Published: The Hindu
On: November 10, 2010
At: Hyderabad, India
To read The Hindu's online version, click here.
Mentoring has been used with increasing frequency over the past decade in the business world. Often used for grooming potential leaders, companies draw on it as a means of fostering employee learning and development. Here, the associate is paired with a senior level leader for a series of career development interactions. The mentor can facilitate personal and professional growth by sharing knowledge and insights gathered through the years. A mentor is not necessarily a manager or supervisor. It could be anyone in the organisation, alumni, professional or trade associations.
Even if your company does not have such a programme, you can still look for a mentor. Consider him or her your personal career coach! Research has shown that mentoring relationships succeed when both the mentor and mentee take an active role in developing the relationship.
Suitable type: Look for people who inspire you and motivate you, someone whom you admire and respect. The person should have the values you aspire to have and have good work ethics. He/she must be genuinely interested in nurturing the mentor-mentored relationship and has the desire to help someone else.
Approach that individual and ask if they would consider being your mentor. Don't be disappointed if they say No. Keep looking until you find the right person.
It is important to establish a sincere and trustworthy relationship. You can establish multiple mentor relationships with various individuals to address different aspects of your life.
Take the lead: While the mentor is available to counsel and impart lessons learned, it is the one who is mentored who should take the lead in the mentoring sessions. The one who is mentored can decide the agenda, exchange and discuss potential ideas, and so on.
To boost the sessions, you can spend some time learning more about each other and building a personal relationship. Share career stories, vision and even topics not pertaining to work: movie, hobbies, news and events.
Some guidelines to develop effective mentoring relationship:
Be clear. It is important to understand the agenda and assumptions that mentor and the mentored bring to the ‘mentoring table'. Set the expectations from the beginning. Discuss how feedback will be given.
Establish goals. Know your goals. Use the SMART (specific, measurable, achievable, realistic, and time-based) goals method to be effective. For example, you may have a goal of attaining 100 percent customer satisfaction. However, this is not a realistic goal. Instead, 15 percent improvement in customer satisfaction is better. Be open to re-evaluate your goals midway.
Establish communication. Maintain clear and consistent communication. Be reliable, responsive, prepared, and organised. Communicate your ideas, needs, goals and aspirations. Determine the lines of communication that will work for both of you. Will it be through phone, email or face-to-face?
Build trust. At the core of the mentor-mentored relationship is trust. Although this sounds simple, it is essential that both mutually agree that their discussions will be kept confidential. Only when there is trust, will you be willing to take feedback and recommendations and the mentor will be willing to give time to you.
Attitude and work ethics. Be enthusiastic, and prepared to put in the necessary efforts. Stay motivated, and committed. Take the initiative to do something different. Challenge yourself and take risks. Be honest, hardworking and conscientious.
Express your gratitude. In the end, express your gratitude for the time, thought and insight invested in you. Be sincere, honest. This will tilt the scales in favor of finding a successful career.
Sometimes, the closure of mentor-mentored relationship can be difficult. Often, one of them hangs on for comfort or desire not to offend. To avoid such a situation, discuss and plan how you will end the mentoring relationship when you first negotiate your partnership. Respect your mentor, if he would like to be the first to end the relationship. In the mentoring relationship, a good closure is synonymous with learning and growth. You are now ready to begin your new stage.
On: November 10, 2010
At: Hyderabad, India
To read The Hindu's online version, click here.
Mentoring has been used with increasing frequency over the past decade in the business world. Often used for grooming potential leaders, companies draw on it as a means of fostering employee learning and development. Here, the associate is paired with a senior level leader for a series of career development interactions. The mentor can facilitate personal and professional growth by sharing knowledge and insights gathered through the years. A mentor is not necessarily a manager or supervisor. It could be anyone in the organisation, alumni, professional or trade associations.
Even if your company does not have such a programme, you can still look for a mentor. Consider him or her your personal career coach! Research has shown that mentoring relationships succeed when both the mentor and mentee take an active role in developing the relationship.
Suitable type: Look for people who inspire you and motivate you, someone whom you admire and respect. The person should have the values you aspire to have and have good work ethics. He/she must be genuinely interested in nurturing the mentor-mentored relationship and has the desire to help someone else.
Approach that individual and ask if they would consider being your mentor. Don't be disappointed if they say No. Keep looking until you find the right person.
It is important to establish a sincere and trustworthy relationship. You can establish multiple mentor relationships with various individuals to address different aspects of your life.
Take the lead: While the mentor is available to counsel and impart lessons learned, it is the one who is mentored who should take the lead in the mentoring sessions. The one who is mentored can decide the agenda, exchange and discuss potential ideas, and so on.
To boost the sessions, you can spend some time learning more about each other and building a personal relationship. Share career stories, vision and even topics not pertaining to work: movie, hobbies, news and events.
Some guidelines to develop effective mentoring relationship:
Be clear. It is important to understand the agenda and assumptions that mentor and the mentored bring to the ‘mentoring table'. Set the expectations from the beginning. Discuss how feedback will be given.
Establish goals. Know your goals. Use the SMART (specific, measurable, achievable, realistic, and time-based) goals method to be effective. For example, you may have a goal of attaining 100 percent customer satisfaction. However, this is not a realistic goal. Instead, 15 percent improvement in customer satisfaction is better. Be open to re-evaluate your goals midway.
Establish communication. Maintain clear and consistent communication. Be reliable, responsive, prepared, and organised. Communicate your ideas, needs, goals and aspirations. Determine the lines of communication that will work for both of you. Will it be through phone, email or face-to-face?
Build trust. At the core of the mentor-mentored relationship is trust. Although this sounds simple, it is essential that both mutually agree that their discussions will be kept confidential. Only when there is trust, will you be willing to take feedback and recommendations and the mentor will be willing to give time to you.
Attitude and work ethics. Be enthusiastic, and prepared to put in the necessary efforts. Stay motivated, and committed. Take the initiative to do something different. Challenge yourself and take risks. Be honest, hardworking and conscientious.
Express your gratitude. In the end, express your gratitude for the time, thought and insight invested in you. Be sincere, honest. This will tilt the scales in favor of finding a successful career.
Sometimes, the closure of mentor-mentored relationship can be difficult. Often, one of them hangs on for comfort or desire not to offend. To avoid such a situation, discuss and plan how you will end the mentoring relationship when you first negotiate your partnership. Respect your mentor, if he would like to be the first to end the relationship. In the mentoring relationship, a good closure is synonymous with learning and growth. You are now ready to begin your new stage.
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