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Article from The Hong Kong Institute of HRM Journal, Nov 2007
How to Launch an Effective Mentoring Program
An effective mentoring program can be a beneficial and interesting journey for the learning and developmental needs of both the mentee and the mentor
When I ask an HR leader if they have a mentoring program in their organization, the answer would be a “yes” on most occasions. However, when I probe further, most would sheepishly confess that what they have is an informal program, and usually applies only to new hires. Most managers would assign a mentor or buddy to a new hire to ensure that the individual have a better chance of settling down well in his or her new job. Some would have one for high potentials who have been identified to assume higher leadership roles in the future.
Very few, however, would have a formal program where both mentees and mentors are coached on their respective roles and responsibilities, and very importantly, how to get good mentoring goals. Most who do not have a structured program would cite various reasons for not having one, ranging from “not necessary” to ”don’t have the time”.
Well, there are clear advantages of putting a formal mentoring program in place, both for new hires as well as for high potentials. In this month’s HR Toolbox, I shall share with you the key ingredients that go into a successful and effective mentoring program.
What is mentoring?
It is a deliberate pairing of a more skilled or experienced person with a less skilled or experienced one, with the agreed upon goal of having the less skilled person grow and develop specific competencies under the guidance and coaching of the mentor. It is crucial that HR leaders be intimately aware of the respective areas of developmental gaps (mentee) and strengths (mentor) so the ‘right’ pairing can be made.
It is recommended that mentees do not have their bosses, direct supervisors or otherwise, as their mentors. It would be ideal if mentee/mentor are based in different countries and from a different business unit – this will ensure a rich learning experience for both parties.
Mentoring is about acquiring the necessary skills and experience so one can do a much effective job, both now and in the foreseeable future. It is about challenging ourselves to grow and develop, stretching ourselves so we can exploit our full potential to be great leaders – and I want to stress here that though the focus of the mentoring program is on the mentee, the mentor can, and must also benefit from the mentoring journey.
When setting mentoring goals, there should ideally be two areas of focus, the current role as well as a potential future one that one can work towards. The timeframe for most programs is 12 months, with the mentee driving at least one session with their mentor in each calendar month. If two sessions are missed, there is a good chance that the mentoring relationship will fade away – hence, it is imperative that the mentee ensures that this does not happen. Mentees are in the driver’s seat, and mentors are their navigators. Mentees decide where they want to go (ie what they wish to learn from their mentors) and the mentors guide them in arriving at their destinations.
Mentees’ responsibilities
- Total and full commitment to his/her own personal development. This is a non-negotiable item.
- Must allocate time for a minimum of one session each month. This could be face-to-face (ideal) or over the phone, and should last for at least 45 minutes to an hour.
- Develops S.M.A.R.T. mentoring goals and formulate action plans to achieve them.
- Identifies developmental needs and set goals to achieve them.
- Documents progress of the program.
- Maintains confidentiality in all communications with mentor, and at the same time, keep their manager abreast of general progress and developments.
Mentors’ responsibilities
- It is the role of the mentor to be a coach and a confidante. He should give honest and constructive feedback, advice and ideas that will add to the mentee’s experience and skills development.
- Helps mentee to draw lessons from current issues or past experiences.
- Helps to change specific undesirable behaviors and strengthen areas of competence. To ask coaching questions to identify development gaps.
- Challenges mentee’s assumptions and provides different perspectives, but always leaving room for mentee to make their own conclusions and decisions.
- Builds mentee’s confidence through greater self-awareness and self-understanding, always to offer encouragement, not be judgemental and provide a pair of listening ears.
- Serves as a sounding board, a “safe” environment, and always be willing to speak the truth, to say things that others may be reluctant to do so.
- Provides organizational insights and advice from a macro perspective.
- Serves as a role model to the mentee.
- Provide access to internal and external networks that may be beneficial to the mentee’s career progress.
- Be a career advisor, and to help mentee think through career options and define career goals.
Mentoring goals
When setting goals, two important rules of thumb is to set specific goals, those that allow you to focus on acquiring specific skills, experience, exposure, etc. You must also be able to know what you want, and to be able to know when you have gotten them. Here are some areas that you can develop goals around:
- Broaden business development skills. How to move the business/organization forward? Brainstorm new ideas about the business.
- Develop effective leadership skills.
- Access to senior management. Increase confidence in networking with senior management to increase visibility and audibility.
- Identifying and venturing into new business markets.
- Gain insights into leadership’s thinking on organizational priorities and direction.
- Increased understanding of the organization. Learn more about other parts of the organization. Build relationship with another function/department.
- Develop specific competencies, eg, Improve communication skills, Learn to interact more effectively with others, and to improve one’s level of emotional quotient.
- Better appreciate and to learn different cultural values, idiosyncrasies, etc so as to work more effectively with cross-cultural teams and colleagues from other cultures. Appreciate value of diversity and learn to manage personal bias.
- Have a better work and life balance, and to achieve internal harmony. To resolve tensions between personal and work life.
- Be clearer with your career goals and know where you want to go. Clarify your personal values, and who you are, etc. Improve personal persona. Identify what is ‘negative’ image.
Critical success factors
- Top down management commitment and support for people development. I recently launched a mentoring program for a pharmaceutical company – besides the country managers, the Asia Pacific vice president was also present to lend weight and to demonstrate management support for the program.
- Competence, willingness, confidentiality and time/energy commitments of both the mentee and mentor to build an effective relationship, leading to the success of the mentoring program. The ‘confidentiality’ piece is worth reiterating here.
- Mentee must take responsibility for his/her development, take criticisms positively, discuss mistakes openly and be open to new ideas and coaching.
- Focus on the ‘right’ people and use the right processes and mentoring skills.
- Mentees must understand that their selection for program participation does not automatically mean they will get a promotion. It is much more of a developmental program rather than one focus on performance and rewards.
Benefits of mentoring programs
Given the right motivation and commitment to succeed, an effective mentoring program can be a beneficial and interesting journey for the learning and developmental needs of both the mentee and the mentor.
by Paul Heng, CMF
Executive Coach
NeXT Corporate Coaching Services
(A member of the NeXT Career Consulting Group, Asia)
Founding President of the Asian Association of Career Management Professionals
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