Ann Rolfe's Mentoring Works Blog

We Have Moved!

2013-02-08T17:17:00.000+11:00

If you enjoy this blog, please come join us at our new home.

Nine Things Successful People Do Differently

2013-01-18T16:47:00.000+11:00

Invest thirty minutes in watching my mentor, Gihan Perera's webinar: Nine Things Successful People Do Differently and invest a little over $3.00 to buy the ebook of the same name by Heidi Grant Halvorsen!

You'll be glad you did.

The webinar and the book are fabulous resources for setting and getting goals and important to mentors as they assist their mentorees to achieve goals, so feel free to share these links.

I've started applying the nine things myself, with great results. Some of them will be familiar to you - like "get specific" - but others may be a surprise.

What I like most about this, is that the principles are all based on scientific research. The ebook even has links where you can check out the studies yourself.

So go on, I know you've got some goals for yourself this year, this information will definitely help you achieve them!

Enjoy!

Thank Your Mentor Day

2013-01-17T15:39:00.001+11:00

It is National "Thank Your Mentor Day" in USA, we can celebrate it here too!

Who do you want to thank?
That person who said a few kind words that encouraged you?
Someone who shared their wisdom?
The person that asked you the hard questions that made you think?
The role model that inspired you?
The network that supported you?
The colleague you learned from?
The friend, relative or partner ...

Go on, send them a thank you, right now!

Touching Base, Tuning In and Tailoring Mentoring

2013-01-07T10:45:00.002+11:00

Why do we want mentoring? What do people gain from it? Realistically, what can you deliver with a mentoring program?

Many of us are passionate about mentoring. We have witnessed the profound difference that conversations and relationships, focused on better outcomes for individuals make. Therefore, the value of mentoring is manifest. Unfortunately, not everyone shares our view or gives it the high priority we might want. So I recommend:

Touching base – revisiting why you want mentoring and what you are trying to achieve with it;
Tuning in – finding out the needs and concerns of the people you hope to serve; and
Tailoring Mentoring – designing a program that delivers what people want, aligned with principles and values of your unique context.

Touching Base – Who Needs What?

I work in the corporate world and for me the starting point is always, why mentoring? What outcomes, for individuals and the organization, are we striving for? Even if yours is a community program, there is a higher purpose for mentoring. It’s a means to an end. So look beyond the benefits for the individuals involved (as important as they are) to see the vision, the end result, the outcomes of mentoring.

Mentoring empowers people. It enables them to make changes, to do things that make a difference and achieve better outcomes for themselves, their organization and/or society.

If we believe in empowerment and want to facilitate it through mentoring, we have to find out what people and organisations/society needs and what mentoring can deliver in that context. That means we may have to put aside pre-conceptions and tune in to the people we aim to serve.

Tuning-in – How Do You Know?

Be careful. Mentoring is popular - a buzz-word, often considered a magic bullet or a panacea – but the truth is, it can’t fix everything!

I’m concerned when mentoring is aimed at advancing women’s careers when they may actually need good, affordable childcare. I worry about our government’s investment in mentoring for apprentices who may need a decent wage so they can complete their trade and I cringe when mentoring is used as a cheap alternative to proper training or management. Such issues need a comprehensive response, mentoring may one strategy but it is not the complete answer.

So, before you implement mentoring find out what the issues are. A colleague, Bruce Ward uses the acronym, ASK – Always Seeking Knowledge, in his work in holistic management, to emphasis the need to delve deeply into symptoms and causes. I like to ask a lot of questions of my corporate clients about their strategic objectives and what they want mentoring to contribute to them. Then I talk with the prospective mentorees, as well as their managers and potential mentors before we tailor mentoring to suit.

Tailoring Mentoring – Design and Align

Recently, I helped design mentoring aimed at retaining highly skilled and valued employees in a helping profession. The first thought was that we’d assist them with career development. However, early discussions soon revealed that career opportunities were actually quite limited. So mentoring that focused on career might well result in less rather than greater retention! Conversation with the program manager allowed her to come up with a better focus that produced a win for mentorees, mentors, employers and clients and increased retention. We tailored the program to meet the real needs of all concerned.

Another program aimed at career progression for targeted group employees, started with extensive consultation with them. This resulted in a program that has three separate streams available to choose from. The icing on the cake is that they are committed and have ownership. Mentoring hasn’t been imposed upon them, the planning process created enthusiasm, even from those not directly participating.

I align mentoring with the principles of adult learning. I value empowerment and respect and conversations that create insight. These guide my approach to mentoring. You may have other principles and values you want to align with. I urge you to examine them as you design your program because that’s how mentoring works!

2013 at Mentoring Works

2013-01-06T20:08:00.001+11:00

I love this time of year! There’s so much promise, turning over a new leaf, starting again with every possibility open. I’m wary of new-year’s resolutions but I do love setting goals, making plans and getting in closer alignment with my values.

I have a good feeling about this year! I’ve had a holiday so I’m rested, refreshed and ready!

How about you? What are your goals and plans for mentoring? How did you form them?

I’ve been thinking a lot about how you and I are passionate about mentoring but not everyone is. We get carried away, knowing how much mentoring has to offer, yet others aren’t convinced, or at least don’t give it the priority we do. That much is obvious from the input you shared in our survey.

At the end of 2012 I asked three simple questions:

What is your greatest challenge or frustration regarding mentoring?
What support do you most need for mentoring?
What question about mentoring would you most like answered?

Plus, I invited any other feedback for Mentoring Works.

Thanks to everyone who responded. It was a pretty substantial sample, so I’m basing this year’s plans on it. I’ve listed the key themes below and I’m developing nine new webinars, articles and other goodies in response.

The key themes that emerged are:

The difficulty in finding time and other resources for mentoring
Defining mentoring and the differences between mentoring and coaching
How to get mentors and keep them, and mentorees, committed and involved
How to gain management buy-in and support
What makes a great mentor? And,
How to evaluate results and return on investment in Mentoring.

So these will be the main issues addressed in our newsletters and webinars this year. If you subscribe you'll receive two newsletters each month, each featuring an article related to these topics.

In addition, each month theres an invitation to a complimentary webinars (see the schedule below).

If you are a member of the Mentoring Network Online (which is free to join) you’ll also be able to access a featured free resource.

Of course, if you need more than this, I offer consulting, workshops, books and online learning to support your mentoring program. Contact me to discuss your requirements.

Webinars Schedule 2013

25 February Mentoring and Coaching - What’s The Difference?

25 March Attracting Mentors

29 April Make Time For Mentoring

27 May How to Use Free Online Tools For Mentoring

24 June Critical Success Factors

29 July How To Get Management Buy-in

26 August Great Mentors

September (no webinar)

28 October Engage! You can lead a horse to water but how do you create a ‘thirst’ for mentoring?

25 November Who Mentors The Mentor?

Webinars are free and live, online at 11 am Sydney time.

Remember, Australia is up to 18 hours ahead of some countries so it may still be the day before at your location! Check your local time here.

I am really sorry that I can’t do these live, complimentary webinars at a more user-friendly time for some of you. Recordings are available, some for free and others with an ebook, at a small charge. To enquire about a customized webinar, at a time that suits you, contact me now.

Video A Minute On Mentoring #1 Conversations That Create Insight

2012-12-13T15:27:00.000+11:00

1.mentoring conversations that create insight from Ann Rolfe

What are the most exciting changes you've seen over the past 16 years?

2012-12-11T14:45:00.000+11:00

There are two exciting changes. One is that where there was so little information and understanding, now there is almost too much! As well as about 106 million results if you Google "mentoring" there is a wealth of solid academic as well as practitioner resources available. There is less here in Australia than Europe and the USA but there is still plenty.

The other change is the move from the traditional idea of a mentor being older and wiser to the concept that mentors are partners and collaborators whose different experience is what adds value.

Mentoring is used in many more ways than ever before. I work mainly in corporate and government organizations with a focus on career, personal and professional development and leadership. But mentoring helps youth, disadvantaged people, community and small business groups, the arts,  and science in fact the applications are only limited by our imagination!

Mentoring – Feedback and Follow-up to Fine-tune

2012-11-27T14:27:00.000+11:00

Evaluation is usually something you do at the end of mentoring, right? Wrong! Not every mentoring relationship does well and you don’t want to wait to the end to find out. And, even the best mentoring can be fine-tuned. So follow-up:

Individuals - early and often;
The group - mid-way and at the end; use
Formal, informal and fun ways of gathering feedback; and
When you get feedback, give feedback.

When you do you have the chance to nip problems in the bud. You’ll be able to make adjustments where necessary and you’ll keep participants engaged. You’ll also collect important data for planning future programs and reporting results.

Individual Follow-up – Early and Often

Check in with people soon after the program launch to ensure that they have made contact and started mentoring. Stay in touch and build your own relationship with participants. Help them feel that they can contact you if they need support or encounter difficulties. If you establish rapport and trust they’ll find it easier to approach you and resolve problems sooner, rather than letting them escalate or allowing the mentoring to die.

Group Review – Mid-way and End

Get the group together, face-to-face, online or by video or teleconference. Mid-way you can workshop what’s working well and what could improve. Facilitated discussion allows people to talk about challenges. Others may be able to suggest solutions that have worked for them. People can share their successes too. I find that participants leave a mid-way workshop energized and enthused with a plan for how to get the best from the rest of their time together.

A final gathering allows mentors and mentorees to end the relationship well. It gives closure, although many people may decide to continue informally. It’s an opportunity for celebration of achievements and recognition of contributions. It’s a chance to gain information that will enable you to refine the program for even better outcomes next time.

Formal, Informal and Fun Ways to Gather Feedback

It’s easy to create online questionnaires and it makes collating and analyzing the data much simpler but be aware that response rates can be low. If you use online questionnaires use the KISS method – Keep It Short and Simple. Let people know “there are just three questions” or “it will take less than five minutes”. To increase response rates offer some kind of reward or benefit for completing it.

Don’t rely on questionnaires alone, though. Other methods are more powerful in getting people to reflect on and articulate their experience. Well-designed, structured one-to-one interviews or focus groups can reveal important information. Workshops that allow group and individual feedback elicit a lot of responses especially when you incorporate pictures or visual methods. I use CCS cards that people sort through to select pictures in response to a set of questions. Sometimes I get them to draw or put stickers on posters to indicate responses.

One of the best feedback sessions I have experienced was in the form of an art show. I’d been facilitating monthly workshops with a focus on career development and each time I’d have pictures and inspirational quotes decorating the walls. People would come early just to make sure they could read all the quotes or note them down. So, a few weeks before the final session, I asked mentorees to create a poster, picture or any form of art that represented how they felt about mentoring at the end of a program and to speak briefly about what it represented. On the day the walls were adorned with all sorts of colorful representations, paintings, collages, even a quilted and embroidered wall hanging and a bag of jubes! It was delightful to hear ach person’s heartfelt story. Part-way through, I noticed that the CEO had quietly slipped into the back of the room. When everyone had spoken he came forward. I still get goose bumps when I remember what he said as he paid tribute to the participants, concluding: “There’s a four letter word that you won’t often hear a senior person say but it’s what I feel in this room … the word is love.”

When You Get Feedback Give Feedback

Once you’ve collected all this information, share it with your respondents! You may or may not provide participants with the full report and the recommendations you develop but at least summarize participant feedback and send it to them. They will feel valued, know you did something with their input and are more likely to be favorable toward future mentoring programs.

Feedback, follow-up and fine-tune so that mentoring works!

Want more expert advice on evaluating mentoring?

Email me or phone 02 4342 2610 (in Australia)

Setting and Getting Goals

2012-11-26T09:03:00.000+11:00

My friend Janet Beckers has achieved amazing business success. She's a marketing expert who uses mentors and mastermind groups extensively. In her short video Six Steps to Smash Scary Goals she shares a huge personal fitness goal and her process for achieving it. I have no doubts she'll make it because the steps she explains absolutely work. View the five minute video here.

Can A Movie Change Your Life?

2012-11-13T11:13:00.000+11:00

Can a movie change your life? When Manuel De Los Santos saw The Legend Of Bagger Vance, starring Will Smith and Matt Damon it changed his.

A former baseball player, Manuel had lost a leg in a motorcycle accident. The movie inspired him to try golf. Now, just a few years later, he plays with a handicap of just 4.

Manuel is here in Australia for a charity golf day at Woodlands, Melbourne. He was interviewed on ABC TV's morning show. He is a humble and beautiful person.

I think Manuel offers a life-lesson for us all. For me, his story says find something you love to do that allows you to use and develop your strengths and best skills with a mindset of joy.

As mentors we not only get the chance to do that for ourselves but we can encourage and support others to do so too.

It also reminds me of the wisdom in the words of Charlie "Tremendous" Jones:

"You'll be the same in five years time as you are now, except for the people you meet and the books you read."

Add to that movies, blogs and TV interviews!

View the inspiring story of Manuel De Los Santos here.

Check out the interview on ABC TV here.

Mentoring – stick or a lever?

2012-11-12T11:57:00.001+11:00

Can you complete this well known saying: "give me a lever long enough ..." ?

If you said "and I will move the world" you’re amongst the majority. It makes sense, right? However, there is a vital piece often left out of the quote from Archimedes.

As any engineer will quickly point out. Archimedes said: "Give me a lever long enough and a fulcrum on which to place it and I shall change the world."

Have you ever used a lever? By itself it's just a stick. But lean it against something that acts as a fulcrum and you magnify its power a thousand-fold. You get leverage!

In the same way, mentoring is recognised as powerful for personal and professional development and progressing career plans. It is a long lever and it can move a person's world, shift the capability of their workplace and change communities.

However, mentoring also needs a fulcrum to achieve its full potential. What makes the difference? The mindset, skills and tools that mentors and mentorees have.

Too many organisations say they have a "mentoring program" but in reality do little more than introduce mentors to mentorees. They give people a stick.

If you want real leverage from mentoring you have to give people the fulcrum, too. This means you have to equip mentors and mentorees with the right:

Mindset – values and attitudes, a manifesto that makes mentoring work;
Skills - essential abilities that both mentor and mentoree need; and
Tools - guides so mentors and mentorees know what to do and how to do it.

Developing Mindset

This is done through two-way communication about the roles, responsibilities and expectations of participants. Mentoring is based on a set of values and these must be understood and internalised to get the best from mentoring.

Gaining Skills

Mentors and mentorees need to be trained because mentoring is unlike other relationships.

Mentoring requires a unique combination of interpersonal skills that allow mentors to support and challenge mentorees, to elicit and impart information. Mentorees need to have the ability to be both reflective and action-oriented as they evolve and grow through mentoring. So both mentors and mentorees need to hone their skills of listening, questioning, rapport building and problem solving. They have to gain each other's trust and respect, think critically and creatively and have constructive conversations that produce insights and actions.

Using Tools

Even masters need the right tools. A mentoring toolkit contains useful models and practical guides that enable mentors and mentorees to establish a productive relationship. A toolkit may contain printed materials and/or online resources that mentors and mentorees can access as needed. It may include checklists, templates, questionnaires and structured activities, video tutorials, audio recordings, live forums, articles, tips and supportive reminders to use them.

Mentoring is a lever that can change the world but it must have its fulcrum to do so. Only when participants have the mentoring mindset, skills and tools do they gain leverage. That's how mentoring works.

You can purchase my book: Mentoring Mindset, Skills and Tools here.

Complimentary Webinar: Guidelines For Mentoring

2012-11-02T11:00:00.000+11:00

Be my guest, at the last free Mentoring Works webinar for this year, Guidelines For Mentoring, Monday 26 November 2012, 11 am Sydney time.

Your mentors and mentorees need to know what’s expected of them.

They will have lots of questions and you need to have answers before you launch your mentoring program so that they can make an informed decision about whether or not to participate.

This complimentary webinar will:

Take you through the most frequently asked questions from prospective participants;
Share a Mentoring Code that outlines the ethics of the mentoring relationship; and
Discuss the roles and responsibilities of mentors.

Content

Why produce guidelines?
What to include; and
How to deliver the information effectively.

Monday 26 November 2012, 11 am Sydney time. Check your local time here.

See you there!

How did you arrive at the concept of a "mentoring mindset" and why is it important?

2012-10-31T10:06:00.000+11:00

I've been helping people develop mentoring skills for a long time. I've also provided tools. And, I've observed and thought about why formal and informal mentoring succeeds and why it doesn't. My conclusion is that there is something beyond skills and tools - as important as they are - that makes mentoring work.

For want of a better term, I called it mindset. Then I started to think about what that term really meant. I reflected on what I'd learned over the years from the many mentoring partnerships I'd seen and read about and what participants had shared of their experiences. This led me to develop some beliefs and as I explored them I realized what they were..... values.

Specifically, I believe that the mentoring mindset is an approach based on five core values: personal courage, being constructive, valuing difference, self-responsibility and dialogue.

This mindset - you might call it a philosophy or principles - guides you when you are mentoring. If you have this mindset, mentoring is easy and natural. You don't need a lot of rules, you make decisions and take actions that are congruent with the values.

Paid Mentors?

2012-10-30T09:54:00.002+11:00

The idea of paying for mentoring is entirely acceptable amongst business people and entrepreneurs. In fact, it's a necessity!

Professional mentoring is different to the workplace mentoring where the emphasis is on the process of guiding, through conversations that create insight and only occasionally offering wisdom based on experience. Instead, an expert in a particular field is engaged for a fee. They provide direction based on a thorough understanding of where the mentoree is, where they want to be and how to get there. He or she gives specific advice, shares their know-how and helps the mentoree to develop skills and techniques.

I have used several professional mentors. One, Gihan Perera has contributed to my strategic planning, development and use of the internet for many years. For example, the webinars and slidecast videos and my free e-course, that people enjoy around the world are all products of our mentoring relationship.

In his recent blog post, Gihan Perera describes The Value of Mentoring. He lists important actions to get the most from mentoring that apply whether you are paying or being mentored for free. I recommend you take a look.

Mark The Milestones

2012-10-22T12:32:00.000+11:00

This is my favourite mug. It sits on my desk as I drink the endless cups of tea that refresh me as I work. It has an Aboriginal design and very special because it was given to me as part of the celebration at the end of an Aboriginal mentoring program. When I use it I remember the people I worked with and what we achieved together.

Celebrations are important and marking the milestones in your mentoring program is an easy way to help people stay engaged and enthusiastic. Here's how you can do it.

Mentoring – Mark The Milestones

We were several days into a family road trip and, as every kid does sooner or later, my young daughter always asked: “How long till we get there?” Usually, the question was a sign of too long on the road and time for a break but this particular morning, we were just leaving the driveway of the motel! She was not complaining, she was curious, looking forward to the destination we had described and the fun we’d have there.

Adults want to know what to expect when they take the mentoring journey, too. So you’ve probably given them a road map in the form of a workshop, guidelines, or other resources.

Yet it is still easy for people to lose their way so clearly marked milestones will help them stay on track.

In my experience, successful mentoring relationships usually move through these stages:

Rapport - the pair have made contact and established communication;

Purpose - they have set some goals and have a sense of direction;

Progress - there is development and growth; and

Evolution - the mentoring comes to an end or the relationship changes.

Here’s how you can mark milestones and help participant stay engaged and enthusiastic about their mentoring.

Milestone One – Rapport

Within four weeks of their introduction, you want to check in with both the mentor and mentoree to ensure that they have indeed made contact and established enough rapport to begin the relationship. A phone call or face-to-face conversation is best.

After three or four meetings, pairs should review for themselves how they feel about the mentoring and commit to continue or decide to dissolve. As program manager, you need to personally follow-up to see how they’re going. You want to come across as checking-in with them not checking-up on them. Offer encouragement, support and assistance. If they do need to discontinue you need to facilitate the process in a positive way.

Milestone Two – Purpose

Some people are really clear about their goals from the outset. Others may be a bit vague – knowing it’s going to be good for their development or career but not specific about what they want or need. That’s fine, but mentoring partnerships should have a sense of purpose or direction otherwise motivation and satisfaction can wane. People become uncertain that they are really achieving anything.

For this milestone you could do a quick and easy one-question poll of participants (use Survey Monkey or something similar). Keep it very simple otherwise people won’t respond.

Here’s an example:

Hi, we’d like to get a sense of how everyone is going with their mentoring with this quick poll. Your response is anonymous and there is no right or wrong answer, in fact you can choose more that one of the phrases below to complete the statement:

My mentoring partner and I have …

A sense of purpose or direction for our mentoring;
Specific and measurable goals;
An agenda that is flexible;
Become unsure about where we’re heading.
Other response/comment (with a free form answer box)

We’ll let you know what percentage of participants selected each response.

If you need any assistance, please call.

Thanks,

Mentoring Program Manager

Milestone Three – Progress

About half way through the program it’s a great boost if you can bring the group together – face-to-face or via webinar or teleconference, to discuss progress. Reconnecting prevents pairs feeling isolated or getting lost. If they have challenges they find they are not alone; if they have overcome barriers they can share their strategies; and if they have achieved success they can inspire others. I always find that a midpoint review workshop re-energizes everyone.

A midpoint workshop also allows you to discuss issues and fix any problems. It ensures that participants get the most out of the remaining time.

Milestone Four- Evolution

Many people find that their mentoring relationship evolves. For some, mentoring morphs into friendship - though it’s fine if it doesn’t - some highly successful mentoring is kept strictly professional. Sometimes, the respect each has for the other leads to reciprocal mentoring. Others are happy to remain in contact as professional colleagues. Occasionally, mentoring doesn’t end well. It fizzles out, or the relationship is dissolved. Quite often people who were mentored are able to mentor others and mentors go in search of mentors for themselves!

It is important to mark the end of a mentoring program. It’s a chance to celebrate success, acknowledge contribution and provide a sense of closure to those who want it. It’s an opportunity to gather feedback about your program, too.

To mark the end of a mentoring program some organizations host a lunch or dinner and invite senior people to the event. Some provide certificates or gifts to mark the occasion. Often photos are taken and published in the staff newsletter or intranet site. Mentors and mentorees are encouraged to speak about their experience.

The other question kids in cars ask is: “Are we there yet?” Again, adults need to know when they will reach the mentoring destination. Provide and mark milestones and you, and they, will be able to see that mentoring works!

Article End

Take A Minute To Mentor is a special little book that takes pride of place on many desks.

With its inspiring images and quotes and thought starters for mentoring conversations, it’s often given as a “Thank You” gift to mentors or as a way to help build a mentoring culture.

Buy one for yourself now or email me for bulk orders.

Also available as postcards.

Youth Mentoring Week

2012-10-22T11:16:00.000+11:00

It's Youth Mentoring Week! Congratulations to all the mentors making a difference to our young people, the organisations that support them and the youth that step up to the challenge of growth and development through mentoring.

Here's where you can see a list of events celebrating youth week 222-28 October 2012.

Mentoring - The Multiplier Effect

2012-10-21T13:26:00.003+11:00

The Multiplier Effect is term is used in economics to describe the chain effect of benefits for each dollar spent. For example, a purchase in a retail store directly benefits a long line of people, from the business owner back to primary producers. It also indirectly benefits other businesses, people and their communities as profit gained is spent and money circulates.

Your mentoring will have a clear and immediate effect on mentorees. In addition, learning and practicing mentoring skills makes us better leaders, communicators and human beings who contribute to making the world a better place for all.

Friend for a reason, a season or a lifetime

2012-10-17T16:21:00.000+11:00

I'm just preparing for a final session with a group of people in a mentoring program. The pairs need to have a conversation around whether or not they will continue an informal relationship after the program ends, and if they do how will that evolve.

I was reminded of a saying: "Friends come into your life for a reason, a season or a lifetime" and decided to use it. I searched online so I could attribute the quote properly. I didn't find the author (although one site had a hot debate and counter-claims of copyright) but I did find the poem that the line comes from. I'm sharing it, as many others do, as author unknown.

I think it is apt for mentors as well as friends.

Reason, Season, or Lifetime

People come into your life for a reason, a season or a lifetime. When you figure out which one it is, you will know what to do for each person.

When someone is in your life for a REASON, it is usually to meet a need you have expressed. They have come to assist you through a difficulty; to provide you with guidance and support; to aid you physically, emotionally or spiritually. They may seem like a godsend, and they are. They are there for the reason you need them to be.

Then, without any wrongdoing on your part or at an inconvenient time, this person will say or do something to bring the relationship to an end. Sometimes they die. Sometimes they walk away. Sometimes they act up and force you to take a stand. What we must realize is that our need has been met, our desire fulfilled; their work is done. The prayer you sent up has been answered and now it is time to move on.

Some people come into your life for a SEASON, because your turn has come to share, grow or learn. They bring you an experience of peace or make you laugh. They may teach you something you have never done. They usually give you an unbelievable amount of joy. Believe it. It is real. But only for a season.

LIFETIME relationships teach you lifetime lessons; things you must build upon in order to have a solid emotional foundation. Your job is to accept the lesson, love the person, and put what you have learned to use in all other relationships and areas of your life. It is said that love is blind but friendship is clairvoyant.

— Unknown

Mentoring relationships evolve. For some, mentoring morphs into friendship - though it’s fine if it doesn’t - some highly successful mentoring is kept strictly professional. Sometimes, the respect each has for the other leads to reciprocal mentoring. Others are happy to remain in contact as professional colleagues. Occasionally, mentoring doesn’t end well. It fizzles out, or the relationship is dissolved. Quite often people who were mentored are able to mentor others and mentors go in search of mentors for themselves.

So whether it's for a reason, a season or a lifetime, enjoy your mentoring relationship.

"I'm my best self when I'm with you"

2012-10-15T17:06:00.003+11:00

"Step Into The Sunlight" is an inspiring and entertaining article by Richard Glover, in the Sydney Morning Herald, 13 October 2012. As sunshine does to plants he says, so certain people seem to allow us to be our best self.

I believe mentors not only enable the people they mentor to be their best self but also show their own best light.

What do you think?

Video: Making Mentoring Work - Eight Keys To Success

2012-10-03T11:51:00.001+10:00

Making Mentoring Work from Ann Rolfe

This short video is designed for mentoring partners who are mid-way through their mentoring relationship.

Enjoy!

Ann

Does Mentoring Improve Well-being?

2012-09-26T09:40:00.003+10:00

Can money buy happiness?

In his talk, How To Buy Happiness, Michael Norton says that if you think you can't buy happiness then your spending on the wrong things!

It turns out that he's run some clever research studies that show that when you spend money on yourself it doesn't make you happier but when you spend it on others or do something charitable with money, it increases your happiness.

I reckon this supports my theory that mentoring is good for you.

When you mentor, you give your time, attention and the gift of listening to another.

It has been shown that the act of giving (or even observing someone give to or help another) stimulates areas of the brain that release the feel-good chemical, dopamine.

Mentoring does more than make people feel good. It provides timeout for thinking and reflecting. It encourages critical thinking, goal setting and planning. Mentors learn to be present, to listen consciously, to reduce judgmental attitudes, all of which promote well-being.

A lot more attention is being paid to well-being at work and people are much more aware of the importance of relationships and communication in reducing stress. Neuroscience is identifying ways to create and strengthen neural pathways and stimulate growth in parts of the brain vital to mental health.

So, does mentoring improve well-being?

What do you think? Comment below.

Three Reasons Your Managers Need To Mentor

2012-09-25T09:12:00.001+10:00

One of the great benefits of mentoring is having access to an objective sounding board for your ideas. A mentor is someone with whom you can have a confidential conversation about your aspirations, share your dreams and your challenges, plan the next steps in your career development, or just vent your frustration before figuring out a practical solution to problems. That’s why we choose mentors who are “off-line”, not the manager, or someone in a direct line of authority above the mentoree in most programs.

I don’t think managers should be an employee’s only mentor; people need that independent, objective person with no other agenda or responsibility and where authority doesn’t get in the way. But I do think there’s a very real case for managers having and using mentoring skills.

The three key reasons why your managers need to mentor are:

Productivity
Retention
Learning and Development

Managers have immediate responsibility for these and mentoring can produce better outcomes all three. Here are some statistics that knocked my socks off when I first came across them.

Productivity

The Corporate Leadership Council, Learning and Development Roundtable Employee Development Survey, found that managers who are focused and effective at developing their people have teams that out-perform those that are not by around 25%.

Retention

The BlessingsWhite Inc. Global Engagement Report of 2011, found that less than two thirds of respondents plan to remain with their organisation.

The American Society of Training and Development research tells us that 33% of employees who do not receive regular mentoring will look for another job.

Then there’s Gallup’s world-wide research into what makes great managers, reported in Buckingham & Coffman (1999) First, Break All The Rules. They found the critical questions that link to retention include: “Does my supervisor, or someone at work, seem to care about me as a person?

Learning & Development.

We know that of the learning and development that people use on the job, only 10% comes from formal education and training courses; 20% comes from exposure - observing people and 70% comes from experience (Lombardo, Michael M. and Robert W. Eichinger (1996) The Career Architect Development Planner. Lominger Limited). That means that managers need to be leading the learning experience of their subordinates and mentoring conversations are ideal for that.

We also know that when you send people to training only 16% of participants transfer their learning in a way that improves performance (Wick, Jefferson & Pollock (2008) How To Get Your Money’s Worth Out Of Training). Which means that mentors must be skilled in facilitating conversations before and after people go to training so that the learning transfer happens.

I think these statistics are staggering. What do you think? More importantly, what will you do help managers mentor their staff?

How Do You Develop Managers’ Mentoring Skills?

I have three suggestions:

Provide managers with my book Mentoring Mindset, Skills and Tools is a very practical book with guides, checklists and templates;
Enrol managers in our online Learning Portal where I’ve just added a mentoring masterclass Managers and Mentoring; or
Email me or phone (02) 4342 2610 (in Australia) to discuss what you need.

Women Kept Out Of Prison Through Mentoring

2012-09-21T13:44:00.001+10:00

In just two years the Women & Mentoring (WAM) program has kept fifteen women out of prison, helping the lives of female offenders as well as the public purse. (The Wellington, Collingwood).

Financially, the mentoring program pays for itself because it save the costs associated with women in the justice system (courts, lawyers, prison etc.) Toni Ladanyi, Program Coordinator, says that keeping just two women out of prison for six months pays for the program. Then there's the social cost saving - putting children in care when their mothers go to prison, family breakdown, loss of housing. Instead, Women and Mentoring helps create functional family life and prevent re-offending.

Yet a similar program in NSW is in danger of ceasing due to budget cuts.

Homelessness NSW has called on Family and Community Services Minister, Pru Goward and Attorney General Greg Smith to urgently devise a plan that will provide long term funding to the mentoring program of the Women in Prison Advocacy Network (WIPAN)

“WIPAN has shown in recent years that a modest investment in a high quality advice and support scheme can massively reduce the recidivism rate of women prisoners,” said Homelessness NSW CEO, Gary Moore

“Giving these disadvantaged women the skills to forge stable living situations and building their resilience to tackle their demons is a critical element of sustainable rehabilitation.”

“The WIPAN mentoring program has both an encouraging success rate of reducing return to prison by nearly 80%”

“At an average direct cost of $4000 per client per year, it represents a tiny fraction of the $100,000 pa cost of imprisonment.”

“A successful outcome from this mentoring program also generally means one less woman at risk of, or actually being homeless and less children at risk of abuse or neglect.”

“The program appears to be a classic victim of not exactly fitting the guidelines of mainstream funding programs in the Family and Community Services portfolio or in the Crime Prevention area of the Attorney General’s agencies”.

“At a time of NSW Government budget cuts, its advocates also find little encouragement from those holding the Government purse strings.”

“However, the WIPAN mentoring program is a cost effective, value for money initiative that genuinely helps female prisoners. As such, it deserves a sustainable funding commitment from the NSW Government,” added Mr Moore.

Listen to the story of WAM Mentoring Women Offenders in Victoria from the ABC Law Report here

More on WIPAN in NSW on ABC Radio's The World Today Read their report here, or contact Homelessness NSW

Equity - is it another twenty-five years away?

2012-09-20T10:51:00.000+10:00

One of the biggest thrills of my career was in 1993, when a hero of mine, Professor Leonie Still, quoted me in her book, Where To From Here? The Managerial Woman In Transition. She used a comment from my newsletter about Half Way To Equal, the Government’s report on women’s representation in the workplace, where I said:

To me, the report is a story of women’s journey. It seems like a trek, and having reached the top of a steep incline you pause to catch your breath and adjust your backpack. You look back to see how far you’ve come, then forward to find you’re still on the foothill; the mountain is still ahead!

It’s a quarter of a century since I started working in the area of career development for women. I do hope it’s not another quarter of a century until we have equity for all!

If equity is important to you, join our complimentary webinar Mentoring - Valuing Difference and Diversity, next Monday at 11am Sydney time. Register here. Check your local time here.

I’m worried about the future of mentoring

2012-09-19T10:26:00.002+10:00

It was a day of highs and lows yesterday.

I facilitated the final session of a very successful mentoring program and was delighted to hear the results and positive outcomes for mentorees, mentors and the organization. That was great!

Then I met with a person from yet another organization that wants the benefits of mentoring but cannot, or will not, put the resources into proper planning and preparation, let alone program support! It really upset me.

I know times are tough. So I gave as many tips as I could to try and help raise the possibility that a well-intentioned but probably fatally flawed attempt at mentoring might produce some good outcomes.

Upon reflection, I may have done the wrong thing because, as I often say: A poor mentoring program is worse than nomentoring program at all. I hope that the person charged with this unenviable project is able convince senior management to reconsider their approach!

Why did I do it?

Well, I provide lots of free resources designed to educate people that mentoring is an investment to produce strategic outcomes and individual benefits. But, these objectives are achieved only when organizations take a strategic approach.

I work with organizations that meet the challenges of the current economy, with mentoring seen as an investment in strategic advantage.

These organizations know that mentoring delivers strategic outcomes and individual benefits that increase capability. We collaboratively plan, prepare and support their mentoring strategy using a combination of internal resources and external expertise and experience, as required.

I’m offering another free webinar next week. I facilitate a free online Mentoring Network that has a Resource Centre packed with complimentary materials.

The aim of my complimentary webinars, articles, ebooks newsletter etc., is to prevent poor quality mentoring and provide leverage to those who want to do it well.

But I’m worried that my strategy is wrong. Instead of educating for success maybe I’m feeding failure.

What do you think?

I’d sure like to hear your thoughts on this, so leave a comment below.