Mentoring

1. Mentoring Finding and Being A Mentor CP Workshop - Mentoring SCs.ppt

2. Definition • Mentoring is helping people use their life and work as a guided learning experience. • The aim is to help people self-generate knowledge and experience. • The goal of Mentoring is personal (and organizational) excellence through the effective use of one’s abilities and development of one’s potential.

3. Mentoring is more than… • Supervision • On-the-job training • Giving Advice • Friendship

4. Mentoring Focuses on… • Progress in Ministry • Personal Development • The Relationship between the Mentor and Mentoree • The emphasis is on learning and is linked to potential more than performance. • The Mentor is seeking to stretch the person being Mentored. • The focus is on the whole assignment not just on specific activities within the whole. • Mentoring is based on dialogue.

5. Process • A Mentoring Appointment - Usually Bi-monthly • Additional Contact Between Appointments Is Even Better • Occasional Observation of the Mentoree in Action • The Mentor Should Model Ministry Skills for the Mentoree whenever Possible – inviting the Mentoree to observe the Mentor in action.

6. Conditions for Effective Mentoring • An open and trusting climate • A helpful and empathic attitude • A non-threatening atmosphere • A collaborative, one-to-one dialogue • A focus on ministry-related goals, a review of progress and feedback on behavior • A ministry-focused environment, not business-focused • A focus on the Mentoree’sstrengths and areas for improvement • Identification of problems that hinder progress and/or the achievement of goals (problems not hidden) • An environment that empowers the Mentor to take on responsibility and authority for delegated ministry tasks

7. Desired Outcomes of Mentoring • From dependence to autonomy. • This is allowing, encouraging and possibly at times forcing the Mentoree to make decisions and think things out – even if it takes longer and even if the Mentor may disagree with the decisions. • The Mentor needs to offer support for the Mentoree’sideas and should give them a fair chance, even if they are unusual. • The whole process is hindered if the Mentor imposes solutions, tries to take short cuts, or tries to prove that ideas he or she disagrees with will not work.

8. Desired Outcomes of Mentoring • From ignorance to insight. • The Mentoree is encouraged to think out reasons • The Mentoree is encouraged to generalize • The Mentoree is encouraged to draw parallels other experiences and historical material

9. Desired Outcomes of Mentoring • From selfishness to altruism. • The Mentoree needs to be rewarded for personal success, but should also be rewarded for behavior that impacts others (such as considering the implications of plans or ideas on other’s feelings – involving or consulting with the other people affected by them). • This process will be hindered if only individual effort and achievement is given praise and the contribution to overall group or organizational success remains unacknowledged.

10. Desired Outcomes of Mentoring • From a need for certainty to a tolerance for ambiguity. • The Mentor should encourage consideration of alternative courses of action and should support the Mentoree in risk-taking or trying new ideas, even when outcomes are uncertain. • If the Mentor allows the Mentoree to adopt the first solution that comes along instead of insisting on looking for/at alternatives and their implications, then both learning and the process of change are considerably impeded.

11. Desired Outcomes of Mentoring • From the routine to the more complex. • The Mentor needs to allow the Mentoree to tackle problems that require new skills and experience, calling for levels of knowledge that move from relatively shallow to relatively deep abilities. • This involves tension for the person, partly because of the newness of the situation and partly because of fear of failure, so that active encouragement and support from the Mentor is critically important for long-term success.

12. Desired Outcomes of Mentoring • From negative to positive self-image. • The Mentor can support this change by giving praise for strengths; and by offering non-evaluative, factual feedback on areas that need improvement. • Where correction is necessary, the Mentor must focus on behavior, not personality, and should encourage exploration for improvement without belittling the Mentoree’sefforts or emphasizing weaknesses in ideas.

13. Characteristics of Successful Mentors • Interested in the Mentoree’sdevelopment • Look for potential in the Mentoree • Help the Mentoree to think independently • Predictable and straightforward • Let the person know where they stand • Give due credit to the person • Build and show confidence • Take risks to help the Mentoree learn • Have high standards that are communicated • Are good facilitators of learning • Encourage the Mentoree to give of his or her best • Never miss an opportunity to Mentor

14. The Mentoring Appointment is… • Asking Good/Right Questions • Celebrating Accomplishments • Affirming the Mentoree as Much as Possible • Helping Get Things Back on Track when Necessary • Agreeing Upon Practical Assignments • Holding ourselves to the same level of accountability

15. Mentoring Skill Sets • Using active listening skills • Put yourself in the Mentoree’splace. Have a reason or purpose for listening, and feed back his or her perceptions of the intended meaning to check for accuracy of listening and understanding. • Listen for the whole message. Look for meaning and consistency or congruence in both the verbal and non-verbal messages received; listen for ideas, feelings and intentions as well as facts and hear things that are sometimes unpleasant or unwelcome – not only positive things. • Suspend judgement and listen without drawing premature conclusions.

16. Mentoring Skill Sets • Using active listening skills • Resist distractions (noises, views, people) and focus on the speaker. • Wait before responding. Too prompt a response reduces listening effectiveness and allows no time to assimilate the information. • Paraphrase the content and feeling of what has been said non-judgmentally to the satisfaction of the Mentoree, and use open-ended questions to discover exactly what was meant, thus avoiding misunderstandings and misinterpretations.

17. Mentoring Skill Sets • Using active listening skills • Seek the important themes of what is being said by listening for the real meaning contained in the spoken words. • Use the time differential between the rate of speech and the rate of thought to reflect on the content and meaning and to give time to process the information. • Be ready to respond to ideas, suggestions and comments in a non-accusing manner rather than giving advice or making judgments.

18. Mentoring Skill Sets • Use open-ended questions to draw out solutions • Invite the Mentoree to evaluate these solutions • Draw out the consequences of each of the solutions • Build on the Mentoree’sideas and suggestions • Suspend judgment • Share experiences • Exhaust the flow of the Mentoree’sideas/suggestions before offering comments • Paraphrase the Mentoree’scontributions to ensure for understanding • Summarize and check to clarify what has been agreed

19. Mentoring Skill Sets • Give supportive feedback • Recap on what has been agreed, set deadlines and check progress. Both the Mentor and the Mentoree have a mutual commitment to making the Mentoring sessions work by jointly: • Being clear about what is required in terms of specific, identifiable outcomes. • Making an overall summary of major learning points. • Recapping at the end of each session to make sure everything is clear. • Setting deadlines and confirming actions for each part of the agreed upon task. • Agreeing an implementation plan as regards reasonable time schedules for the completion of the various tasks. • Setting dates for regular review sessions (email, telephone, or face-to-face) to check progress and achievement.

20. Benefits of Mentoring • Produces more real leaders • Facilitates leadership development • Keeps the work on track • Benefits the Mentor as well as the Mentoree • Everyone takes the role of a learner as well as an equipper – producing networks of Mentoring