Mentoring and Counseling in the Workplace - Essay Example

Please put here Please put your here Please put the of the here 20th July 2008 3 HR factors that can have a negative or positive impact on mentoring and counselling in the workplace Introduction Although mentoring relations can be traced back to Greek mythology (i.e., the relationship between Mentor and Telemachus), organizational mentoring has gained the attention of academicians and practitioners only within the last two decades (Scandura). The majority of the research on mentoring in the workplace has been published in the last 25 years following the seminal works of Levinson, Darrow, Klein, Levinson, and McKee 1978 and Kram. These early studies suggested that mentoring plays a key role in successful Career development (Kram) (Roche). According to Liden, Wayne, and Stilwell (Graen), in-group and out-group membership is determined quite early in supervisor-subordinate relationships whereas mentoring relationships may take longer to develop. Thus, obtaining in-group status may be a prerequisite for subordinates to receive mentoring from their supervisors (McManus). The following are the most important objectives of an effective mentoring or counselling session: To make the individual feel welcome in the organization. It is the responsibility of the mentor or counsellor to reinforce the feelings of the employee. To create a positive perception. The mentor or counsellor should personally get involved. To reinforce the employee's confidence. To put the employee at ease and make him feel comfortable. The most critical cycle for effective counseling is the 4Es cycle - Enter, Empathize, Empower and Exit. At a workplace, if people need to share their problems and if they need to go back with a sense of relief, then the most important requisite for a mentor or counselor is that the mentor or counselor needs to build a trust based relationship quickly that could actually help the aggrieved person. Some of the essential characteristics that a mentor or counselor needs to possess as an individual are strong yet effective communication, make an objective assessment of situations, the ability to call a spade a spade and communicating this reality to the person opposite in a way to empower them in their current situation and give feedback effectively. The following are the most important yet critical values that a mentor or counselor needs: 1. A professional qualification with consistently high academic performance. 2. Have the required soft skills to be an effective counselor providing support services to people. 3. Last but not least, needs to have mastered the 4E counseling cycle. Empathy is one of the soft skills that any person would need to be an effective counselor. Empathy actually means affection clubbed with passion touched by the quality of suffering. This particular characteristic is viewed by many professionals as the most important one in a helping relationship. "Empathy is often viewed as conveying sensitivity to the client and trying to understand what "walking in the other guy's shoes" may feel like. The counselor need not necessarily have undergone the experiences of a person who is actually having a problem in order to understand the former's feelings (Brooks/cole - A division of Thomson learning)." Genuineness is another important aspect that any person who intends to take up a counseling profession needs. Genuineness is the expression of true feelings. "To be a genuine mentor or counselor, one must avoid role playing or feeling one way and acting another. Genuine counselors do not take refuge in any specific role, such as therapist. Genuineness involves self-disclosure. It implies a willingness to be known to others (Brooks/cole - A division of Thomson learning)." Balanced Objectivity or Subjectivity - This refers to private, personal and unique ways of experiencing situations. Both these characteristics have their own disadvantages when not balanced properly at a workplace which actually is a collection of various kinds of individuals. These are actually opposite end of the continuum. If the mentor or counselor is too subjective in his approach towards the employees, then there is a possibility that he becomes too involved emotionally with the employees problem and this may not allow him to help the employees. Now, if the mentor or counselor is too objective in his approach or relationship with the employees, then there is a possibility of the mentor or counselor being viewed by the employees as uncaring and uninterested in the client's well-being. This in turn would lead to a great difficulty in communication and cause resentment on the employee's part. Prior to all the above stated qualities and characteristics; it is all the more important that the mentor or counselor possesses self-awareness which is the first and foremost requirement of this profession. Self-awareness means knowing oneself completely. This quality includes the knowledge of one's individual feelings, values, attitudes and beliefs. In the mentoring or counseling profession, the helper before trying to solve the client's problems, the helper expresses his inner world by making this visible to the employees. The process of mentoring or counseling has an influence on the performance of an employee. It helps an employee to decide what is right and what is wrong and what is not, in the organizational context. An effective counseling helps an employee to perform his tasks more effectively and efficiently. Proper counseling becomes a significant factor in directing the employee's actual performance. When the counseling or mentoring takes place is implemented effectively, it ensures organizational stability. An effective counseling ensures that an employee fits well into the organization. This in turn ensures that the employee turnover rate is reduced and the organization becomes more stable. In a stable organization, organizational traditions and customs are transferred smoothly over generations of employee. Employees remain loyal and committed to the organization as the organization's philosophy and culture remain consistent over a period of time. Employee performance and organizational stability are valued by all managers. This makes the role of counseling or mentoring very crucial in any organization. Mentoring is a partnership based on mutual respect with both parties contributing to the discussion as the mentor and apprentice work together (nclabor.com). The mentor will have more experience, insight or knowledge, but the relationship is one of sharing and teaching. The mentor's role includes: Explaining the expectations of the employer. Explaining the expectations of co-workers. Explaining what the apprentice can expect from the employer. Listening to the concerns of the apprentice. Explaining the working relationship between the trades. Making the apprentice aware of all safety aspects of the job. Actively participating in the apprentice's on-the-job learning. A successful mentor is one who is a caring and committed adult role model in a person's life (National and Community Service). Based on a study of Big Brothers Big Sisters, the following strategies help mentors develop trust and build a sustained and effective mentoring relationship: Be consistent and maintain regular contact. Set realistic goals and expectations. Give your mentee voice and choice in deciding on activities. Be positive. Let your mentee have control over what the two of you talk about -- and how you talk about it. Listen. Respect the trust your mentee places in you. Remember that you are responsible for building the relationship. At work employees can find themselves faced with a person who is in need of support, and it is of great value to have some effective counselling skills. It might be that another employee needs help because they are under stress, bereaved or experiencing personal problems (delves.co.uk). Paternalism is an emerging area in leadership research and refers to managers' personal interest in workers' off-the-job lives and attempts to promote workers' personal welfare (Pasa). In paternalistic cultures, people in authority assume the role of parents and consider it an obligation to provide protection to others under their care. Subordinates, in turn, reciprocate by showing loyalty, deference and compliance (Scandura). In counselling or mentoring, non-verbal messages play as important a role as verbal messages. Hence, non-verbal messages like facial expressions, voice tones, etc, have to be analyzed to find out hidden messages. Non-verbal messages also play an important role in identifying the reliability of the message. Transactional analysis helps to evaluate both the verbal and non-verbal messages. Also, it is always important for a mentor to give positive affirmation to subordinates. Even in a situation where an employee's performance is bad and he/she is being told to improve his/her performance, it can be a positive stroke. This is because the employee is being cared for and not neglected. It could also mean that the mentor believe in the employee's ability to perform better. Effective interpersonal skills are also essential for a person to be an effective mentor or counsellor. Interpersonal skills are the essential skills that are required for interacting and connecting with others. In other words, it is the capability to interpret and manage one's own feelings, actions, and motivations and those of others in social contacts. In the organizational context, interpersonal skills refer to a person's ability to interact effectively with other members of the organization like subordinates, peers, and superiors. For example, a manager would have to interact with employees, who report directly to him/her. In various job situations like providing training, directing, commending a good performance, giving a warning, taking a decision, solving a problem, etc, the manager would require better interpersonal skills. An employee with good interpersonal skills would essentially have the following qualities. Ability to treat everyone in the organization with respect Ability to get along with others Readiness to share knowledge with others Willingness to train others in the organization Good negotiation skills Ability to resolve conflicts in time Readiness to accept feedback Ability to learn from mistakes Readiness to accept responsibility for his/her actions Ability to manage behaviour in personal interactions Ability to align with team goals in shared activities while pursuing own goals Ability to listen to others Ability to influence the behaviour of others positively A team usually contains members who are from diverse backgrounds and who have diverse values. To succeed in team-based organizations, it is important to have good interpersonal skills. Besides, the increasing use of information technology in modern organizations makes the role of interpersonal skills even more important. Various tools are used for communication in modern organizations like e-mail, video conferencing, voice mail, etc. In many of these tools, facial expressions and gestures cannot be used to reinforce the idea expressed though oral communications. This makes it all the more important to acquire interpersonal skills to deal with both personal and virtual interactions. There are a lot of interpersonal competencies that mentors and counsellors need to require. Self awareness is one among them. In normal situations, all the activities of mentors are oriented toward optimum business performance. For this, they have to be aware of their own qualities - their strengths and weaknesses. Some of the weaknesses that managers often exhibit are: the incapacity to understand the viewpoint of others and the inability to motivate the employees. Some of them may find it difficult to take decisions in critical situations. Some managers may try to hide their weaknesses from others, but this may prove detrimental to the interests of the organization. Whatever the weaknesses, having an awareness of them is the first step in overcoming them. Secondly, Motivation encompasses optimism and determination. For any situation, it is possible to take either a pessimistic view or an optimistic view. For counsellors or mentors, as in the case of any person, it is extremely important to always take an optimistic view. The optimism exhibited would trickle down to the subordinates and other employees' and motivates them to better performance. If the mentor or counsellor fails to be optimistic, it adversely affects the employees and ultimately the performance of the organization. Determination is another important aspect of motivation. The mentor or counsellor should exhibit determination and be able to guide the organization toward its goals, whatever be the situation. Mentors should have an understanding of the interest of the employees in all matters relating to the organization. This is because there could be a conflict of interests between the employees and the manager in some cases. To handle such situations effectively, it is essential that the mentor or counsellor understand the viewpoint of the employees. An essential component of interpersonal skills is communication skills. Mentors or counsellors should be able to adapt the way of communicating to suit each situation. For example, the way they communicate with peers will be different from the way they communicate with other people. This is because people other than peers may hesitate to seek clarifications or to dispute any opinion given by the managers. This may lead to miscommunication in certain cases. Finally in conclusion it can be said that, in the first place mentors should be aware of their qualities, strengths and weaknesses. They need to exhibit determination and be able to guide the organization and employees towards its goals, whatever be the situation. They also should have an understanding of the interests of subordinates in all matters relating to the organization. After counselling or mentoring, they should obtain feedback while communicating as a failure to do so could result in misunderstanding and prove costly at a later stage. And last but not least, they should always give positive guidance to employees in the form of recognition or appreciation for their work. Bibliography 1. Brooks/cole - A division of Thomson learning. Human Services in Contemporary america. Thomson Learning, 2004. 2. delves.co.uk. Counseling at Wrok Place. 20 July 2008 . 3. Graen, G. B., Liden, R. C., & Hoel, W. "Role of leadership in the employee withdrawal process." Journal of Applied Psychology, 67 (1982): 868-872. 4. India, The Institute of Chartered Financial Analysts of. Managerial Effectiveness- Managing the self and others. Hyderabad: The ICFAI Center for Management Research ICMR, 2005. 5. Kram, K. E. & Isabella, L A. "Mentoring alternatives: The role of peer relationships in career development." Academy of Management Journal (1985): 110-132. 6. McManus, S. E., & Russell, J. E. "New directions for mentoring research: An examination of related constructs." Journal of Vocational Behavior, 51 (1997): 145-161. 7. National and Community Service. Using ten techniques to sustain a successful mentoring relationship. 20 July 2008 . 8. nclabor.com. "Valuable Tips for Effective Mentoring Techniques." nclabor.com. 20 July 2008 . 9. Pasa, S. F., Kabasakal, H, & Bodur, M. "Society, organizations, and leadership in Turkey." Applied Psychology: An International Review, 50 (2001): 559 - 589. 10. Roche, G. R. "Much ado about mentors." Harvard Business Review (1979): 14-28. 11. Scandura, T. A. & Pellegrini, E. K. "Workplace mentoring: Theoretical approaches and methodological issues." 2007. MA: Blackwell. 20 July 2008 . 12. The ICFAI Center for Management Research (ICMR). Intorduction to Human Resource Management. Hyderabad: The ICFAI Center for Management Research (ICMR), 2004. Read More