Building High-Impact Mentoring Programs€¦ · Building High-Impact Mentoring Programs: Ensuring...
Transcript of Building High-Impact Mentoring Programs€¦ · Building High-Impact Mentoring Programs: Ensuring...
Building High-Impact Mentoring
Programs: Ensuring that Mentoring is Not Simply a Series of
Polite but Ineffective Conversations
Helene Lollis, President
Pam Tipton, Executive Director of Consulting
Pathbuilders, Inc.
Today’s Agenda
• Mentoring Defined
• Mentoring in the Workplace
• Barriers and Challenges
• Four Key Elements of Success
• Common vs High-Impact Elements
• High-Impact Programs
Mentoring Process Defined
"Mentoring is a process for the informal transmission of
knowledge, social capital, and the psychosocial support perceived
by the recipient as relevant to work, career, or professional
development; mentoring entails informal communication, usually
face-to-face and during a sustained period of time, between a
person who is perceived to have greater relevant knowledge,
wisdom, or experience (the mentor) and a person who is perceived
to have less (the protégé.)"
(Bozeman, Feeney, 2007)
‘Mentor’ – Definitions & History
• Webster‟s – “A trusted counselor or guide”
• Greek Mythology –
Goddess Athena – an advisor
Took the form of a mortal man, named Mentor
• In organizations – long history
Senior management sponsors
Focus on young professionals
Definition has evolved over time…
PATHBUILDERS
Mentoring – Pervasive in the
Workplace
• Numerous studies note that ~70% of
Fortune 500 firms employ some type of
internal mentoring program
• 75% of Catalyst members incorporate
mentoring into their talent development
programs
Mentoring – A Core Component of
Talent Development
• DDI study cites that 97% of executives
benefited from the advice of mentors
• Participation benefits both the mentees
and mentors developmentally
• Mentors and mentees are more likely to be
promoted and enjoy higher retention rates
than those not participating in mentoring
programs (Gartner Research, 2006)
Benefits of Mentoring Programs
• Demonstrate commitment of senior leaders to talent development
• Leverage the knowledge within the organization
• Create connections that may not happen naturally
• Deliver personal and focused development to key talent
• Build a sustainable talent pipeline
Then, Why Do We Hear These
Comments?
• “Formal programs aren‟t effective, the best mentoring relationships evolve naturally.”
• “My mentor‟s a really nice person, but I‟m not sure what I get out of our time together.”
• “The partnership started out great, but we didn‟t stay with it.”
• “I‟m never quite sure what to talk with my mentor about.”
Barriers and Challenges
• Most programmatic offerings are too informal
• Mentees fail to develop specific goals
• Common expectations between partners are not established
• Scheduling and logistics challenges are overlooked with no guidelines for resolution
• No clear rationale for matching of Mentee and Mentor partnerships
• Mentoring sessions lack substantive focus
• “Polite but ineffective” conversations are the norm
Informal vs. Formal Mentoring
Formal
• Structure drives participation and purposeful discussion
• Creates connections that may not occur naturally
• Clear matching and topical discussions increase engagement
• Has a defined start and stop
Informal
• Connection drives interaction
• Allows natural relationship evolution
• Individuals self-select
• Creates freedom to stop or start
Formality Key for Mentors
• Mentor value proposition linked to clarity of
requirements and outcomes
• High demand on their time – want to
ensure impact
• Clarity of purpose and reward in
supporting a mentee‟s development
• Substantive, focused discussion drives
two-way learning
High-Impact Mentoring –
FOUR Key Elements
• Disciplined Mentee-Mentor Matching
• Effective Mentee and Mentor Training
• Partnership Monitoring and Intervention
• Content to Drive Mentoring Discussions
Common Mentee-Mentor Matching
• Mentees select their mentors
• Committee Matching – with limited
information or knowledge of participants
• Matches driven by function or title
• Applicants reluctant to submit real
challenges and goals into system
• Mentor „needs‟ too often considered
High-Impact Mentee-Mentor Matching
• Matching driven by mentee developmental
goals and barriers to advancement
• Mentees and mentors interviewed and rich
information gathered
• Mentors selected for mentees based on
mentee needs
• Personal information incorporated into the
match rationale
Common Mentee and Mentor Training
• Electronically distributed program
description and guidelines
• Generic phone/webinar program launch
– General in nature
– Rarely partnership or content-focused
• On-line tools available
High-Impact Mentee and Mentor
Training
• Structured roles and responsibilities clearly delineated
• Interactive session with sharing of expectations and practice discussions
• Assessments create common language and jumpstart connectivity
• Mentees provided framework to develop goals for the mentoring time
• Thorough discussion of all key logistical aspects of partnership management
Common Partnership Monitoring
and Intervention
• Often overlooked completely
• Hallway conversations
• Triage of problems as they arise
• Overall gauging of group satisfaction
• Mid- and end-of-program surveys
• Reluctance to address mentor shortcomings
• Acceptance that „chemistry sometimes isn‟t right‟
High-Impact Partnership Monitoring
and Intervention
• Measurement and tracking of engagement of each partnership
– Third party phone check-ins, probing on specifics
– Ongoing surveys and updates
• Interventions to handle partnership problems – logistics, communications
• Working directly with any disengaged participants – mentor or mentee
Common Content to Drive Mentoring
Discussions
• List of topics provided and available online
High-Impact Content to Drive
Mentoring Discussions
• Mentee-mentor common experiences to create common language
• Mentee goals create context for all conversations
• Level-appropriate career development-focused topics outlined for discussions
• Participants equipped with thought-leading questions for mentors and probing questions for mentees
Inconsistent Outcomes?
• Questionable matches
• Ill-defined logistics
• Awkward introductions
• Unclear roles
• Differing expectations
• Varying degrees of engagement
• Busy mentees selecting „topics‟ for discussion
• Loose monitoring of partnerships
• Reluctance to counsel unengaged mentors
• Certain mentees fully embrace and make it work
• Certain mentors align priorities
• Some partnerships work, but…
• High degree of variability in participant outcomes
The Continuum of Mentoring
• Role Modeling, Career Advisors
• Executive Roundtables
• Peer Mentoring
• Group Mentoring
• One-on-one Mentoring
ALL Benefit from Formality –Matching, Training, Monitoring, and Content
High-Impact Mentoring Programs
• Drive program engagement and true
developmental outcomes
• Positively impact retention and
promotion-readiness
• Drive broad understanding of corporate
culture and career pathing
• Drive cross-departmental connections and
job rotations
• Significantly strengthen leadership bench