Guidelines for the Mentoring of Continuing Staff (other than those on Probation)

Transcription

1 Guidelines for the Mentoring of Continuing Staff (other than those on Probation) 1. Introduction Established staff may have career development concerns or other issues which they would like to address through a mentoring relationship. They may have moved into a new role, be in a role which is changing or be looking for a future career move. The mentoring scheme is focused on the needs of the Mentee, allowing them to highlight areas where they feel advice and / or assistance is required. As such, participation can help individuals improve skills within the workplace and thus ensure they are better placed to apply for new roles. 1.2 Goals of the Mentoring Scheme The mentoring scheme has been designed to meet the following goals, although additional goals may well be formed as mentoring relationships are established: Sharing of knowledge and experience across roles,; Increased cross-school/department/directorate working; Support for Mentees with goal setting and career management; Support for Mentees in taking responsibility for their own skills and career development. 2. What is a Mentor? A Mentor should be a more experienced member of staff who agrees to help, build a relationship with, and facilitate the professional growth of one or more colleagues. The Mentor is not a line manager but a career friend. Essentially the role is one of guidance - someone who is able to advise, encourage, support and help to develop an individual s ability to think constructively and take responsibility for their own professional development. It is non-judgemental in that it is distinct from performance management or SDR meetings, and has at its heart the individual rather than the institution/faculty/directorate/department or team goals. In general terms, a Mentor should be able to: Listen actively to another s views Ask open questions Reflect back feelings Make suggestions but avoid being prescriptive Summarise the main points of a discussion Give constructive, positive and precise feedback. Someone who has been mentored themselves in the recent past will often make a very good mentor. The most careful planning of mentoring pairs cannot take into account clashes of personality, but this scheme will try and match Mentees with suitable Mentors. 3. What the scheme looks like The Mentoring scheme will be administered centrally by the Staff Learning and Development Office who will match applicants, provide training and on-going support, and evaluate the success of the scheme. In many matches it is envisaged that Mentors and Mentees will be

2 from differing parts of the School which will promote cross-school working. Mentors may additionally be from outside the School where this would be beneficial and appropriate within other local colleges/institutions. Anyone can be a Mentor if they have skills to pass on, with the only requirements being to have the time and commitment to participate. Mentees will be asked to arrange a meeting with their Mentor approximately once a month and will be encouraged to meet in a neutral, private space (i.e. away from their normal place of work). Line managers are asked to be supportive of this. Mentoring relationships are finite and should come to a natural end when the Mentee s objectives have been achieved. Most mentoring partnerships will run for approximately twelve months. Mentees can be any member of staff who would find it useful to have a neutral mentor who can help them achieve specific objectives that they set for themselves. 4. Who Can take Part in the Scheme? The scheme is open to all staff, except those still on probation who have a separate mentoring scheme. Mentors and Mentees must seek line management permission before taking part in the mentoring scheme. Line managers need not know why a Mentee wishes to take part in the mentoring scheme but they should be made aware as both Mentors and Mentees will need time away from the office for this activity. 5. Guidance for Mentors 5.1 What does a Mentor do? The Mentor should establish a friendly and supportive relationship with the member of staff. Through regular but informal contacts the Mentor should be prepared to provide support, guidance, and assistance. The Mentor can expect to take on a number of roles within the mentoring relationship involving a range of skills and behaviours. Which role the Mentor adopts at any time will depend on the needs of the Mentee and the situation. No one role is more important than another. Typical roles a Mentor will undertake include: Sounding Board: someone to test ideas and suggestions on; Facilitator: able to point to potential opportunities, arrange introductions and access key people; Adviser: providing objective advice on a range of issues, including career opportunities; Coach: directly assisting the Mentee to improve a specific skill; Expert: source of technical/professional knowledge; Source of Organisational Knowledge: able to explain University policies, culture, politics and values; Role Model: someone who promoted and encourages positive behaviours in others: Source of Feedback: provides objective and constructive feedback on development; Confidante: someone to express fears and concerns to:

3 Motivator: encouraging and motivating the Mentee to achieve their goals, boost morale; Challenger: someone to play devil s advocate, challenge assumptions, encourage different ways of thinking. 5.2 Characteristics/Attributes A Mentor will ideally be an experienced member of staff who: has chosen/agreed to act as a Mentor and is committed to the process; is able to devote sufficient time to make the mentoring relationship successful; is prepared to share experience and pass on skills to others; has a genuine interesting in developing potential for the future; has an enthusiastic and positive attitude towards their own work; commands the respect and trust of other people. If you are considering becoming a mentor for the first time, it would be useful to look at the Mentor Self-Assessment Tool. Before agreeing to Mentor a member of staff: Ensure that you are as clear as possible about the commitment that the Mentee is asking for both in terms of time, and in terms of what type of help s/he would like. The Mentoring Agreement form will be useful for this. Consider whether you are a good person for the Mentee to work with. If you are not sure about what he or she needs, ask for more information. For instance, if you are being asked to help the Mentee to network, you might want to clarify whether that means introducing your Mentee to other colleagues and what ultimate purpose the Mentee hopes that networking will achieve. Ensure that the Mentee is clear about what help you can and cannot offer. You may want to ask about other career development that the Mentee is undertaking or planning so that you are clear where the mentoring fits in. Think about what you could gain from your involvement and plan how you might also achieve your aims. Consider your strengths and skills do you need any tips or training before you begin (in, for instance, giving feedback, active listening or coaching?) Be clear about your accessibility, how you would prefer to communicate and how the mentoring relationship will fit in with your work pattern. If you often teach or hold meetings in your office, it may be more appropriate for your Mentee to use to contact you rather than calling your office. You will also wish to discuss confidentiality. Your Mentee should be able to expect discretion, and should be clear that the mentoring relationship takes place outside of his or her line-management relationship. However, your Mentee should also understand that there are certain very serious issues and situations that you should not be (and are not) expected to keep confidential. While it is unlikely that such a situation would arise, it may be worth emphasising that your Mentee can speak to you in confidence, rather than in complete secrecy. When working together:

4 The Mentee should take primary responsibility for arranging meetings and setting the agenda. However, it is worth bearing in mind that some Mentees may find the prospect of asking for time and dictating the topic of discussion intimidating, and may need a little encouragement. Give feedback sensitively, and accept that your Mentee has the right to choose not to accept your advice. You may wish to record the date and subject of your mentoring meetings, as well as any action points for your Mentee or yourself. You might also keep your own reflective journal for your own career development. Do not be afraid to refuse requests. However, you might suggest other ways that you could help them to achieve their goals. For instance, you may not be comfortable introducing your Mentee to a colleague, but you might be able to offer your Mentee some advice on how to network within academia. Understand the limits of your experience and resist offering advice in areas or on issues that you are not qualified to advise on. The School has professional support services that both staff and students can access for specialist advice. Mentors do not have to know all the answers. They should aim to be an access point for information and a channel for contact with others in the School and beyond. 5.3 Potential Benefits for Mentors These will vary with individuals, someone acting as a Mentor for the first time is likely to find most opportunities for personal development, whilst a more experienced Mentor will perhaps find personal satisfaction in seeing a colleague develop and flourish at the start of their career. Most people find that some of these aspects result from mentoring: Access to fresh ideas and perspectives Having the opportunity to discuss professional issues that there would not normally be time or chance to do Intellectual stimulation from a challenging relationship Gaining additional insights into the processes of teaching and learning or administrative processes Reflection on own management and teaching styles Enhanced organisational reputation Adding to personal development Satisfaction through involvement in professional development of colleagues Career progression Opportunity for an active contribution to the development and quality of the School Staff Learning and Development will offer briefing sessions for those taking on the Mentor role. If you would like to be considered as a mentor, complete the Mentor Application form and return it to the.

5 6. Guidance for Mentees 6.1 The Mentee needs to have clarity over what they would like to achieve from the mentoring relationship, and will be asked to summarise this on the Mentee Application form. The Mentee will indicate whether they have any preferred characteristics in mind for their Mentor e.g. job role, directorate or department, level of seniority, gender, particular experience etc. The Staff Learning and Development Manager will identify and approach possible Mentors based on this feedback. A Mentor may not be able to help the Mentee with all their objectives and it may be appropriate that a Mentee is offered another Mentor after the first relationship has ended. 6.2 Selecting a Mentor In order to be able to complete the Mentee Application Form fully: Spend some time thinking about the skills, knowledge or experience that you would like to gain, and who might be in the best position to help you. It may be that you need more than one Mentor at a time, or that you can prioritise certain skills or knowledge and focus on developing those. Think about your potential Mentor s personality as well as his or her role and experience, and consider how you might work together. Is your potential Mentor a good listener? Is s/he renowned for demanding results? Is s/he a very reflective person? Which of these traits might help you to work together to achieve your goals? Be clear about what you want to achieve, and what time commitment or help you would like. If you have identified someone as a potential mentor, you can either approach them directly or ask the to do this for you. If you have not identified someone then the will match you with someone suitable, based on the information on your application form. 6.3 Working together In order to get the most from your relationship: Remember that your Mentor is giving up time to help you you should therefore try to ensure that the relationship runs as smoothly as possible. Be prepared to take responsibility for keeping the relationship moving you, not your Mentor, should determine when, and how frequently, mentoring meetings will take place, set the agenda and make any other necessary arrangements (such as booking a room). Ensure that you are both clear on how the relationship will work, including how long you will work together, how often you will meet (and for how long), where you will meet, how you will communicate between meetings and the level of confidentiality you will maintain. Try to plan your meetings in advance (diaries fill up fast) but also be prepared to be flexible could you meet outside of normal working hours? Be aware that your Mentor may not be comfortable or willing to offer all of the help that you would like. Try to make your motives clear to your Mentor so that he or she understands why you are making a particular request. Ultimately, however, you may not convince your prospective Mentor to help you in the way that you would like.

6 Consider keeping notes of when meetings took place, what was discussed in meetings and any points of action. These notes could be fairly factual, or could form the basis of a reflective log or diary. Try to take any feedback offered by your Mentor as constructively as possible be prepared to reflect on what your Mentor says and how you can make real use of his or her comments. Consider sharing successes and positive experiences as well as problems with your Mentor so that he or she is aware of your successes too. If you do experience any problems with the relationship, be prepared to discuss them with your Mentor. Different working styles or expectations need not mean that a mentoring relationship cannot succeed, but it may require more work. Plan to review your mentoring relationship and be prepared to amend things if necessary. 6.4 Potential Benefits for the Mentee There are many potential benefits for the Mentee to gain from the mentoring relationship including: The opportunity to learn from a role model A broader perspective on the institution Increased understanding of the way SOAS operates Help in clarifying and setting development goals Help in setting realistic career goals Preparation for applying for new positions Increased self-awareness and confidence as a result of honest and constructive feedback A sounding board for voicing concerns and anxieties in confidence A safe environment to test out ideas and suggestions. If you would like a mentor, complete the Mentor Application form and return it to the Staff Learning and Development Office. October 2014