You probably have heard of people asking for mentorship, or you have asked someone to be your mentor. This mentorship phenomenon is popular, but not many understand how to navigate it professionally. We have provided an outline in this article, which explains the mentor selection process, the mentoring process and common challenges that professionals need to look out for. Before we proceed, we must make a distinction between mentorship and mentoring. Mentorship appreciates the existing relationship between the people involved, while mentoring tries to mirror the important fact that it is a process.
Mentoring: What is it?
Mentoring refers
to relationships that exists between two people (typically between a mentor and
mentee), with the latter acting as an authority and the former taking the
role of a student. But that is not all. Every mentoring relationship has an
objective. But before we discuss the objectives, lets share an idea of what
mentoring relationships entail using an acronym developed by Beverly Kaye and Sharon Jordan-Evans
M= Model
E=. Encouragement
N=. Nurture
T=. Teacher
O=. Organization
R= Reality
Back to the objectives, the most common
objectives of such relationships are;
1. Networking, where the mentor provides access
for the mentee
2. Career
development: The mentor and the mentee work together to ensure that the
mentee chart the right course in the career.
3. Capacity
development: Many people struggle to acquire some difficult technical or
soft skills such as machine learning or leadership respectively. This
relationship helps flatten the learning curve and limit unnecessary information
gathering.
4. Mentoring relationships could also take the
form of sponsorship where the mentor takes his mentee under his/her wings and
helps get through the vagaries of organizational life. The mentor practically
sponsors the promotions and helps the mentee rise through to mid-management
level by pulling stops and making calls.
5. Organizations also have embedded mentoring
programs to help employees get by easily with the culture and processes of
organizations. These sort of mentoring programs are designed to help develop and
retain talent. Thus, mentoring programs are done with the goal of ensuring the
best employees don’t leave, even as research by Harvard shows that employees
who have mentorship tend to do better in terms of performance, even as they
stay longer in the organization. This is what the Leader-Member Theory (LMX)
characterizes as out-group and in-group, where employees who are taken in
confidence by leaders tend to get more responsibility and develop more
competence and confidence in the process.
The challenge however that, not all employees take advantage of such mentoring programs
because of their temperament in some cases and ignorance in other cases. In
some cases, they are just carefree.
Another consideration in the mentorship debate
will be that the need or compulsion for mentoring is not as established as it
appears in many countries. It is one of those tools that go quietly without its
significance being obvious, sadly. Mentorship can help achieve many things,
such as those included above and other things such as reducing the gap for
managerial talent as well as reducing asymmetries that disable organizations
from harnessing the talent of employees. Our point is that it is often an
understated tool.
While we have highlighted the various objectives
of mentoring and its significance it is important to realize that mentors,
which are the central element of mentoring relationships need to be selected
carefully, and the mentor selection process is described below.
Mentor
Selection
The mentor selection process follows the
following order;
1. Defining a Need
2. Commitment Assessment
3. Mentor Selection
4. Feedback
1.
Defining a Need
Here the need or desired outcome is determined.
The desired outcome is usually based on professional development, networking,
information and continuous clarification of processes, constructive feedback
and support.
The need of the relationship has to be very clear.
2.
Assessing Commitment
Both parties have to be. clear on the amount of
time that the mentor can invest, and how the process will be ordered. Will the
mentor be available to meet twice weekly or monthly. Which platforms will be
used? Physical or virtual and other considerations.
It is also important to note that scholars have
a consensus that mentoring relationships last for an average of 3 years. But it
can be shorter or longer in some cases. This also has to be projected.
3. Mentor
Selection
This is where the mentee conducts a values and
capacity validation test. The mentor must be confirmed to be able to provide
support for the sort of need the mentee wants to fulfill. And values of the
mentor must be clarified to see if they are not at variance with that of the
mentee, albeit significantly.
4. Feedback.
The quality of the relationship must be
evaluated from time to time. Feedback on development and gaps should be
identified and discussed with the way forward. Milestones should be evaluated
and as goals are achieved, the mentoring relationship can be wound down.
The mentor selection process has been discussed,
where the need for alignment of values, establishment of needs and feedback has
been highlighted. It is at this point we shed light on the mentoring process.
Mentoring
Process
The mentor and mentee relationship is initiated
and run based on certain defined phases. These phases include; Start-up,
Cultivation and Closing Phase.
1.
Start-up Phase
In this phase, the parties (mentor and mentee)
establish trust, clarify expectations and agree to confidentiality. Ground
rules for meetings and frequency of interaction is established.
This phase is also characterized by authenticity
and frankness, giving and receiving difficult feedback and honoring of
commitments.
2.
Cultivation
The delivery on objectives of the mentoring
happens here. The mentor starts fulfilling the needs of the mentorship by
sharing information, setting milestones and guiding on how to achieve these.
The mentee shares feedback and the relationship continues in the task-feedback
loop.
3.
Closing
The closing phase happens when the needs of the
mentoring engagement have been met. In some cases, a great part of the needs
have been met, while the mentor is confident that the mentee now has the
capacity to do things on their own.
It is important to note not all mentorship
programs or arrangements close. Some evolve into a partnership where the mentor
starts entrusting the mentee with his or her professional relationships through
referrals or what we call confidence engagement. A confidence engagement is a
situation where you get referred manage projects based on your soft skills such
as leadership, decision making and confidence you have gained as a result of
your mentorship relationship.
It is important at this juncture to mention that
mentorship also has its downsides. There are common mentorship challenges
identified by the author of No Asshole Rule- Professor Robert Sutton.
The challenges are discussed below;
1.
Straying from the mentor’s path:
The truth is
that mentors are not immune from bias. You got a job offer in China, but your
mentor turned down a similar offer many years ago due to some reasons. Thus, he
says you should not go for a similar reason. What if things have changed?
2.
Selfish Reasons:
If you are useful for your mentor in certain ways, there is a tendency
for them to want you to remain in that frame. They may find any growth and
alternative path outside what you do for them uncomfortable.
3. Risk
Appetite:
Do you have a greater or lower appetite
for risk than your mentor? There is a tendency for a high risk appetite mentor
to ask you to take more risk, when you are not ready for that. Then a low risk
mentor type will be scared or worried that you are taking on risk, when that
may just be what you need.
4.
Reverse Mentoring:
Situations arise where people in a position of
power or authority like your mentor have reduced self-awareness. People in a
subordinate position tend to know more about people in power than the people in
power know more about themselves!
This piece on mentoring was inspired by the
promises of mentoring. Mentoring provides people with the bright networks,
information, timely career advice for career development and it helps build
leaders. It also has its downsides as highlighted.
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