Shaping Tomorrow’s Leaders
A strong, consistent mentoring program can help you develop strong leaders in-house and show that your company is committed to its employees.
Shaping a mentor program begins with a look internally. It’s imperative you understand why employees stay and discover where gaps exist. Follow this with a step by step approach to get your mentoring program up and running.
Mentoring Defined
Mentoring takes on different definitions and occurs in a wide variety of settings. Mentoring can be defined as:
- One-on-one coaching, both with formal or informal sessions
- An independent objective source of counsel and advice
- A source for honest and candid feedback
- Go-to people for a different set of insights
- A source for personal accountability
- A source of positive role models
- Keeping employees engaged
- Subject matter experts who share knowledge/experiences with others
Next, turn your definition into a clear mission statement. An example might be: “Keep employees engaged with the Company by supporting the Company’s talent development process. Act as positive role models.”
Role of a Mentor
With your mission defined, you’ll need to further define the role a mentor plays in your company. The role that a mentor plays is dependent on the mentor and each mentee. Employees have different needs and requirements. Therefore, mentors may need to:
Inspire Challenge Direct Coach Be an effective ally Be a catalyst for action Stimulate Ask appropriate questions Help others discover Support Listen Guide Be a friend Advise Counsel Train Hold others accountable Areas Where Mentoring Impacts Your Business
There are key areas where mentors will impact your business. These include executing strategies for your company (achieving specific goals), assisting others with change initiatives, helping others to influence your business positively, developing talent for your company (including hiring the right talent), and building personal effectiveness in others. The challenge you face is to winnow the list down or have certain mentors focus on one area. Any mentoring program should begin in the most critical area. Remain focused before moving on or adding to the mix.
Potential Areas for Mentoring
Mentors can assist in employee growth in any area of your company. Below is only a partial list of potential departments and subject matter areas. Understand the skill set of each mentor, their expertise, and even the time commitment mentoring requires.
Departments Sales Operations Finance/Accounting Legal Purchasing Contracts IT/IS Administration Human Resources
Subject Matter Goal setting/goal achievement Improving communications Improving work relationships Conflict management Candidate selection Situational leadership Career counseling Career paths Time management Team building Hard skill development Keys to Success
Choose your mentors carefully. Mentors come from any part of your company. Mentors should not only be senior managers or executives. Mentors can be subject matter experts, middle managers and employees who are rising stars.
Tailor mentoring to each person. Mentors should work one-on-one with employees. Mentoring is not conducting a training class; it’s personalized to each employee. Bear in mind that mentoring doesn’t have a specific end date; time frames are driven by the needs of the mentee.
Keep mentoring focused. Mentors should confine meetings to a specific set of needs. Failure increases the more mentors or mentees try to “jam” too much into single meetings. And set boundaries around the amount of time for each meeting. Some meetings may be as short as five minutes or as long as an hour or more.
Each meeting must be outcome based, so set agendas. Employees, managers, and executives are all busy and without a set agenda with specific and measurable outcomes, the likelihood of success is diminished.
Accountability is another measure. Determine exactly where accountability lies, as both the mentor and mentee are accountable to differing degrees. It’s your call.
Follow up is a must. Change requires time and repetition. This is why follow up is crucial. Recall your days in school; it was called “homework.” Homework was checked and new assignments were given. The same holds true with mentoring; follow up will demonstrate growth/change or uncover other issues that need to be addressed.
Implementing a Mentor Program
It may be as simple as starting with one mentor and training that person. Or you may choose to gather a group together for a group orientation. Train the trainer or mentor the mentor is the basis on which to build your program. Build your own or choose an outside firm to assist in the development of a program tailored to you!
Also, don’t overlook the commitment required from the mentees. Any program you design without commitment from each participant is doomed. Mentees are always responsible for their growth and development. Keep the accountability on their shoulders. And keep this program voluntary.
Finally, don’t forget to monitor the program. Examine and review successes and shortcomings. And be open to changes that will enhance your program.
Corra believes not everyone can mentor properly, anymore than not everyone can be mentored. Some people do well when they are taken under someone’s wing, and some…well…they don’t fare so well. Sometimes there are a few pleasant surprises. Sometimes there are disappointments. But for the most part a good mentoring program works in favor of any business.
Think of it as a farm club, a minor league feeder to a major league baseball team. The young and rough cut talent is cultivated and then brought up to the big leagues where they become an asset for the entire franchise.
A good mentoring program means an allocation of time and money. Before you go to that expense you should run a preemployment or even an employment screening series on the mentoring candidate. Corra suggests a criminal background check and an education verification, as well as an employment verification. If the candidate or employee is driving for any business related reasons, then an MVR Report should be included in your program.
Background searches and small expense to pay for all the trouble you may be avoiding. So before you invest serious time and money, check them out before you hire.
