Mentoring your team
Mentoring is hands-on instruction and training by example. It involves providing examples to the person you are mentoring and working alongside them to improve their average performance.
Adults remember 10% of what they hear; 60% of what they see and 90% of what they do, so there is more benefit to working with a team member rather than just telling them what to do.
There are three stages of the mentoring process:
- Observing – this stage is when the team member should watch what you do and you check understanding by asking questions
- Participating –share the responsibility of the task by explaining, allocating and checking understanding
- Conducting –allowing the team member to complete the task on their own.
As a mentor you are responsible for advising your team on how to do things better, for sharing information, active listening and questioning to facilitate individual and team development.
Mentors help others to develop their skills and knowledge, to achieve goals, offering support and guidance along the way.
The First Mentor
"In the Odyssey, Homer tells us about Oldysseus, who was leaving for the siege of Troy in 1194 bc. He wanted to make sure his son, Telemachus, would be well looked after, so he asked a friend to care for the boy, to teach him, advise him and be his friend. The name of Telemachus’s guide was Mentor.”
Source: Kris Cole, Management Theory and Practice, 3rd Edition
Mentoring takes many forms and though informal mentoring often occurs naturally and spontaneously, more structured approaches are emerging. Ways of mentoring include:
- Informal – conversations that happen by chance or by arrangement
- Formal – relationships in a structured program
- Peer mentoring - two colleagues mentor each other
- Reverse-mentoring - executives mentored by non-executives
- Cascading mentoring – each level of an organization mentor those below
- Group mentoring - one mentor meets with several mentorees
- Mentoring round-tables - peers interact in a group mentoring conversation
- Mentoring circles - facilitated group, each person mentors one person and is mentored by another
- Mastermind mentoring and business coaching - experts coach a novices
Mentoring programs exist within organisations, in professions and industries, and as community initiatives.
Mentoring programs are designed to achieve:
- Strategic objectives for companies or government agencies;
- The career aspirations or professional development of individuals; or
- Support young or disadvantaged people.
In every case, the purpose of the mentoring program is to produce positive outcomes for the people involved.
Mentoring Scenario
" Eliza was working long hours in her role as Event Coordinator for one of Sydney’s five-star hotels. She had been in the same role for two years and was ready to take on more challenges and a well-deserved pay rise! After missing out on a promotion, Eliza was questioning whether she was ever going to get her dream job of Event Managing the ARIAs. Eliza posted her disappointment on her Facebook page and an old school friend who now works for Staging Connections in Dubai wrote on her wall:
“Don’t give up babe –get a mentor! Seriously, that’s what I did”
Eliza wasn’t even sure what a mentor was, but after speaking with a few people in the office, she decided that that’s exactly what she needed. Eliza wasn’t sure about committing to a formal mentoring program so instead went and saw her HR department to see if they had any suggestions. This was the first step…
Meeting Monica Shepherd for the first time was nerve-racking for Eliza as Monica always seemed like she was walking the halls of the hotel with a purpose. She was mid-thirties with impeccable grooming and seemed to have the ideal life. Monica was the Director of Rooms and had worked her way up from working on reception. Monica’s office was small and cluttered, just like all of the other offices in the hotel, hidden far away from the guests upstairs.
Monica made Eliza feel at ease the moment she spoke about her slow rise through the ranks of the hotel world and shared a few of the crossroads along the way. Eliza decided that Monica was the perfect mentor for her and after their second meeting; Eliza had created a three year plan with the encouragement of her new confidante.
Eliza discovered that networking was a very important tool and Monica suggested that she spend her first year creating a solid database of industry colleagues. Attending networking events and building relationships with key event organisations was an important part the plan.
After six meetings with Monica, Eliza was well on her way to landing the job of her dreams –and understood that it was going to take a lot of hard work and dedication, a few heart-stopping changes and a lot of fun along the way."
Our Industry understands the importance of mentoring, especially in a time of skills-shortage. Take a look at the Meeting & Events Australia/Business Events Australia Mentoring Program.
To do
Describe a mentor that you may have had during your work or life experiences.
- What were the attributes of that person?
- How did they mentor you?
- What were the outcomes?
- As a mentor, what did they do well, and what could they have done better?
- Now that you know about the role of a mentor, how would you mentor a team?
Add your thoughts to your wiki.
Your tools
When looking for a mentor, find someone who:
- Is well respected
- Has the life, work experience and skills necessary to help you deal with issues of concern to you
- Is good listener – you don’t want them to solve problems for you but help you uncover your own solutions
- Is candid, so you’ll get both the positive and constructive feedback you need
- Will keep your conversations confidential
Source: Kris Col, Management theory and practice, 3rd Edition.