Why and how to get mentored
Ajay Mohan [email protected]
Who is a Mentor?
• Someone who will encourage and support you to make the most of yourself and your business.
• An invaluable guide◦ Identify the support you need◦ Consider your options◦ Provide new information◦ Help you brainstorm◦ Help make informed choices
• Mentor is a trusted confidante
What is enterprise mentoring?
• A one-to-one relationship over a set period of time /duration
• Mentor provides consistent support and guidance & practical help
• Voluntary relationship, which mentor or mentee can terminate any time.
• A two-way process: ◦ Mentor shares personal skills, knowledge and experience with mentee.◦ Enable mentee to explore personal and professional situation◦ Mentor & mentee work together o achieve pre-determined goals and objectives.
• Enable mentee:◦ To gain the skills, knowledge and confidence◦ To perform at a higher level◦ Give them access to impartial, non-judgmental guidance and support.
What is enterprise mentoring not?
• The mentor’s role is not to:◦ Give you advice◦ Provide a counselling service◦ Provide a training service◦ Provide a coaching service◦ Provide therapeutic interventions◦ Sort out all your problems◦ Run your business
What would a mentor do?
• You should expect your mentor to:◦ Provide an outside perspective on you and your business◦ Listen, in confidence, to the things that are worrying you about your business◦ Help you by sharing their own experience of failures and successes◦ Give you friendly, unbiased support and guidance◦ Be a sounding board for your ideas.◦ Facilitate your decision-making by suggesting alternatives based om personal experience◦ Provide ongoing support and encouragement
What would a mentor do?
• Your mentor is there to:◦ Guide you to look at a wide variety of options◦ To solve problems for yourself◦ Rather than to give answers or provide solutions◦ Help you gain new personal skills, experiences and knowledge◦ Help you to develop new attitudes and behaviour, and therefore improve both your personal and your
business performance.
Mentors ‘pull’ – they don’t push
Different types of mentoring relationships
• Face-to-face, one-on-one mentoring is the most common sort of mentoring
• Face-to-face group mentoring (or peer mentoring) is where a small group of business owners come together to discuss their opportunities
• Telephone mentoring is usually part of a blended mentoring approach, used along with face-to-face mentoring.
• E-mentoring (for eg. using skype) can be part of a blended mentoring approach or used on its own.
The key skills of a mentee
• To need to use the following skills to get the best out of mentoring process:
◦ Listening in order to understand◦ Questioning to clarify and make sure you have
understood correctly◦ Questioning to explore additional options and
consequences◦ Being prepared to act on what has been agreed
with your mentor.
Establish a successful relationship with your mentor• Once you have been matched with your mentor through your mentoring organisation, you
should:◦ Prepare a timetable of regularly spaced meetings.◦ Establish a set of ground rules to which you will both abide◦ Keep notes of your meetings, and use these as the basis for ongoing discussions◦ Work towards developing a trusting relationship and establish a good rapport with your mentor◦ Aim at maintaining the relationship for as lon as is appropriate to your needs.
• Effective mentoring meetings provide a sense of purpose and achievement.
What is the first meeting for?
• Establish ground rules and acknowledge that the relationship is two-way.
• Agree about what you hope to achieve.
• Share your expectations with each other.
• Cover your goals and ambitions:◦ Specific issues you face◦ Achievements so far◦ Realistic expectations◦ Scale of priorities◦ Areas in which you would find inputs most
useful
• You should also cover a few basic essentials:◦ When you would like to meet – how often and for
how long◦ Venue for follow-up meetings◦ How you will keep in touch (email or phone)◦ Confidentiality◦ Responsibility◦ How will you record progress and issues / targets
Barriers to an effective mentor / mentee relationship• Most barriers to effective mentoring occur due to:
◦ Personality issues◦ Lack of awareness of the role of the mentor.
• Common barriers include:◦ Poor mentor / mentee matching◦ Lack of support from the mentoring organization◦ Mentor or mentee dissatisfaction about the way the mentoring is conducted◦ Unrealistic expectations about what mentoring can achieve
• Seek help from your mentoring organization to overcome any barriers you may encounter
Confidentiality
• Respect each other’s confidentiality◦ What you discuss with the mentor, should not be spoken with anyone else
• Five things to think about are:◦ Concerns: If you have got any, talk to your mentoring organization and seek help◦ Secrets: Agree on what things you will keep confidential / secret between yourself.◦ Information: Keep information about your mentor (Phone no, email, skype id).◦ You: Be aware of those personal areas of your life you’re happy to share with your mentor and those
you are not.
Goal setting and action planning
• Start by setting goals and making ac action plan. This will keep you on track and help you to:
◦ Identify when you need support◦ Set goals you can work towards.◦ Find out how you are doing◦ Keep an eye on your goals◦ Pat each other on the back for your successes
Ending the mentoring relationship
• There will come a time when the mentoring relationship will begin to draw to an end:◦ At this point you must both ”let go” so that you can maintain your independence
• Some tips to help you end your mentoring relationship successfully◦ Fix a date for your final meeting◦ Find other ways to support yourself◦ Celebrate your success◦ Say good-bye
Some Additional resources:
• How mentoring Helped me?◦ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yFkYNzY-JA0◦ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xmrS7YGloUw◦ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_jyr_euyMaQ
• Mentoring Session◦ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UCTr8R7CCXQ
• Mentors - The Entrepreneur's Unfair Advantage | Russell Buckley◦ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tl0F1cuTFjQ
• What is mentoring◦ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8u9LzDbCdOw
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