The Art of

Mentoringby

Maria Vicente Bonto-KanePhD Candidate

Computer Science DepartmentNorth Carolina State University

Origin of Mentor

Telemachus and Mentor

What is Mentoring?

A long term relational process for developing a mentee under the close guidance of a teacher, counselor, or leader who knows how to navigate within the culture of the mentee’s environment.

(Definition taken from the work of Marilou Bova, online document)

http://fpd.gsfc.nasa.gov/Code400_Orientation_Session.doc)

What is Mentoring?

Mentor works with the mentee to:• Support the mentee• Strengthen competencies• Enhance job performance• Guide career progression• Open doors for the mentee• Introduce mentee to other leaders or people of

influence or power

Duties of a Mentor

• Coach

• Counselor

• Facilitator

• Role Model

• Networker

Duties of a Mentee

• Protégé

• Student

• Participant

• Recipient

• Peer

• Colleague

The Mentor in the Relationship

• Supports the mentee in their agenda and career goals

• Understands where the mentee is and where the mentee would like to be

• Decides what are some of the areas of developmental and activities required

• Decides how mentor can be involved to get the mentee where he/she wants/needs to be

The Mentee in the Relationship

• Assumes responsibility

• Takes the initiative

• Is a willing recipient

• Shows respect for and interest in the relationship and the mentor

• Must be willing to make several attempts before finding the right fit

Mentoring vs. Coaching

• Mentoring is initiated by the protégé or mentee

• Coaching is initiated by supervisor or mentor

The Art of Mentoring

The Art of Being a Mentee

depends on…

ABC’s of Being a Mentee• Act

– Know thyself– Find a mentor– Set the stage

• Build– Invest time and effort into the relationship

• Communicate– Be honest– Express your goals– Assert your needs and objectives

• Deadline– Set a finite period for the relationship

Know Thyself

• Determine what you want to achieve– Determines the type of mentor you need

• Self-appraisal– What are your goals?– What areas do you you struggle with?– What are the inhibitors?– What kind of mentor could you work with?

Find a Mentor

• Two kinds of mentors:– Career mentor– Job mentor

• A mentor provides an objective view to– Improve short-term skills (Job mentor)– Achieve long term goals (Career mentor)

• A mentor looks out for you– Not the job or the employer

Find a Mentor• Is there a mentoring program in your school or

place of work?• Professional mentoring sites

– http://www.mentornet.net– http://www.ieee.org/web/membership/mentoring/index.html– http://www.acm.org/membership/student/mentornet

• Membership in professional societies– IEEE, ACM, CRA-W, Anita Borg Institute

• Participation in professional workshops– CRA-W, Grace Hopper

• Network… network!

Find a Mentor

• Find someone you respect

• Find someone you can relate to

• Find someone you like

• Find someone in the role you would like to be (as identified earlier)

• Find someone who is willing to take you on as a protégé (Important!)

What should you look for?

• Someone you feel comfortable talking to• Someone who can be objective• Someone who listens• Someone who shows empathy• Experience is not necessary• Gender should not matter• Can be inside or outside of work• Age should not matter

Types of Relationships• Ongoing

– Can go on for a few months or years

• One-time– Specific situations– Get insight into a case outside of your regular mentor’s experience or

skill level

• Group mentoring– Group of peers– Group of people with varying levels of experience

• Reverse Mentoring– A junior person acts as mentor to a senior person

• Role Model– Someone who exemplifies who you want to be

Set the Stage

• Identify a mentor• Approach the mentor• Mutually agree on having the mentoring

relationship (if not look for someone else)• Identify topics you want to discuss• Identify where, when, how the mentoring

should take place• Identify limits (what is confidential and not)

Approaching the Mentor

• Identify a mentor

• Arrange for a possible meeting (coffee, lunch)

• Ask if person is willing to be a mentor

• Identify goals you want to work on

• Both should agree to the relationship

Agreeing on the Relationship

• Set expectations upfront

• Bring in topics you want to discuss

• Create a comfortable setting

• Identify goals you want to work on

Set Expectations Upfront

• Is it an ongoing relationship? Or a one time discussion?

• How often will you meet? When? For how long each time?

• Will meetings be scheduled in advance? Scheduled as needed?

• Where are your going to meet?

Topics to Discuss

• Bring in the topics you want to discuss

• Be specific with your topics

• Bring in questions you want answers

• Clarify what specific aspect you want advice on

Comfortable Setting

• Create a comfortable setting– at work? Offsite?– Over coffee? Lunch?

Agreement

• Identify goals that you want to work on

• Create an action plan

• Create measurable goals

• Identify when the relationship will end

• Can draft the agreement in writing

B is for Build

• Give priority to the mentoring sessions

• Listen with an open mind

• Be as objective as you can– Protégé should be receptive to ideas that are

new or different– Protégé should describe the situation factually

B is for Build

• Use mentor’s experience to add different perspectives to the discussion

• Apply honesty filter

• Be candid about the situation

• Respect each other’s privacy and confidences

C is for Communicate

• Coach and strategize together to come up with alternative solutions to situations

• Be honest in your questions/discussions

• Get to know each other

• Protégé may need to come out of comfort zone

• Report back on your experiences

C is for Communicate

• Use action plan to track your progress

• Always be mindful of your goals

• Articulate your needs well

• Assert if you think your needs are not met

• Try alternative strategies

C is for Communicate

• Follow-up and give feedback• Report on your experiences• Make sure you try various options discussed• Keep focus on growth and accomplishments• Demonstrate loyalty and dependability• Show mutual respect and trust• Re-evaluate relationship periodically• Above all, do no harm

D is for Deadline

• Mentoring relationship is not usually forever• Goals have been achieved or timetable has been

reached• Pointers for evaluation:

– Why was the process initiated?

– How do we define success for the process?

– How do we define failure for the process?

– Are there changes that need to be made?

D is for Deadline

• Review agreement

• Complete agreement independently

• Review completed agreement jointly

• Limit observations to specific points

• Communicate freely, honestly, and respectfully

D is for Deadline

“Sometimes part of the responsibility of having a mentor is knowing when you have outgrown each other and realizing when it is time to move on.”

--Michael Jeffreys

Four Stages of Mentoring

• Initiation and Identification

• Cultivation

• Separation

• Redefinition

Mentoring as a Way of Life

• Everyone should be a mentor

• Everyone should be a protégé

• You do not need to have just one mentor

• There are different types of mentoring

• Learn… share… support

Mentoring as a Way of Life

“Mentoring relationships aid you on your journey…

… they are not your destination.”

--Wickman and Sjoclin

Thank you!

Mentoring relationships aid you

on your journey –

they are not your destination.

(Wickman and Sjoclin)

FOUR STAGES OF MENTORING

•Initiation and Identification

•Cultivation

•Separation

•Redefinition

C is for Communicate

he future ain’t what it used to be.

Yogi Berra

T

The Times…they are a changing

Generational Shifts

Gender Shifts

Succession Planning

Knowledge Based Workforce

Real Workforce Needs

Technical Skills and People Skills

HISTORY

CULTURE

FUTURE

DEMOGRAPHICS

“Unsurpassed Service to the Fleet,Relentless Focus on Quality,

Environment,And

Occupational Health and Safety”

THE MIX

Talent to task

Shaping work, then the workforce

Use of technology to “streamline work”

Grow and develop people

Recruiting and rewarding

Affording our future

TOTAL FORCE READINESS

“The right PEOPLE,

With the right SKILLS,

At the right PLACE,

At the right TIME,

To accomplish the right WORK

for the best VALUE

Now and in the future.”

Levinson’s Development Periods

LATE ADULT TRANSITION

Culmination of Middle Adulthood

Age 50 TransitionEntering Middle Adulthood

MID-LIFE TRANSITION

Settling Down

Age 30 Transition

Entering the Adult World

EARLY ADULT TRANSITION

65

60

55

5045

40

33

28

20

7

(Late Adulthood)

(Middle Adulthood)

(Early Adulthood)

(Childhood and Adolescence)

Source: Chart from Daniel J. Levinson et al., The Seasons of a Man’s Life, Copyright 1978 by Daniel J. Levinson

MO

DELIN

GCO

UNSE

LING

COACHING

MENTORING

PYRAMID

COACHING is…

…the process of giving on-going guidance and instruction,

following day to day

progress, and providing

feedback.

COUNSELING is…

…used when personal problems or

behavior impacts performance.

Supervisory counseling is guidance

regarding the employee’s behavior.

MODELING is…

…demonstrating daily the correct/preferred behavior an employee should exhibit.

MO

DELIN

GCO

UNSE

LING

COACHING

MENTORING

PYRAMID

Mentoring occurs when a more experienced person (mentor)

gives significant career assistance to a less experienced person

(mentee, protégé, student, trainee, participant).

Mentoring links employees with experienced professionals for

career development.

“Mentors are guides. They lead us along the journey of

our lives. We trust them because they have been there

before. They embody our hopes, cast light on the way

ahead, interpret arcane signs, warn us to lurking dangers and point our unexpected delights along the way.”--

L.A. Daloz

Mentee…

•Protégé

•Participant (societal)

•Advisee (educational)

•Counselee (educational)

•Student (business, societal, educational)

The Role of a Mentor

Personal Support

Teacher

Organizational Intervention

Characteristics of a Mentor

Interpersonal Skills

Supervisory Skills

Organizational Skills

Status and Prestige

Patience and Risk Taking

Characteristics of a Mentee

Competent and Credible?

Ambition?

Desire to Learn?

Listening Skills?

Open-minded?

Guidelines for the Mentoring Relationship

1. Establish the role of the Mentor

2. Set expectations and goals of the Protégé/Mentee

3. Agree on handling of sensitive issues.

4. Set a realistic and flexible ending date.

5. Discuss the “no fault” conclusion.

6. Discuss the specific activities and means of contact

7. Document agreement.

I need to know…(?s in selecting a mentor)

I need to know…(?s in selecting a mentor, cont’d)

I need to know…(?s in selecting a mentee)

I need to know…(?s in selecting a mentee, cont’d)

FOUR STAGES OF MENTORING

•Initiation and Identification

•Cultivation

•Separation

•Redefinition

Levinson’s Development Periods

LATE ADULT TRANSITION

Culmination of Middle Adulthood

Age 50 TransitionEntering Middle Adulthood

MID-LIFE TRANSITION

Settling Down

Age 30 Transition

Entering the Adult World

EARLY ADULT TRANSITION

65

60

55

5045

40

33

28

20

7

(Late Adulthood)

(Middle Adulthood)

(Early Adulthood)

(Childhood and Adolescence)

Source: Chart from Daniel J. Levinson et al., The Seasons of a Man’s Life, Copyright 1978 by Daniel J. Levinson

Guide for Evaluation/Assessment

1. Why was process initiated?

2. How do we define the success of the process?

3. How do we define the failure of the process?

4. What changes need to be made in the process?

(Suggestions for completion: Review agreement; complete independently; review jointly. Limit observations to specific points – use key words – communicate freely)

Sometimes, part of the responsibility

of having a mentor is knowing when

you have outgrown each other and

realizing when it is time to move on.

(Michael Jeffreys)

A Mentoring ModelMentor

Self Awareness

Mentor Training

Mentor Selected

MentorRegistered

Participants draftsgoals

Participant

Participants Training

Agreement Negotiated

Development Plan Executed

Periodic Meeting

Agreement Concluded

Mentoring relationships aid you

on your journey –

they are not your destination.

(Wickman and Sjoclin)