Mentoring: Empowering Personal and Organizational Change

Course Description:

Many businesses find that a certain level of training is needed for new hires, regardless of their backgrounds. This may also be the case for employees who have been with their companies for a longer period of time. In these situations, a higher level of expertise may be required but these employees may find it difficult to meet these higher expectations. One solution is the implementation of a mentoring program. In such a program, mentors and protégés are matched by the management resources team so that protégés can acquire the skills necessary to achieve their higher job expectations.

A basic premise underlying the mentoring program is that, in order for a mentoring relationship to be successful, it must be based on mutual trust and accountability. Furthermore, in selecting mentors and protégés, it is advisable to adopt and adhere to a set of specific selection criteria. For example, a mentor should possess strong interpersonal skills, be a positive role model, be capable of practicing effective coaching and feedback skills, and understand the dynamics of organizational culture. A protégé, on the other hand, should be a self-starter, willing to assume responsibility for his or her own growth and development, and be receptive to coaching and feedback. Since mentors and protégés rarely possess all of these and other prerequisite skills, the need for effective training becomes paramount.

In this program, mentors and protégés, who have been previously paired by the management resources team, are introduced to a mentoring program model that describes the four significant developmental phases in the mentoring process. Roles and responsibilities for protégés and mentors, as well as other key players, are defined and the conditions for a mentoring agreement are negotiated. At the core of the training experience presented here are the opportunities to explore and practice the critical mentoring skills underlying a successful mentoring relationship. Although this full day is applicable primarily to a management development context, it can easily be adapted to situations involving cultural diversity, upward mobility, leadership development, total quality management, entry-level orientation, and so on.