Workplace Mentoring Reference Guide S H E A B U S I N E S S C O N S U L T I N G
W O R K P L A C E M E N T O R I N G 2011 Shea Business Consulting Except as provided by the Copyright Act 1968, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means without the prior written permission of Shea Business Consulting. Published by: Shea Business Consulting 193 Oak Street Parkville Victoria 3052 Telephone: +61 3 9387 5320 Email: shea@sheaconsulting.com.au Web: www.sheaconsulting.com.au First Published: July 2011 ISBN: 978-1-921810-27-5 Version 1.0, July 2011 Disclaimer No patent liability is assumed with respect to the use of the information contained herein. Neither is any liability assumed for damages resulting from the use of the information contained herein. This work has been prepared for use as a reference guide and should only be used within that context. Additional Resources For additional resources by Shea Business Consulting, go to: Shea Business Consulting (www.sheaconsulting.com.au) National Resource Library (www.anrl.com.au).
S H E A R E F E R E N C E G U I D E Contents 1. Getting Started...4 Who is this Guide for?...5 What topics are covered?...5 2. Topics...6 An introduction to workplace mentoring...7 Developing a mentoring plan...18 Facilitating a mentoring relationship...29 Monitoring a mentoring relationship...43 Evaluating the effectiveness of mentoring...48 3. Appendices...53 Appendix A: Source Documents...54 Appendix B: Mentoring Plan Template...55
S H E A R E F E R E N C E G U I D E 1. Getting Started 4
W O R K P L A C E M E N T O R I N G Who is this Guide for? This Guide has been developed for workplace supervisors or colleagues who are responsible for mentoring in the workplace. It will take you through the process of establishing and developing a mentoring relationship with a learner in a workplace. Throughout this Guide, the term learner refers to a person who is being mentored. A variety of terms are used for this purpose, including mentee, protégé, candidate, participant, apprentice, trainee, advisee and counselee. Throughout this Guide, the term counsellor refers to a person who listens to, encourages and nurtures a learner. It does not refer to a professional person (such as a lawyer or therapist) who provides specialist legal or care advice. Workplace mentors are not in a position to provide specialist legal or care advice unless they are formally qualified to do so. What topics are covered? By working through this Guide, you will cover the following topics: An introduction to workplace mentoring Developing a mentoring plan Facilitating a mentoring relationship Monitoring a mentoring relationship Evaluating the effectiveness of mentoring. At its most basic level, mentoring is a helping-to-learn process. It involves the matching of a more experienced worker with a less experienced learner with the intent purpose of the learner developing specific skills and knowledge from their mentor. 5
S H E A R E F E R E N C E G U I D E Developing a mentoring plan If you are going to establish a professional mentoring relationship with a learner, the first thing you will need to do is develop a mentoring plan, and this involves: 1. Identifying the scope and boundaries of the relationship 2. Establishing ground rules and negotiating expectations 3. Maintaining confidentiality within the relationship. 1. Identifying the scope and boundaries of the relationship Whenever you establish a mentoring relationship with a learner, you must sit down with them and identify the scope and boundaries of your relationship. You will also need to do this in accordance with the organisational policy and procedures of the learner s workplace. The scope of a mentoring relationship The scope of a mentoring relationship involves its purpose (why it is needed), its objectives (what is to be achieved) and its timeline (how long will it take), so you will need to identify the following: The purpose of the relationship The objectives (goals) to be achieved through the relationship The commencement date of the relationship The proposed duration of the relationship How often you will meet with the learner The maximum length of each meeting. You must ensure the purpose and objectives of a mentoring relationship are explicit and well-defined in the mentoring plan you develop with a learner. A sample mentoring plan has been provided at the end of this Topic. Use the Mentoring Plan Template provided at Appendix B to draft your own mentoring plan. 18
S H E A R E F E R E N C E G U I D E As a workplace mentor, you guide and coach learners through the first three steps, but you stand back and allow them to work through the last two steps alone. It is not your role to solve their problems or make their decisions. Brainstorming is a great way to generate different solutions to a problem! Use the following Decision Making Template to guide a learner through a workplace decision. This is a very simple approach to decision making, where the pros and cons associated with the decision are recorded and assigned a significance factor of between 1 and 5 (where 1 is slightly significant and 5 is extremely significant). When you are certain you have recorded all of the pros and cons, add up the columns. The higher score will represent the best option for the decision. A sample has been provided to get you started. Decision (Question): Should I undertake training to improve my chances of gaining a promotion? Pros (Why I should say Yes) Score Cons (Why I should say No) Score My family (especially my partner) want me to be more ambitious A senior position would have better pay and entitlements A senior position would provide job security and job satisfaction I would gain respect at work and be given more responsibility 4 I have never been ambitious (I find ambitious people annoying) 5 I may undertake the training and not get the promotion 2 I m comfortable in my current job, and I don t like change 3 More responsibility may lead to stress and time away from home Result 14 Result 11 1 4 3 3 36
W O R K P L A C E M E N T O R I N G Decision (Question): Pros (Why I should say Yes) Score Cons (Why I should say No) Score Result Result If you would like to explore different approaches to developing and improving problem solving and decision making skills, visit the following websites: BusinessBalls (www.businessballs.com) MindTools (www.mindtools.com) 37
S H E A R E F E R E N C E G U I D E 5. Using your personal and professional networks In Topic 1 you discovered that mentors are required to draw upon four helping-to-learn styles, and that one of these styles involves networking. As a networker, you act as a bridge for learners and introduce them to influential people within their organisation. You aim to make them self-reliant and encourage them to take control of their own learning. Most importantly, you help them become aware of the various information resources that are available to them. In his book Everyone Needs a Mentor Fostering Talent in Your Organisation, David Clutterbuck suggests learners need two main types of networks to function effectively in an organisation: Information networks (where they find out what they need to know) Influence networks (where they get people over whom they have no direct control to do things for them). 2 In your role as a workplace mentor, you must use your personal and professional networks to assist your learners. These can range from informal common interest groups through to professional organisations. You may introduce your learners to people you already know, or you may choose to guide them through the process of introducing themselves to these people. Whatever method you choose to adopt, your aim is to help learners to build networks within their workplace which they can use to support their personal growth and learning. Use the following reflection activity to identify the networks that you can draw upon to assist your learners. Reflection Activity Your Personal And Professional Networks What personal networks can you use to assist learners? What professional networks can you use to assist learners? 2 Clutterbuck, D. Everyone Needs a Mentor Fostering Talent in Your Organisation (4th Edition), 2004, pp 17-18 38
S H E A R E F E R E N C E G U I D E Monitoring a mentoring relationship Once you have established a mentoring relationship, you must monitor it, and this involves: 1 2 3 4 Providing planning assistance and guidance Providing feedback Recognising and discussing changes in the relationship Negotiating and managing the closure of the relationship. 1. Providing planning assistance and guidance In Topic 1 you discovered that mentors are required to draw upon four helping-to-learn styles, and one of these styles involves guiding. As a guide, you nurture and support learners, and you also act as their guardian, role model, sponsor and source of advice. You guide them through the practical aspects of their learning so they will be able to function effectively within their organisation. As mentoring relationships progress, learners will request planning assistance and guidance from you, and you must provide this in a style that suits their needs. Managers and supervisors find guiding the easiest of the four helping-to-learn styles, as it is the closest to what they normally do in their job roles. 2. Providing feedback A good way to ensure the expectations and goals of your mentoring process are being achieved is to provide learners with feedback on their progress. Feedback is a vital factor in the mentoring process, and it often comprises comment, praise and suggestions for improvement. Constructive feedback will keep a learner motivated and allow them to identify the areas where they can improve. By providing regular feedback over the duration of the mentoring process (rather than holding off until the end of the relationship), you allow time for the learner to address the areas you identify for improvement. 42
W O R K P L A C E M E N T O R I N G Figure 6: The four stages of a mentoring relationship The second (achieving) stage of a mentoring relationship is where change is most likely to occur, and you must be able to recognise and discuss any changes in the relationship with the learner. You may also need to discuss these changes with one or more of the following stakeholders: The learner s manager or supervisor The organisation responsible for the learner s formal training Any additional support services with input into the learner s formal training. Any changes that occur in a mentoring relationship must be recorded in the mentoring plan. 4. Negotiating and managing the closure of the relationship According to the proverb, all good things must come to an end, and mentoring relationships are no exception. It is particularly important to prevent a relationship from dwindling without focus once the objectives of the mentoring arrangement 45