I was facilitating a mentoring workshop earlier this week with a great group of learning designers and one of the key topics I always include is the core attributes of an effective mentor and an Read more…
The optimum outcome of matching a mentor with a mentee is immediate synergy between the two partners. There are several factors that can influence this: The process used to match the mentor with the mentee Read more…
I read this statement in a newspaper article today – “Words Matter” – and it resonated with me in my belief that the language we use has incredible power to influence the quality of our Read more…
A Mentoring 360 series following the progress of implementing a mentoring programme for women in Papua New Guinea I thought it would be interesting (and helpful) to share the journey I am on with establishing Read more…
Your mentoring programme is as good as the framework you develop right from the beginning. A robust programme framework helps participants (your mentors and mentees) know how to engage in mentoring, what to expect from Read more…
There is a lot of talk at the moment (and for some time to come I am sure) about the dramatic shift to online communicating, connecting and learning. These activities are not new but they Read more…
I’ve just finished reading an article about a research project that investigated whether mentors learn by mentoring others. My first question to self was, “What did the authors mean by the mentors’ ‘learning’?” And what Read more…
4 Habits of Highly Effective Communicators I recently facilitated a webinar for the Australian Institute of Training and Development (AITD) entitled ‘Developing Quality Workplace Relationships through Skilful Communication’. A key feature of the webinar was Read more…
Mentors support others but who supports the mentors? A CoLG is a brilliant and (cost) effective way to provide support for your mentors. Whatever number of group members, a CoLG is a place where mentors Read more…
Strategic alignment (how does mentoring contribute to the strategic direction and goals of your organisation?) Sponsorship from senior levels (advocates for your programme) Criteria for quality professional practice (what is the level of quality practice Read more…
I am currently working on the last chapter of my book on mentoring programme design (yes, I know I said it would be available earlier this year but it’s not far away now – watch Read more…
During a recent needs analysis meeting with a client, we spent some time determining the purpose of mentoring in their organisation. This is one of the first questions in the needs analysis process and a Read more…
Prompted by one of my FaceBook Community and LinkedIn colleagues – thanks Matthew Percival – I started doing some reading about tacit knowledge, in particular how common it is to lose this wealth of knowledge Read more…
Recently I had an article published in the Women’s Network Australia (WNA) magazine where I talked about the benefits of having a mentor as you progress through your career. Whether you are in an early Read more…
This is a piece taken from Chapter 4 of my book Mentoring 360: A very practical guide to designing and implementing your mentoring programme and getting it right the first time which talks about the importance Read more…
A survey undertaken with 500 organisations by the American Productivity and Quality Centre (APQC) on workplace mentoring practices found that 89% said they use mentoring and apprenticeship to help employees develop their skills and competencies. Read more…
Who Mentors the Mentor? Here is an excerpt from my upcoming book ‘Designing your mentoring programme: Getting it right the first time’ to be published in early 2019, about the support your mentors need………. A Read more…
Or in this context, how to help your mentee manage change occurring in their professional and/or personal life. Although change is a constant, some people don’t have the resilience to cope with it and end Read more…
Including mentoring training for your mentors and mentees is, in my opinion and experience, an essential component of your mentoring programme. I have talked about the hows and whys of mentoring training in a previous Read more…
Peer Mentoring and Communities of Practice I have added this article as a supplement to the CoP article above, as I have found that mentors and mentees who engage in CoPs really benefit from continuing Read more…
A Community of Practice (CoP) for Mentors and Mentees What is a CoP? A Community of Practice – CoP for short – is a group of people who share a common interest in a topic Read more…
Increasing Employee Engagement If you search the internet for how to measure employee engagement, there are multiple sites suggesting multiple tools, including the need to define what you mean by ‘employee engagement’. That last part Read more…
Building Resilience Through Mentoring We live in a world of change, with different challenges presenting themselves at times, both in our professional and personal lives. Changes and challenges can be stressful, requiring us to review Read more…
SheEO I recently became involved with SheEO, a leading global innovation in the female entrepreneur marketplace. The SheEO model finances, supports and celebrates female entrepreneurs and brings together 500 women called Activators who contribute $1100 Read more…
TRUST: The Cornerstone of a Mentoring Relationship Stephen Covey talks about high and low trust in his article on leadership, and how the best leaders build trust. Here’s what he has to say…….. “When trust Read more…
Snapshot of a Mentoring Meeting If you are new to mentoring, it can be a bit daunting to know how to get started. How will you use the mentoring meetings so that both of you achieve Read more…
How to Start, Continue and Finish the Mentoring Conversation (the SCF Model™) Here are some suggested phrases that you may find helpful when you are starting the conversation in your mentoring meetings, when you want Read more…
What Questions Do I Ask? Effective questioning requires the ability to listen. Using questions to assist with listening and understanding is an essential skill for the mentor and the mentee. For example, the mentor uses Read more…
Am I Really Listening? Steven Covey in his book 7 Habits of Highly Effective People (first published in 1988) says that a lot of people listen with the intent to reply and not to understand, Read more…
The STOP-START-CONTINUE-CHANGE Model Informed strategic decision-making offers a way of being proactively prepared to meet the challenges of change in your environment. The STOP-START-CONTINUE-CHANGE is a business management model that can be used as an Read more…
The Benefits of Mentoring The benefits of mentoring are multiple, for the mentor, the mentee and the organisation as a whole. As part of your programme design process it is really helpful to consider the Read more…
Securing Sponsorship for your Mentoring & Coaching Programme Whether you are implementing a new programme or re-invigorating your existing programme, you need sponsorship from the senior management level. Without this support and advocacy of mentoring Read more…
Designing a mentoring & coaching programme? Where to start? I was talking about this topic with a customer just yesterday, as they were asking me about the content I covered in my mentoring training workshops. As Read more…
The Right Mentor for the Job Or: How to get your mentor selection spot on so that you get the right people for this role and ensure the success of your mentoring programme. Selecting the Read more…
Why Train Mentors and Mentees? There are two key points to make here.…… The first point – training is as valuable and essential for mentees as it is for mentors, if you want both parties Read more…
The Mentor Attributes Profile Carrying on from the article ‘The Right Mentor for the Job’, how do you decide on the core (critical, must-have, required) attributes of your mentors? In her article on values in Read more…
Measuring Mentoring Return-on-Investment (ROI) Well-constructed mentoring and coaching programmes that are sponsored by senior management pay for themselves by increasing the likelihood of people staying with the organisation. But how do you know if your Read more…
Creating Sustainable Mentoring and Coaching Programmes So you have mentoring and coaching activities occurring in your organisation, and people certainly realise the benefits of these. Common challenges many organisations face however is how to maintain Read more…