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Les
McKeown, President and CEO of Yellowbrick, regularly
assists organizations of all sizes implement mentoring
programs. In completing his seven-part online training
program, 'How To Be A Great Mentor...in under 30
minutes', Les had to take into account the fact
that not all managers automatically jump at the chance
to be mentors:
When
we're asked to help refresh or rejuvenate mentoring
programs that are struggling to make an impact, the
most common underlying problem is lack of clearly
defined program goals.
The
second most common problem is lack of buy-in by
managers and supervisors.
Here's
the top three reasons why this happens:
1.
Managers are too busy already
The
last thing they need is another set of responsibilities,
or another process they have to adapt to.
2.
Mentoring is a threat to a manager's sense of self-esteem
"Why
should my employee need a mentor if I'm doing a
good job as a manager?".
3.
The managers weren't consulted
at
the outset of the mentoring program design process,
which means something is being imposed on
them, rather than asked for by them.
The
good news is that in our experience, dealing effectively
with these issues isn't rocket science, although
it does require a little bravery...Here's how to
make sure your managers 'Deliver The Mentoring Promise':
1.
CONSULT, CONSULT, CONSULT
ASK
your managers what they would like out of
your mentoring and coaching program - at the outset.
Ask
most managers "Do you think a mentoring program
would be helpful to you as a manager?", and mostly,
they'll say "Yes!". Conversely, TELL them: "Here's
a mentoring program that will be helpful to you
as a manager", and they'll feel imposed upon and
that you're being presumptuous about their skills.
It's
a very small step from asking "Do you think a mentoring
program would be helpful to you as a manager?" to
asking "What SPECIFICALLY do you think a mentoring
program could best do for you?". Involving your
managers in agreeing the OBJECTIVES of the mentoring
or coaching program is not just good commercial
sense (it grounds the program objectives in reality),
it also starts the whole process of achieving buy-in.
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Does
this mean you have to get all the managers in a
room, endure a four-hour debate and try to accommodate
everyone's point of view, before getting the mentoring
or coaching program off the ground?
No
- here's how to achieve the result you want (manager
input) without hours of fruitless discussion:
- Set
aside a time - an hour or so, maybe over a lunchtime
-when you will make a presentation regarding the
proposed mentoring program and seek input on its
objectives.
- Circulate
details to all the managers and supervisors affected,
offering them the opportunity to come and contribute
to the discussion. If folks are spread around
the country, offer to set up a conference call
for them to hook into (call you phone operator
for details - it'll cost about $30 to set up for
an hour).
- About
7-12% of the folks you circulate will actually
agree to join in the meeting. Of that, about two
thirds will actually attend.
- Those
who don't attend will appreciate the offer being
made, and will acknowledge that a consultation
process has occurred, even if they didn't personally
participate.
- The
smaller numbers will make for a more manageable,
focused meeting. Who knows, you might end up with
some evangelists for the program!
2.
EDUCATE
Take
time to explain to everyone impacted, that
your mentoring or coaching program is not being
introduced because of any perceived management weaknesses
on the part of managers and supervisors.
Make
the distinctions between mentoring, coaching, managing
and supervising very clear.
Even
if your managers are already aware of the distinctions,
they will appreciate YOU making the distinctions
clear to their employees. It's hard for a manager
to say to her
employees:
"Please understand you have not been allocated a
mentor because I'm doing a poor job." It sounds
better coming from you.
3.
INVOLVE
The
protégé's managers are your key to
measuring the impact and effectiveness of your mentoring
or coaching program.
The
mentors and protégés themselves are too close to
the process to be objective.
You
can't personally appraise every mentoring or coaching
relationship yourself.
So
why not ask the managers help in setting up a simple,
non-time consuming mechanism to monitor how well
protégés are developing in their mentoring relationship?
You can use the consultative meeting outlined above
to discuss the best ways for this to happen. For
example:
By
using a 'control group' - some employees who are
being mentored, and some who are not, and getting
the manager to help you measure the difference in
progress between the two, you'll not only involve
the manager, you'll get her strong approval for
the program, as she sees the differences between
the two groups. (You ARE going to have a very successful
program, right? So this part can't go wrong...)
J.
Leslie McKeown, is the President & CEO of Yellowbrick.
Yellowbrick
provides employee development solutions for organizations
of all sizes, particularly in the areas of retention,
orientation & mentoring and coaching.
| If
you have busy managers that you'd like to see
developing as mentors, then ‘How To Be A Great
Mentor...in under 30 minutes’ is exactly the
resource you need – view a free preview right
now at Deliver
The Promise. |
 |
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| 99
out of 100 executives say that mentoring is essential
for employee development, retention and morale.
Yet
99 out of 100 companies have no mentoring program
- usually because of cost, complexity and lack
of time.
Not
any longer.
The
Complete Guide to Mentoring and Coaching
(TCGTMAC) is your key to being the one organization
in a hundred with a successful, vibrant mentoring
program - quickly, simply and inexpensively.
Learn
More...
|
|
In
addition to being the author of 'The Complete Guide
to Orientation and Re-Orientation', 'The Complete
Guide to Mentoring and Coaching', and the ‘Deliver
The Promise Retention MasterClass', Les travels
widely, speaking and consulting on issues of employee
development and corporate strategy.
Learn
more about Yellowbrick....
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