How Not To Run A Mentoring Program

I’m a bit fired up today after a phone call from a friend who’s just been told he’s going to be “mentored”! OK, I know I’m only hearing one side of the story but it’s one I know too well and it makes me mad – and sad – because this sort of lip-service to mentoring certainly exists and it gives it a bad name. Worse, it can leave people cynical and disengaged.

I’m not just going to vent though. My article below contrasts how not to run a mentoring program with two very good examples of well planned and implemented mentoring.

Thought Of The Day

“How wonderful it is that nobody need wait a single moment before starting to improve the world.”

Anne Frank

How Not To Run A Mentoring Program

A friend of mine has been told that he is in a mentoring program. He’s been informed by email who his mentor is, and he’s not impressed! “He doesn’t know s#*t about the work” was his comment.

I’m not impressed either. This is what gives mentoring a bad name. There has been no explanation of the purpose of mentoring, what it is or how to do it, no indication of what’s expected of each party, no introduction, no training of participants and no support offered.

This sounds like another tick-the-box “we have a Mentoring Program” exercise. I estimate fewer than one in ten of mentoring relationships started this way will produce any useful outcome. That means it’s 90% wasted time and money. Worse, it sends a terrible message about how serious the organization is about valuing and developing its people. As my friend says: “It’s just bulls#*t!”

Contrast that with a couple of other mentoring strategies just starting up:

One is clearly linked to strategic objectives. The executive team is actively engaged. The planning process involved consultation with the target group. As a result we have defined specific outcomes for the program and flexibility for participants to choose their own goals. A pool of mentors will be carefully selected and mentorees will have input to the partnering. They will receive customized training that takes into account the context of the mentoring. There is a communication strategy that will educate people about why the program is important and a structured program of support and proper evaluation of the whole program will take place.

This organization takes developing its people in this was seriously enough to appoint a Mentoring Coordinator and a whole team has been working on planning the mentoring strategy to benefit the organization and the employees.

In another program that I was privileged to assist with, the aim is to retain staff and provide personal and professional development. It kicked off with a two-day workshop bringing participants from around the state together to get started. Prior to this, they were carefully paired in a process where needs and strengths were assessed and matched. The workshop not only broke the ice and gave them a chance to get to know each other but also provided the opportunity to connect with a network of support with the other participants.

In early consultations we ditched the idea of focusing on career development – there simply aren’t too many career advancement opportunities in the sector. People love what they do and my impression is that it’s a calling rather than a job. So the Program Coordinators came up with the idea that each mentoree would do, or at least plan in detail and present a proposal for, a project. The project is to benefit the person, in terms of their personal and professional development, their organization and the clients they serve.

The idea of a project was scary to prospective mentorees. So the coordinators personally spoke with each one to re-assure them and to let them know that the two-day workshop would see them all set and ready to go with a project that they’d enjoy.

And so it did. The workshop was fun, quite demanding but thrilling for everyone involved (we know because we evaluated it). There has been personal follow-up to make sure everyone is OK and on track and see if they need any help. The group will be back in three and six months to review progress and add to their learning. Ongoing support is provided in various ways.

This program and the one described above will have success rates that their organisations can be proud of , evaluated by quantifiable as well as qualitative measures that can be used to show a return on investment. That’s how mentoring works!

What About Your Mentoring Strategy?

Have you planned your mentoring strategy to deliver strategic outcomes? Are your people trained in the art of the mentoring conversation? Do they have resources that enable them to have an effective relationship?