is essential that programs are limited to the number of quality mentors available. A quality mentor will need to have strong communication and empathic skills and a track record in people development. (See our article on Selecting a Mentor for more on what makes a good mentor.)

5. Same Group Verses Cross Group? – It depends
There is much discussion about whether diversity programs work best if the mentor and mentee are from the same group or different groups. Each has its advantages. A same group relationship is likely to establish a strong rapport and empathy between the mentor and mentee. On the other hand, cross group relationships are able to foster a greater level of cross-cultural or gender understanding which can be advantageous to the organisation as a whole. The decision goes back to our first lesson – know your purpose. If the purpose is to help disenfranchised employees to grow confident and comfortable within a role or an organisation then same group programs may be more successful. If the purpose is to foster communication and understanding within your organisation then cross group programs will work better.

6. Invest in Training
There is little more frustrating to us than to watch organisations run mentoring programs without appropriate mentor/mentee training. It is critical to the success of any mentoring program that both sides of the relationship receive training. All training programs must be geared to help mentees understand their role in the process and to raise mentor’s “coaching” competencies. In diversity mentoring it is also critical that both sides of the relationship are trained to be aware of diversity issues, such as how stereotyping occurs and how different cultures or genders may approach the same issue differently.

7. Acknowledge Stereotyping
Stereotyping is probably the biggest single barrier to success of diversity mentoring programs. In same group relationships stereotypes may be shared and go unquestioned – despite the fact that these stereotypes may be the biggest single barriers to success. In cross group relationships the stereotypes of one or both sides may lead to assumptions that unconsciously limit the potential of the relationship. It is critical that stereotypes be discussed and acknowledged during training, and that mentors, in particular, are trained to be able to openly and honestly discuss the role of stereotype in the mentoring relationship and in the mentee’s progress within the organisation.

8. Balance Disadvantage With Advantage
Often diversity mentoring involves a relationship between a disadvantaged person and someone who is not. The most obvious example of this would be physically handicapped mentees working with the able bodied. This requires a tricky balancing act on the part of the mentor. On the one hand if the disadvantage is completely ignored then the mentee may feel patronized and there is a failure to recognise some of the limitations that may need to be overcome. On the other hand if the disadvantage is allowed to take centre stage this may limit the ability to set stretch goals. An effective way for mentors to deal with this is to balance disadvantage with advantage. Work with the mentee to establish a realistic balance sheet of the advantages and disadvantages they have in the workplace. This recognizes that the disadvantage is a reality to be faced, but also puts it into a framework that allows for progress.

 

About Professor David Clutterbuck

David co-founded the European Mentoring Centre and helped to steer its evolution into the European Mentoring and Coaching Council – the coordinating body for professional practice in this area in Europe. He has been chair of both the UK and European research committees of the EMCC and is now a lifetime ambassador for the EMCC. 

He lectures on coaching and mentoring at universities and conferences around the world. He led the research team that created the International Standards for Mentoring Programmes in Employment (ISMPE) and is the ISMPE’s current chair.

David has coached and consulted widely in the public, private and not-for-profit sectors. He originally brought the concept of structured mentoring to Europe in the late 1970’s and has developed an international reputation for his mentoring programme design and support, helping hundreds of companies, voluntary bodies and government agencies around the world create sustainable mentoring programmes. 

David has an exceptionally strong research background, which underpins his work. He is the author or co-author of 60 books, of which 20 relate specifically to coaching and mentoring and hundreds of articles. 

One of the recent fruits of his research has been the Talent Wave, a radical rethink of HR practice in talent management and succession planning. Another is a re-evaluation of the role of goals in coaching and mentoring.

© 2019 Art of Mentoring

Responding with Intention: Leadership after Crisis

Responding with Intention: Leadership after Crisis

In less than six months, bushfires have ravaged the environment, homes and livelihoods of thousands of Australians. The toll on human and animal life has been vast, sparking a resounding debate about the quality of our leadership in the face of this crisis.

As we return to work after the break, we may all feel the need to step up to a new level of leadership. Providing a steady hand on the tiller and acting with purpose in the face of upheaval, is critical now.

For this reason, we’re offering a new training course “Coaching and Mentoring During and After a Crisis” in the coming months. In the meantime, here are some thoughts.

How the reptilian brain hijacks the executive brain

As people leaders, it’s incumbent on us to soothe our own anxieties so we can coach and mentor others with a fully functioning executive brain. We can have a whole toolbox of neat coaching or mentoring techniques, but they’re worthless when the reptilian brain is active.

How do we know when the reptilian brain has kicked in? You know that feeling when your thinking is fuzzy and unclear? Maybe your heart is racing, or adrenalin is rushing through your body. Your breathing is shallow. Perhaps you’ve noticed nothing until a snarky comment escapes your mouth and your significant other has taken offence. It can sneak up on you, an accumulation of little anxieties and before you know it, you’re in survival, fight-or-flight mode. You can’t be useful to others when you’re in that state. I know, because it happened to me, and I had to consciously calm myself after months of bushfire crisis that brought the fires to within 20kms of our home.

When you’re in this state, and you want to respond in an adult way to whatever has triggered you, there are some steps you can take. I find this model personally useful.

Leadership after a Crisis
Self-Awareness Model for Leaders after a Crisis

Techniques to re-engage the executive brain after crisis

The first step is to simply stop and notice what’s going on in your mind and body. Take a deep breath so you can slow down or stop the waterfall of thoughts. Give your feelings a label—is it fear, anxiety, shame or something else? Just acknowledging the emotion will help engage your executive brain.

Then, look at how you can reframe the situation, thought or issue that’s triggering you. If you know something about Cognitive Behaviour Therapy (CBT), then you may be good at challenging your own thoughts or beliefs (I’m not very good at that, but I do respond well to someone else challenging me). You need to recognise that cognitive bias has entrapped you, so look intentionally for alternative explanations or ways of thinking.

By now you will be feeling calmer and you can choose how to respond rather than acting on autopilot.

How does self-awareness support coaching and mentoring?

Your reports and colleagues may be coming back to work tired, anxious and demotivated. If they’ve had personal losses they could find it hard to cope. You may feel challenged when people are present but not productive—how do you coach someone through that? It won’t be easy, but it will be impossible if you’re in a triggered state yourself. So, before you have any coaching or mentoring conversations in the next few months, try scanning your mind and body before you begin. If you’re feeling even slightly triggered, run through the steps above to summon your executive brain, lead with intention and expertly guide your team out of crisis to calmer waters.

Best of luck!

© Melissa Richardson 2020.

Like to learn more about mentoring? Join our webinars here.
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Media Release: Mentor of the Year Award 2019

Art of Mentoring announces the winner of their inaugural Mentor of the Year Award 2019 on International Mentoring Day

Sydney, 17 January, 2020: To celebrate International Mentoring Day, Art of Mentoring, an Australian based mentoring business operating globally in 26+ countries, has awarded Tim Fletcher, Consultant Town Planner, the prestigious Mentor of the Year Award 2019.

Mr Fletcher participated in the Planning Institute of Australia’s (PIA) Emerging Professionals Mentoring Program in 2019.

PIA is the national body representing planners and the planning profession. It provides professional education, communicates key planning policy changes to its members and advocates on various policy positions to federal and state government bodies.

During the eight-month program, Mr Fletcher mentored Lou Hawkins, a senior statutory planner at Wodonga Council, who in turn nominated Mr Fletcher for the Award.

Winning nomination highlights mentor’s genuine support

In response to Art of Mentoring’s question, “what were you able to achieve with the help of your mentor and in what way was your mentor instrumental in this?” Ms Hawkins answered:

“Confidence. I suffered greatly from imposter syndrome, and found presenting (even in small teams) and public speaking, very intimidating. Tim helped me to work to develop my professional confidence. Since working with Tim I have become comfortable ‘taking up space’ in conversations and have presented on multiple occasions including at VCAT, council briefings and at an all staff forum. This confidence is not just related to public speaking, but all professional interactions and functions,” said Ms Hawkins.

When asked why Art of Mentoring should choose Tim Fletcher, Ms Hawkins provided this example of how her mentor went above and beyond to help her:

“Tim found a perfect balance between providing me with support and direction, and allowing me the necessary room to grow. He was able to lead me out of my comfort zone to allow me to be challenged whilst providing support and encouragement which facilitated my success. As a headstrong professional, I could not have achieved the success that I have without Tim’s willingness to ask me to do things that challenged me,” continued Ms Hawkins.

Mentee shares the secrets of her successful mentoring partnership

In a program follow-up survey, Program Manager Gina Meibusch asked Ms Hawkins, “what advice would you give mentees starting a mentoring relationship?”

Ms Hawkins replied:

“You get what you put in! The relationship needs to be driven by the mentee—the mentor is not going to wade in take your hand and lead you down the path to success. You need to know (or to look for) where you’re going and what you want. If you don’t ask you’re not going to get. Be vulnerable! Point to it and ask for help.

I’m singing the praises of the program to anyone who’ll listen! We’re a regional branch, so there’s only a small pool of people locally we can turn to. Having someone like Tim is priceless.

The virtual program works well. Through good luck we met face to face once before launch. Tim was travelling past and we caught up for a coffee. If you can skype, it’s better than phone, as you get to know more of your mentor as a person. Even if you have a good match, building rapport is important. You need to understand them and you as a person. It also helps the advice be specific to you—you can see so much about each other and the answer is more real and genuine.”

Art of Mentoring recognises outstanding mentors across programs in Australian organisations and associations

Art of Mentoring also awarded six Finalist Awards to outstanding mentors in the following programs within organisations and associations:

  1. 2019 Anglo American Growspace Mentoring Program
  2. 2019 Australian Tax Office (ATO) Albury Mentoring Program
  3. 2019 CPA Australia Mid-Career Mentoring Program
  4. 2019 The Law Society of NSW Women’s Mentoring Program
  5. 2019 Association of Massage Therapists (AMT) Mentoring Program
  6. 2019 Association of School Business Administrators (ASBA) Mentoring Program

 

Mentoring helps attract and retain employees and association members through professional development

Art of Mentoring designs, implements and manages mentoring programs for organisations and membership associations throughout Australia.

Studies show that a well-run mentoring program helps attract and retain employees by demonstrating an organisation’s or association’s commitment to talent development.

Mentoring is also instrumental in preparing the next generation of leaders. Researchers have shown that teaching people high quality mentoring skills, helps them develop their transformational leadership capacities.1 There is also growing consensus that mentors benefit as much as mentees in this regard.

For associations, attracting and retaining members is critical to their financial viability. A well-structured and managed mentoring program offers significant returns by providing high quality professional development that engages their member base and advances the profession or industry they represent.

The Art of Mentoring difference

The Art of Mentoring team is led by Melissa Richardson whose experience in mentoring spans more than 20 years in the private, public and not-for-profit sectors. Melissa and her team use an evidence-based approach to mentoring drawn from research into the experiences of thousands of mentors and mentees around the world.

Melissa is a global assessor for the European Mentoring and Coaching Council’s ISMCP Award (International Standards for Mentoring and Coaching Programs) and leads the International Work Group for Mentoring and Coaching Program Manager training and accreditation.

Committed to raising the bar of developmental learning conversations worldwide, Art of Mentoring offers a blend of software, online educational content as well as highly experienced program managers to oversee programs and prepare mentors and mentees for success.

ABOUT ART OF MENTORING

Art of Mentoring is a mentoring business based in Australia and operating globally in 26+ countries. They offer the latest in mentoring best practice with a vast range of evidence-based programs, expert consultants, software and world-class resources to support the design and implementation of effective mentoring in your organisation.

Art of Mentoring is a proud member of Coaching & Mentoring International (CMI), a global network of mentoring, coaching and developmental dialogue specialists, allowing them to support the Art of Mentoring product and services range with people on the ground in most parts of the world.

They have been designing and implementing mentoring programs since 1997. Their management is supported by an expert team of Program Designers and Managers.

 

[1] Kram, K. and Ragins, B.R. (2007) The Landscape of Mentoring in the 21st Century. In K. Kram & B.R. Ragins (Eds.) The Handbook of Mentoring at Work (pp. 659-692), CA: Sage.

For more information, contact:

Angela Bruce
Sales & Marketing Coordinator
Art of Mentoring

E:         angela@artofmentoring.net

Case Study – Department of Primary Industries NSW

Department of Primary Industries NSW, Mentoring Program

Increasing Scientists’ Skills and Confidence to become Science Leaders

In 2016, management at the NSW Department of Primary Industries investigated options for developing and sustaining a strong leadership pipeline of research scientists to underpin the growth, sustainability and biosecurity of primary industries in NSW. The Department recognises that science and technology underpins the achievement of stronger primary industries through the 2019-23 strategic plan.

“The sustainability of our Department’s science was a strategic concern to us, and we needed to find a way to build a strong pipeline of science leaders. The risk to our department was not having enough qualified scientists to take the lead and keep our research on par with the world and at the cutting edge of applied science in Australia. We discovered a formal Mentoring program was what we needed; scientists learning from other scientists” said Dr Martin Blumenthal, Manager, Science Excellence, Chief Scientist Branch.

In the last two decades, science-related fields have had difficulty attracting students, despite a steadily growing university cohort. For the Department, this has translated into fewer research scientists overall and even fewer senior scientists available to guide, mentor and support new scientists into senior roles.

Another contributing factor to the lack of natural mentoring, was that scientists within NSW are located in multiple, dispersed regional areas, in varying and often, limited numbers.

Fewer scientists and their geographical dispersion within NSW were hampering the natural pairing of experienced scientists with those less experienced into informal mentoring pairs.

There has tended not to be a strong culture of mentoring within DPI compared to, say, what has generally developed within the university sector (Lee et al. 2007).

Call for a formal mentoring program

To tackle these issues, Dr Blumenthal and the Chief Scientific Officer decided NSW DPI needed a formal mentoring program to link senior research scientists with less experienced scientists, to ensure mentoring occurred and achieved the goals of the department. The aim of the mentoring program was to support scientists in their own field and develop up and coming scientists.

It was thought that developing scientists needed guidance from senior research scientists in two key areas:

  1. How to publish high quality research regularly to maintain their credibility.
  2. How to increase their network in order to get research projects off the ground, as well as join other projects in progress.

Recommendation brings Art of Mentoring to the table

When Dr Blumenthal asked his colleague Jane Latimer if she knew anyone who could run a mentoring program, Jane recommended Art of Mentoring. Jane had previously run a successful mentoring program with Melissa Richardson, the Director of Art of Mentoring at the Department of Planning many years prior, and Jane was happy to recommend her company.

Mentoring program achieves strong championship within senior levels

Beginning in August 2016, DPI embarked on an annual program of 7–8 month structured mentoring programs for scientists with the core objective to increase researchers’ skills and confidence to become science leaders.

Additional objectives specific to each mentee included:

  • An opportunity for mentees to discuss career goals and aspirations with a scientist whose career they admire.
  • An opportunity to reflect on professional challenges and achievements.
  • Personal and professional development gained from problem solving and constructive guidance.

It was hoped the program would provide mentors with satisfaction from helping a more junior scientist succeed and contribute to the future success of primary industries research and development in NSW.

The program quickly achieved strong championship within the senior levels of the department with Chief Scientific Officer Dr Philip Wright, the key sponsor of the program, regularly attending program events.

88 participants access best practice mentoring framework within three years

“The team at Art of Mentoring has helped our participants apply and onboard into the program with marketing resources, one step sign-up forms, and an easy-to-use platform. The platform’s matching algorithm guided matching decisions. Having Art of Mentoring manage the program for us has reduced the administrative burden of managing a program of this size. We’ve been pleased with how smoothly everything went, right from the start,” said Dr Blumenthal.

Each year the program has been open to 20 mentoring pairs and 88 participants have completed the program over three years. The mentoring pairs set their own agenda, goals and frequency of meetings, with the Mentee driving the relationship. Resources such as videos, guides and email content are provided to help and encourage best practice mentoring skills. However the structure of the program is flexible to meet different participant engagement styles.

Mentoring Pair: Matt and Stephen

Just as Iron sharpens iron, one man sharpens another

Mentor: Matt Broadhurst, Senior Principal Research Scientist with DPI Fisheries at Coffs Harbour

Mentee: Stephen Johnson, Ecologist and Professional Officer with DPI Biosecurity at Orange

Matt and Stephen first met over the phone.The Mentoring collaboration

During a couple of face-to-face meetings Matt and Stephen discussed objectives and realistic outcomes, including:

  1. Career planning and how to navigate departmental obstacles.
  2. The need to prioritise publishing empirical science to evoke defensible environmental/resource management within departmental objectives.

As a mentee, Stephen experienced:

  • A very different perspective on a scientific career within the department.
  • To focus on completing one step at a time, and realising it isn’t a race, but rather a ‘journey’ (to quote ‘The Voice’).
  • The realisation a mentor can help one to see the hope within.

As a mentor, Matt learned a few new things as well:

  • ‘Weeds’ are, in fact, an important component of government-funded research.
  • Everyone has a perspective on their own work that warrants equal consideration.

Mentors don’t have an answer to everything, but via subtle suggestions we can prompt solutions within the brain of the mentee.

Mentoring Pair 2: Ashley and Pip

When Dr Pip Brock’s role as a Leader at DPI was restructured to a Research Officer, she welcomed the opportunity to discuss her next steps with her Mentor, Dr Ashley Webb. As Principal Research Scientist, Manager Grains Agronomy & Pathology Partnership, Ashley helped Pip get back on track and decide whether to pursue the Research Scientist Classification. Together they identified options, talked them through openly and tested practical opportunities.

Pip was pleased with the openness of the conversation without any negative impact on her opportunities within the Department. And when Ashley took 3 weeks’ leave she discussed the idea of Pip acting in her role with her Group Director, who agreed.

‘The program created the opportunity to act in and experience my Mentor’s position, which was a Leader position. I’m hugely grateful to my Mentor for being willing to listen and having a vast amount of experience to share. Perhaps it wasn’t a deliberate strategy—but my mentor built my confidence by providing practical opportunity as much as facilitating my thought process and providing encouragement,’ said Pip.

‘I was really pleased to work with Pip in this program. Some of the challenges we discussed were complex. She did a fantastic job acting in my role. This opened up further opportunities for her,’ said Ashley.

Pip has since gone on to become a mentor in the 2020 program, a move that will further enhance her leadership capability.

80% of participants say the program positively impacted retention.

We also recently completed a survey, asking all participants since 2016 to reflect on their experience in the mentoring program. The intention was to discover the medium to longer term impacts of the mentoring program.

Source: 2019 Post Mentoring Program Longitudinal Survey

Participants who responded to the survey reported many positive benefits from the program:

  • 70% of mentees who responded indicated the program positively enhanced their Career/Job Satisfaction.
  • 90% mentors and 64% of mentees and reported a positive impact on leadership capacity.
  • 80% of mentees indicated the program had both a positive impact on their attitude to their employer and the likelihood of continuing to work in their profession.
  • 90% of mentors also indicated the program positively impacted their likelihood of continuing to work in their profession as well as personal learning and growth.
  • 85% of participants indicated they valued the Department for offering them the mentoring opportunity.

As observed in most mentoring programs, the benefits to mentors were often significant and surprising. The Department now has a ‘bench’ of mentors who have strengthened their capacity for leading others, and a pool of mentees who have begun already to step up as mentors to others as the program has started cascading to lower levels.

A notable result is that ten mentees have had promotions and
four have had significant career changes since participating in the program. Three mentees have gone on to subsequently being mentors in the program.

When we asked participants the most important benefits they gained from the program, the answers varied.

Mentees noted a range of benefits including:

“Clarification of career direction and opportunities working as a scientist within a government agency.”

 “The opportunity to step back, take a look at my own direction and develop an (unwritten) ‘5-year’ plan.”

Mentors also noted benefits often associated with mentoring.

“Learning skills about being a mentor.”

“Enhanced ability to listen & steer mentees into coming up with solutions to their quests.”

Retention and engagement equally as critical as leadership development

With limited numbers of senior scientists spread far and wide across NSW, a formal mentoring program connecting scientists across geographies has been very successful. According to participants, Art of Mentoring’s program has had an overwhelmingly positive influence on their likelihood to stay on in their profession and with the Department, as well as their career and job satisfaction and their attitude to their employer. Retention and engagement has emerged equally as critical as leadership development to the future of Australian science.

Art of Mentoring can help any organisation launch, run or evaluate a mentoring program. For more information please contact us.

 

References:

Lee, A., Dennis, C. and Campbell, P. 2007. Nature’s guide for mentors. Nature 447, 791-797 (14 June 2007).

Guide to Virtual Mentoring

Virtual mentoring – much better than “the best we can do…”

A best-practice guide to virtual mentoring

Art of Mentoring is a 100% virtual organisation – our employees are spread along the Australian east coast from Brisbane to Devonport, and for us, working from different locations and collaborating virtually is business-as-usual. Our clients are spread all around the world, with programs spanning Australia, New Zealand, Asia, Europe and the UK.

Virtual mentoring, or distance mentoring, can be surprisingly effective, even though it is not necessarily everyone’s first choice.  Our Managing Director, Melissa, has written before about the art of virtual mentoring – the pros and cons of electronic communication, and the need for program managers to design a mentoring program with these in mind.

But how does virtual mentoring feel for participants? What are the advantages and disadvantages for individuals, and how do we grasp this new virtual world with both hands?

I recently had the pleasure of interviewing the Art of Mentoring 2019 Mentor of the Year, Tim, and his Mentee, Lou, and found that their virtual mentoring method was key to the success of their work together.

Now I have to say up front that Tim and Lou were lucky enough to meet face-to-face, just once, at the beginning of their relationship, when a family holiday brought Tim to within an hour’s drive of Lou’s home town. Having a friendly coffee together certainly got them off to a good start, but it’s what they did next that made it extraordinary.

In their first couple of communications, Tim and Lou talked openly about the challenges that a long-distance relationship might pose, and they decided they’d meet on Skype using webcams – as awkward as it seemed it might be, they found it wasn’t too hard to let their guard down a little and work through the awkward initial phase together.

But after a couple of meetings, something still wasn’t right. They weren’t getting to the nub of the issues during their conversations, spending much of their time trying to understand where each other was coming from but rarely moving forward to new understandings, and they were getting to the end of 90 minutes with topics left to discuss. They decided to implement a preparation process – the Mentee would send an email about a week in advance with 4 or 5 topics or questions for discussion as well as a little background to her current view or dilemma. The Mentor took a couple of days to think through his answer, and sent a reply email for her to contemplate for a couple of days before their scheduled call.

When they started their facetime call, they already had their teeth firmly in the conversation! They had an understanding of each other’s position, and had articulated their own, and had the chance to think about where the conversation might go and what questions they might ask the other.

Why did this work so well?

Because they had an early, open and constructive conversation about how they would work together, this team entered their first skype call with a positive and collaborative mindset.

Because they “took stock” after a few meetings, they identified a need to try something different, and went into problem-solving to come up with a new way of working together.

Their new solution took advantage of the benefits of both email (time and space to think and formulate a response, freedom to read and respond when best suited them, avoiding distraction and apparent differences) and face-to-face conversations (non-verbal cues, spontaneous and interactive).  Their separation in distance and time – when it suited them – became an opportunity rather than a hindrance, and was easily forgotten when they connected in cyberspace!

Here are some simple pointers on how to make a virtual mentoring connection powerful, many of which were employed by Tim and Lou:

  1. Agree up-front how the virtual nature of the relationship will work. What medium or suite of media will you use? Experiment until you find what works best for you both – some people prefer video connection, others prefer phone or email/ messaging. How often will you connect and what is a reasonable response time to a message or email?
  2. If you can’t connect using a visual medium, exchange photos so you each imagine what the other looks like every time you connect.
  3. Don’t forget to re-establish the human connection at the beginning of a call, message or email – don’t get down to work too quickly.
  4. Allow what might seem like awkward pauses in a phone conversation – the other person may just be thinking deeply and not ready to reply. Silence can be a precious gift that provides a chance for the speaker to arrange their thoughts or work out their own solutions before they talk.
  5. Have a clear agenda for each call and agree the focus of the conversation at the beginning. Really effective mentees send an agenda ahead of time with pertinent background. Some useful questions for mentors to ask include:
    1. What is the issue you’d like to explore?
    2. Why is it important to you? Why now?
    3. What do you genuinely know? What do you think you know? What do you feel?
    4. How can I help you? Are you looking for a different perspective or do you just what to bounce ideas around?
  6. Remember to be fully present – connecting online offers plenty of distractions. Turn off alerts from other apps so you can listen and give full attention to your partner.
  7. Email communication needs enough detail for the partner to understand and ask pertinent questions but not so much information that they drown in it.
  8. Review and take stock even more frequently than you would in a face-to-face mentoring relationship. Evaluate, every few times you connect, how the relationship is working and what could make it even more effective.

With these thoughts in mind, and a collaborative problem-solving approach, every mentoring partnership can find its own way of working that defies our preconceptions about virtual connection. Successful mentoring partners put as much effort into creating and nurturing the relationship as they do addressing the mentoring content, and what better skillset to master in the new virtual world?

 

© Gina Meibusch 2020

Reciprocal Mentoring

In reciprocal mentoring, sometimes known as “co–mentoring”, two people work together through a mentoring process in which they both take on the roles of Mentor and Mentee. This could be done by each participating in both roles, or by each person taking a primary role as Mentor or Mentee, but being willing to exchange roles from time to time.

In the developmental model of mentoring[1], Mentor and Mentee both enter the relationship with an expectation they will be changed by and learn from the experience. To some extent, reciprocal mentoring often happens naturally in a strong mentoring alliance. As mentoring relationships progress, it is not unusual for pairs to report that at times, the Mentee takes on the mentoring role.

In this case, it is useful for the mentee to have been exposed to some of the training often limited to mentors i.e. the foundational skills of mentoring which include active listening, guiding, challenging, asking powerful questions.

[1] Megginson D, Clutterbuck D (1995) Mentoring in Action: a practical guide for managers. Kogan Page, London

Goal Setting & Measuring the Impact of Mentoring

A well-designed, well-executed and well-managed mentoring program will be very successful and sustainable.

Done well, mentoring programs enjoy high engagement and participation rates, low dropout rates, high satisfaction and goal achievement. Mentors enrol year after year, and mentees return to mentor others.

But, how can we best measure the impact a mentoring program has, and at what levels should we aim and look for impact?

There are various models used by learning experts to evaluate the effectiveness of training. We have adapted a learning impact model, commonly attributed to Roger Kaufman, “Five Levels for Evaluation of Interventions for Human Performance Improvement” 1 .

Art of Mentoring Model of Evaluation of
Mentoring Program Impact

Level 1: Input
  • Evaluation of Mentoring Resources:
    are they available and how good are they?
  • Evaluation of Mentoring Program Resources:
    do the processes work and are they efficient?
Level 2: Acquisition of Learning    
  • Extent of individual Mentee and Mentor
    learning
Level 3: Application of Learning                                                                            
  • Did Mentees (and Mentors) apply learning?
    What were the outcomes? e.g. goal
    achievement, achievement of unplanned outcomes
Level 4: Organisational
Outcomes                                                              
  • Organisational impact e.g. better engagement,
    retention rates
Level 5: Societal Outcomes
  • Societal contribution of the mentoring program e.g. more women in leadership roles across an industry

Program goals should be set at all five levels and then, progress measured

This model provides an easy framework to assist in setting mentoring program goals at the outset, during the program design phase.

At the very least, we would expect a well-designed mentoring program to identify goals from Levels 1 to 4. Having a goal at Level 5 provides for a highly compelling story for recruitment of mentors and mentees into the program. Mentors, in particular, are strongly persuaded by a higher order reason to contribute their time.

Example Goal Set: Graduate Program

Level 1: Input                                
  • 90% of Mentors and Mentees complete training provided to   them
  • 90% of Mentors and Mentees rate educational materials as     valuable
  • 90%+ consider they were well matched
  • High participant ratings on the delivery of training and the       overall program experience
Level 2: Acquisition of
Learning                                                                                               
  • 90%+ of participants say they achieved some of all of their        learning goals e.g. understanding of organisational structure   and functional roles
Level 3: Application of
Learning
  • 90%+ of participants say they achieved some or all of the outcomes they were looking for / have been able to settle into        the organisation / perform their new role
Level 4: Organisational
Outcomes
  • Faster induction of new hires – able to perform in role faster     than non-mentored peers
  • Y% lower attrition rate amongst new hires / decrease in turnover in first year
Level 5: Societal
Outcomes
  • X% increase in youth employment

What can mentoring do for my organisation?

Research has reported mentoring can deliver benefits such as employee commitment, motivation and retention, higher morale, better working relationships and better leadership.

In a study into formal mentoring programs in Fortune 500 companies2 , the five most frequently cited impacts of mentoring included:

  • Retention (59 percent)
  • Promotion and advancement (35 percent)
  • Satisfaction (35 percent)
  • Morale (29 percent)
  • Productivity and performance (29 percent).

In an often-cited long-term study3 , Sun Microsystems found 25% of participants in a mentoring program had a salary grade change and mentees were promoted 5 times more often than their unmentored peers. Retention rates amongst mentees (72%) and mentors (69%) was favourably compared to the general retention rate across the organisation of 49%. Sun claims to have made $6.7 million in savings in avoided turnover and replacement costs. They also estimate an ROI of more than 1000% on their investment in mentoring.

We observe that organisations that set strong goals, measure frequently against these goals, and adjust their mentoring programs accordingly, record better results and enjoy greater program impact.

We would like to see more organisations measure ROI for their mentoring program investment. This must go beyond just collecting data from program participants. For example, together with the NSW Department of Primary Industries, we are tracking progress of mentees over the years following their participation in the department’s mentoring program for scientists. This includes collecting retention, career path and other data and comparing with the data for their non-mentored peers. We are already seeing impressive results.

 

© Melissa Richardson 2020

1 Levels of Evaluation: Beyond Kirkpatrick. By: Kaufman, Roger; Keller, John M. Human Resource Development Quarterly. Winter 94, Vol. 5 Issue 4, p371-380

2 Hegstad, C D & Wentling, R M. (2004) Human Resource Development Quarterly, vol. 15, No. 4

3 Sun Microsystems Study (2009), downloaded from http://spcoast.com/pub/Katy/SunMentoring1996-2009.smli_tr-2009-185.pdf

11 Reasons Why You Should Be a Mentor  

Why you should be a mentor. We often hear the reasons people give for not becoming a mentor.  I don’t have time.  I don’t have the right skills.  My personality isn’t suitable. 

For the most part these are excuses, not reasons.  We all have more time, skills and insight than we think, and, with the right training, anyone can learn to be a good mentor. 

Before you pull out a reason to say “no”, consider first these eleven reasons to say “yes” to being a mentor.  

1. Become a better leader 

Learning how to work with people to whom you don’t have a natural connection, demonstrating patience with those in need of guidance and support, helping people figure out the best path forward: all trademarks of a great leader AND skills honed through mentoring.  The more you work at leadership on a one-to-one basis, the more you’ll improve in larger group settings. 

2. Learn more about your company or profession 

What do you actually know about the challenges, purpose and daily workload of other teams?  Mentoring is a great way to broaden your view and gain insight into what goes on in other areas.  This will equip you to make sounder, more holistic decisions. 

3. Achieve personal career gains 

Just in case you’re thinking that all this talk of leadership and learning is a soft sell, let’s dish up some hard facts.  Between 2010 and 2015 Sun Microsystems studied the career progress of over 1,000 employees.  People who had acted as mentors were SIX TIMES more likely to be promoted than those who didn’t, and 20% more likely to get a raise.  Still think mentoring is a fluffy, feel good thing to do? 

4. Shape the leaders of tomorrow 

Most of us long for a legacy, some stake in the future that says, “I was here.” What better legacy than to be a part of shaping tomorrow’s leaders? 

5. Gain new perspectives and fresh ideas 

Mentoring is a unique opportunity to step outside your normal circle of friends and social media’s echo chamber to gain an intimate understanding of how the world looks through someone else’s eyes.  New perspectives lead to fresh ideas, and who knows where fresh ideas could lead you?  

6. Put your finger on the pulse of a younger generation 

Usually (although not always) mentors end up working with younger mentees, sometimes much younger.  Different generations think and act differently. If you are to be an effective leader, you need to have an understanding of how younger generations see things and where they can make a difference to the organisation.  The intimacy of a mentoring relationship offers a unique insight into these generational differences.  

7. Change someone’s world 

Do you remember a teacher, a coach or a former boss who said or did something that changed the trajectory of your life?  This is your chance to do that for someone else.  Not every mentoring partnership is life changing but we see enough of it to know that every mentor has the potential to instigate surprising change. 

8. Exercise emotional intelligence 

Working one-on-one with a mentee requires you to sharpen your emotional radar.  You will be called upon to gauge the emotional state of the other person and respond with empathy.  Not only is emotional intelligence a key differentiator for career advancement, it can also improve your relationships outside the office. 

9. Strengthen the lessons you’ve already learned 

There is no better way to embed knowledge than through teaching.  You’ve learned the hard way how to hire the right person, raise prices or negotiate a tough contract.  By passing this knowledge on to a novice, you clarify and embed those lessons within yourself. 

10. Improve productivity 

Sharing your insights, learning and networks with younger colleagues helps to grease the organisational wheel.  Stepping up the pace and increasing productivity helps everyone within the organisation – including you. 

11. Feel good about yourself 

Tell yourself all you want that you’re doing it for your resume, but we guarantee you that once you become a mentor, the “feel good” factor will take hold.  There is little more rewarding than knowing you are making a difference to someone else’s life. 

Learn more about our online training for mentors, mentees and program managers and how we can help your organisation design, set up and manage a successful mentoring program.

Adaptation Mentoring

In this podcast, Art of Mentoring’s Melissa Richardson talks about Adaptation, Mentoring and Wellbeing with workplace wellbeing advisor, Thea O’Connor.

Mentoring is a well-documented practice for supporting people through a transition, typically from study to work or from one career to another.

The unfolding COVID-19 crisis of 2020 requires more than just a transition response. The pandemic has thrown the world’s population into a sudden change on many levels – job loss, social distancing, working from home, forced isolation indoors, with overwhelming media coming at us. We are having to ADAPT, very quickly, to a very different reality. Can others help us adapt more quickly and effectively?

We know that mentoring has positive impacts for both mentors and mentees on affective wellbeing. Having a safe place in which to reflect and untangle thoughts and feelings, as well as plan for the adaptation, could be critical to how well societies adapt. Mentors will supplement, not replace, mental health experts whose services may be overwhelmed.

How can mentors help and what can we all be doing to adapt quickly and well?

Our “Coaching and Mentoring Through Change” training course uses the Bridges Transition Model1 to provide a framework for the phases people experience in a change:

There are three phases. The first job of mentors is to identify which phase they are in themselves. In an ideal world, mentors would have moved to the last phase so they can focus on the needs of mentees. In reality, they may be moving through the phases together with their mentee. Having a conversation about where each party sits is a good start and will build trust.

Reference

  1. Bridges, William (2003) Managing Transitions (2nd) Da Capo Press, Cambridge, MA.

© Melissa Richardson 2020