Replying to LO26152 --
Rick,
I've been involved in two ways with mentoring. (1) I worked on some design
ideas, never implemented, for a program at a manufacturing company. I left
the company before the program was considered for implementation. (2) I am
currently a mentor in my local high school as part of a mentoring program
in the region, wherein a non-profit organization pairs local, mostly
business people with high school juniors (and an occasional sophomore).
There are similarities between the business environment and the school. As
I see it, these are:
a. Strict avoidance of prescription i.e. You should do it this way,
because it's best
b. minimizing insofar as possible explicit psychological counseling
c. providing an atmosphere of trust and caring fostered by honest
communication
d. easy "bail out" mechanism in case the relationship doesn't work
e. explicit rules of conduct
f. declaration of expectations and metrics by which you will, at least in
part, judge success. Have on-going and cyclical feedback mechanisms.
e. program genesis based upon input from ALL foreseen stakeholder groups
f. START SMALL! At one very large, well-known company, at whose targeted
site some 1,600 people worked, the first year's program lasted from
October to April only, and involved 35 pairings established through HR.
The next year, participation doubled. Notice the time allotted to the
program there.
These are a few thoughts. There are many, many organizations which have
mentoring relationships. There's a wealth of information available.
>From my personal experience, I would observe that one early weakness to be
on guard for is the perception of participants that a mentor has to HELP
someone in an explicit way. Beware. I will propose to you this thought:
The purpose of a mentor is to act as an experienced (from the standpoint
of the organization's "value proposition") source of Socratic stimulation,
a good listener who, at best, elicits from the "mentee" that person's own
sense of direction and interest.
Best regards,
Barry Mallis
The Organizational Trainer
110 Arch St., #27
Keene, NH 03431
--Barry Mallis <theorgtrainer@earthlink.net>
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