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There are four recognised steps that make up a mentoring program:
Prior to the formal start of the mentoring program, mentors and mentees are recruited, ‘matched’ together, and then brought together for an initial meeting (with a facilitator) to discuss and identify program objectives (based upon each other’s needs and expectations) and also to draw up a development plan and a formal agreement between the mentor and mentee.
Training may need to be incorporated into the early stages of the mentoring program if further clarification of each participant’s responsibilities and roles is required, or if the mentee needs to be conversant with particular material to be included.
Monitoring the progress of the mentee is an essential component to ensuring success. Being able to identify characteristics of a successful mentee-mentor relationship as well as characteristics of a potentially unsuccessful relationship are important aspects of program monitoring
- Program Evaluation and Relationship Dissolution:
There are two recognised types of evaluation:
- formative (ongoing) evaluation and
- summative (final) evaluation.
Relationship dissolution may occur at any stage, by either the mentor or mentee. Regardless of circumstances, the main objective is to achieve a respectful termination of the mentoring relationship with mutual respect between the mentor and mentee.
As the success of any mentoring relationship is largely reliant on the skills and attributes of the mentor, a thorough selection process must be undertaken to ensure the best chance of securing appropriate and motivated mentors and mentees.
The local state department of sport and recreation, non-government women’s groups and sport and recreation groups (such as AWRA or like-minded State organisations) are resources that individuals can use to help find a mentor or mentee. Such organisations can then put the individual in contact with a facilitator whose role would be to assist in assessing the individual’s experience as a potential mentor, and/or their needs and expectations as a potential mentee, in order to find an appropriate mentoring match.
By obtaining support from management to initiate a mentoring program, organisations can use forums such as meetings and/or workshops to educate employees/members/volunteers about the concept of mentoring, how a mentoring program would be managed and outline the benefits for all those involved. Like the above-mentioned independent mentoring process, participants would then be requested to express their interest in either mentor or mentee roles, again listing their respective experience or needs, details of which would then be compiled into a database. A facilitator can also be of use in an organisation setting if there were a large number of prospective participants. The facilitator may be useful to address specific issues and needs of the organisation (e.g. program objectives, level of support, participant training, evaluation process etc.) prior to the finalisation of the program details.
Please refer to the end of this Web Learning Module for examples of mentee and mentor application forms.
Mentor and mentee application forms can be an advantageous tool in order to identify potentially compatible mentoring relationships based on the needs of the mentee and the expertise of the mentor. Matching criteria may include:
- Personality type
- Background and experience
- Age/culture/gender
- Learning and communications style
- No line-management relationship between mentor and mentee (i.e. mentor is not a direct manager of the mentee or chair of the same committee on which the mentee sits).
Both the mentor and mentee’s issues regarding gender and sexuality may need to be addressed during the matching process. Whilst some people may consider themselves to be ‘gender neutral’ regarding a match, others may prefer a same-gender mentoring relationship, or alternatively a cross-gender mentoring relationship.
- Same-Gender Mentoring Relationships:
In a same-gender style of mentoring relationship, a female mentee may feel that they might better relate to female mentors who are older than they are. This would perhaps create the opportunity for the female mentee to not only learn from the mentor’s extensive career experience and industry insight, but also experience the value of a role model and empathy shown from a mentor of the same gender.
- Cross-Gender Mentoring Relationships:
A cross-gender style of mentoring relationship may be requested in situations where a male mentee might request a female mentor in order to gain greater experience and confidence when working with more senior executive women. Similarly, some female mentees who work in a predominantly male-dominated industry, like the sports industry, may request a male mentor for the same reasons.
While there is no right or wrong relationship set-up, as long as professionalism and discretion is maintained at all times, the success of a mentoring match will ultimately come down to the personalities and objectives of each individual mentoring pair.
In the sport and recreation industry though, it is important to recognise the shortage of women in executive roles, and the relative under-representation on boards and committees. In this industry, it is critical to encourage women to become mentees to achieve greater diversity of thinking and opinion, and representation aligned to their proportion of the participation numbers.
Following the allocation of a mentor/mentee match, in both Independent Mentoring and Organisation Mentoring situations, an initial meeting between both parties provides the opportunity to share personal background information and develop rapport between mentor and mentee.
The identification of clear objectives at the onset of the mentoring relationship is essential. These objectives provide guidance, not only during the relationship (in order to maintain focus and direction), but also in the evaluation process. Clearly enunciated objectives can be used to gauge the success of the program.
By reviewing mentee goals/expectations, the subsequent expectations of each party (including the facilitator) can then be reconfirmed, and from such discussions, a formal agreement can then be developed.
A formal agreement can prevent issues being overlooked and should clearly identify the parameters for both the mentor and mentee. Such an agreement may also outline the structural aspects of the mentoring relationship, such as the frequency of mentoring meetings and the proposed length of the overall relationship (normally vary from 6 months to up to 2 years). Finally, this agreement may also outline proposed learning options (i.e. formal processes such as workshops or informal processes such as observation) that will be implemented in order to address the mentee’s goals.
Please refer to the end of this Web Learning Module for an example of a personal development plan form.
Following the identification of goals and the development of the respective objectives, training may need to be incorporated into the mentoring program if further clarification or enhancement of each participant’s responsibilities and roles is required. Training can be organised as separate and/or combined sessions for mentors and mentees. In both Independent Mentoring and Organisation Mentoring relationships, the facilitator should be able to assist in arranging any required training e.g. through a TAFE college or other private sector training providers.
Mentor training normally addresses two areas; issues relating to conducting the mentoring sessions (i.e. interpersonal communication skills such as building rapport, active listening, reading body language, asking appropriate questions), and other issues relating to the actual knowledge and skill levels that are expected from the mentor in the particular program.
Sometimes training may be required to ensure the mentee has adequate background knowledge to participate at an appropriate level in the program. Other times it may focus more on generic information with regards to mentoring, namely information about the possible benefits for participation and more importantly education about being an effective mentee (i.e. what is expected of them).
The success of any mentoring relationship depends largely upon three key elements; (1) the mentee’s potential, (2) the knowledge and experience the mentor imparts, and (3) the enthusiasm of the mentee to respond to the mentor’s assistance. The actual development of the mentee should be the longest phase of the mentoring relationship, thus monitoring such progress is an essential component to ensure the desired result(s).
A successful mentoring relationship is most evident in the enthusiasm and satisfaction levels of the mentor and mentee; the quality of the interpersonal bonding and mutual respect between participants; and finally by increases in the mentee’s display of self awareness and self confidence.
On the other hand, any problems in the mentoring relationship need to be identified and resolved. Motivation can progressively decrease from either or both the mentor or mentee if the mentoring meetings are not rewarding. There are numerous issues that can result in a weak mentoring relationship:
- The mentee has failed to clearly articulate their needs and expectations;
- The mentor has little self-awareness (i.e. has dominated the mentee, or has lectured/transferred their own issues/opinions to the mentee’s situation);
- The mentor has failed to provide honest and continuous feedback;
- Either the mentee and/or mentor has failed to change or accept change;
- Time management issues (e.g. broken appointments, or participants becoming overwhelmed with the amount of time and effort required); and/or
- Breaches of confidentiality have occurred.
Ultimately, for any mentoring relationship to have a chance at being successful, both the mentor and mentee must be respectful of each other’s’ time and other responsibilities, and must ensure that they do not impose on each other beyond what is fair and reasonable.
The fundamental objective of any type of evaluation on a mentoring relationship is to determine the extent to which it has been effective, for both the mentee and the mentor. Therefore, as mentioned in the set-up of the mentoring program, the evaluation should be based on the initial mentoring relationship objectives. Where appropriate, both quantitative measures (e.g. specific tests to assess particular attributes and skills) and qualitative measures (e.g. interviews and discussions) should be included in the evaluation techniques employed. Evaluations can be examined and measured in differing ways:
(1) Mentee and mentor reactions to the relationship;
(2) Learning achieved by the mentee and/or the mentor;
(3) Significant mentee behavioural changes; and
(4) Organisational benefits.
Two general types of evaluations are utilised when evaluating a mentoring program - formative (or ongoing) evaluation and summative (or final) evaluation. These two types of evaluations are distinguished by the timing of when they are applied.
Acts as quality assurance for the program, and is concerned with the evaluation at particular points in time. The assigned facilitator can continually monitor any minor adjustments to goals and expectations at regular intervals (i.e. starting from only one month into the relationship).
- Summative (final) Evaluation:
A summative evaluation is an assessment of the completed mentoring relationship and mentee and mentor performance. This type of evaluation is more extensive than formative evaluation and will determine whether a mentoring program achieved its initial objectives. Some measures might include intensive interviews, questionnaires and even cost/benefit analyses. Following on from the evaluations, both the mentee and mentor are normally requested to submit a brief report on the overall outcomes of the program and can also provide information regarding any possible amendments to the program. This type of evaluation can help determine whether either the mentee or mentor would like to continue on and establish new relationships.
When a relationship has successfully satisfied the participant’s needs, both the mentee and mentor must share the responsibility for a respectful termination of the relationship (i.e. must avoid dependency on the other party). Finally, it is also important to be aware that either the mentor or mentee may dissolve the mentoring relationship at any stage prior to the scheduled finish date, however if this occurs, the main objective is for both parties to move out of the relationship with mutual respect and without recrimination.
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