Mentoring - Assignment Example

Mentoring Today people pay great attention to knowledge management at work and many of them resort to mentoring in order to improve their knowledge, skills and abilities at work. It is difficult to give a single definition of mentoring. Basically, mentoring is presented by professional help provided by mentor to client in the process of relationship-oriented and lasting communication. Mentoring is not a short-term process; it is requires working on both professional and personal life in order to achieve any improvement in clients life. Overall, mentoring is a tool used for personal and professional development. Purposes of mentoring 1. To enable work-related development Mentors help people to solve their problems at work and out of the office as well. Being capable to manage their life, people feel empowered to do more than they usually do. As a result, they show greater performance and experience fewer difficulties while copying with new tasks or carrying greater responsibility than they used to have. 2. To provide a role model Mentors use their personal example to show that their interventions work perfectly well for them in their life. For instance, if a friend gives a piece of advice, it does not mean that this friend acts the way she or she advices in real life. Everything is different with mentors because they believe in what they say and act accordingly. Usually, such examples are very inspiring because if someone can handle everything, other people can also life effectively. Key aspects of the mentor/mentee relationship 1. Create Climate of trust Climate of trust is very important for mentor-mentee relationships because only in this way mentors can effectively help their clients to succeed. In order to create relationships of trust, mentors should be understanding and show positive attitude to the mentee. Also, mentors need to share information with their mentees; they need to provide their personal information as well in exchange for their same information about their mentee. 2. Facilitate agreed agenda In order to work effectively together, mentor and mentee need to facilitate agenda and define long-term and short-term goals they need to set during their sessions. This agenda is necessary because it directs work and makes it clear why certain things need to be done. 3. Discuss past and present experience Set goals and solve problems is possible only when people share information about their past and present. Some problems appeared to have place in the past and their consequences can negatively influence mentees life. On the other hand, mentor can understand mentee better if she or she knows the background of this person. Different models of mentoring 1. Traditional “one-to-one” Obviously from the title, traditional one-to-one mentoring is the most frequently met mentoring model. It is realized through one-to-one meeting of mentor with mentee following their common plan in order to set long-term and short-term goals. Relative advantages of one-to-one mentoring are its effectiveness because it is the best way to build strong and long-lasting relationships with mentee. At the same time, partners become more supportive and trustful in these relationships. 2. Peer mentoring Peer mentoring is different from traditional one-to-one mentoring because it has a different realization. A more experienced professional is assigned to help a new or less experienced one. Relationships in such a pair are not equal because a more experienced professional becomes a leader. The first advantage of this mentoring model is that the experienced professional will effectively share professional knowledge and useful personal tips of his to cope with daily problems. At the same time, peer mentoring is great because young professionals bring fresh-air and new ideas to more experienced ones. 3. Group mentoring Group mentoring is a mentoring model where more experienced professional works with a group of new or less experienced ones. Of course, relationships between mentor and mentees in this model are weaker than in two models mentioned previously, but it has its benefits. First of all, group mentoring is cost-effective because it requires less money to hire a mentor to train a group than to assign a mentor to each employee. Second of all, this mentoring model is the best solution when there are many inexperienced professionals with the same responsibilities at work and all of them have a limited amount of time to learn everything. Time-effectiveness and cost-effectiveness make group mentoring quite popular. Mentoring conditions Suitable when: 1. Medium long-term issue: Mentoring addresses not short-term goals; all of them are effectively managed by coaching. Contrary to coaches, mentors develop a long plan how they can improve work performance of each mentee. 2. High flyers and potential: Mentors can identify employees with high potential and help them to realize it at work. Sometimes people need some help to understand that they can work more effectively having the same resources but achieving a greater result. - Not suitable when: 1. If people suffer from serious personal issue, they need to work with a practicing counsellor/psychologist/psychiatrist who will dwell on their personal life. Mentoring is more focused on professional success and mentors are not empowered to pry into mentees life too deep. Benefits of mentoring for the individual: 1. Career development Individuals find out that they can do more and, as a result, they can be promoted further in their career. 2. Chance to discuss issue Many issues are often ignored by employers and employees feel that their opinion is not appreciated. Mentors are careful listeners and they can present objective feedback about any issue that troubles their mentees. 3. Improve ability to reflect, analyse and find solutions Mentors present many interventions to their mentees; they can teach them to manage time, stress or problems in their life with the help of self-reflection. When mentoring plan is completed, people will use these interventions further. Potential benefits of mentoring for the organisation: 1. Employee engagement People are not motivated in their job if their employer believe in them and invests in their professional and personal development. 2. Enhanced image- “employer brand” Mentoring implemented in the organization is a sign of prestige; many people consider it as a positive thing when they make up their opinion about the organization. 3. More competent workforce Mentors positively influence employees improving their knowledge, skills and abilities in different spheres. Factors to be considered when introducing mentoring to the workplace 1. Specific budget for L&D – regular reviews of requirements Organizations usually have established L&D budget, but mentoring is quite expensive and organizations need to have the ability to review their budget if needed. 2. Strong support and involvement from top level management Top level management should totally support the idea of mentoring because they are set objectives for mentors and define what areas of work need to be improved in the organization. The role of the mentor in the mentoring relationship The role of mentor is complex. First of all, mentor guides mentees in their aims, objectives and decisions. Mentors respect their mentees, listen to them carefully and define the best ways to help them in their personal and professional life. Mentors help to set priorities, define goals and achieve them. They become good advisors and friends for their mentees. Conclusion Mentoring is more than training; it is a chance to make people believe in their potential and show how they can achieve everything they want. Even though it requires additional resources, it is worth all expenditures due to great benefits it gives to individual and organizations. High standards of mentoring and its prestige guarantee that mentoring will become more and more popular among organizations all over the world. Read More