Foundations of School Business & Leadership - Mentoring

1. ASBO MD & DC Annual Spring Conference
May 24, 2011
Rick Gay, CPPO, RSBO
Purchasing Manager
Baltimore County Public Schools
ISO 9001/2008 Certified
NIGP Outstanding Agency Accreditation Achievement Award – OA 4
2011 Candidate for 2012 ASBO International Board of Directors

2. A mentor is a person who agrees to help teach and
guide another person. Historically, the relationship
between the mentor and the person seeking a
mentor (sometimes called a “mentoring protégé”)
has been voluntary, informal, and mutually-agreed
upon. A person may seek out a specific mentor; or a
mentor may select a specific protégé—the best
relationships often happen with self-selection
(rather than through a formal assignment).
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3. In a good mentoring relationship, you, as the
senior partner, can be a role model through
both your words and your actions. By who you
are, you provide a personal window for the
protégé on a possible career future. Your ethical,
scientific, and professional behavior all leave a
strong impression on him or her, as does your
attitude toward your work.
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4.  Mentors teach through
 Sharing
 Modeling
 Guiding
 Advising
 Supporting
 Networking
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5.  Mentors share their own experiences—both successes and failures. They teach through
stories and anecdotes, and offer insights that can only come with experience.
 Mentors model professional behavior.
 Mentors guide people through the learning landscape of their particular library; they
teach people things that cannot be taught in school.
 Mentors advise people on complex situations that may not have a single right answer or
approach. They offer observations and explanations that help people learn.
 Mentors support people and offer reassurance when learning becomes difficult or
overwhelming.
 Mentors network with other library staff and professionals for their own professional
growth and development, and provide people with the opportunity to do likewise.
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6.  You TEACH workplace skills to help your protégé develop
technically.
 You COACH through comments, support, encouragement and
even criticism about attitude, abilities, work habits, talent and
behavior.
 You COUNSEL by helping your protégé evaluate career
options, develop skill building strategies, improve
professionally, and identify interests and values.
 You CHAMPION your protégé by becoming an
advocate, showcasing your protégé's talents and securing
resources to advance your protégé professionally.
 Effective mentoring means throwing out the "life line" of support
that affirms your protégé's status of belonging and potential for
success.
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7.  Create a "gift culture." In other words, encourage anyone and everyone to give
freely of their time and insight to help colleagues. Make this common practice
throughout the organization. No one should require a formally assigned
relationship to ask a colleague for input or assistance.
 Start with specific work needs—a project or business goal that one person
has and to which the second person can contribute. This gets the initial
relationship going in a comfortable, useful way. Later, if the chemistry between
the two is strong, the relationship may evolve into a broader discussion of
career goals and personal aspirations, but that's a hard place for most people to
jump in cold.
 Put the onus on the mentee. Allow the mentee to seek out the mentor(s) if
and when desired. By far, the most effective approach is to give the mentee the
names of 2 or 3 people, and encourage him or her to reach out if and when
input is needed—to one or to all.
 Make it two-way. In other words, encourage older employees to seek out
younger employees, again with specific questions or for advice in areas of the
younger employee's expertise.
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8. The characteristics of a good mentor may include:
 A desire to help
 Broad-based and up-to-date knowledge and technical
skills
 Life-long learner with aptitude for teaching
 Strong people and communication skills
 High energy levels (and not the first person out the door
at closing)
 Positive outlook and sense of humor
 Good manager of time and resources
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9. All mentors and mentees develop certain mentoring skills in order
to implement strong mentoring relationships:
 Core Mentoring Skills (needed by mentors and mentees):
listening actively, identifying goals and current reality, building
trust, and encouraging.
 Mentor-Specific Skills (needed by mentors): inspiring, providing
corrective feedback, managing risks/protecting, opening doors, and
instructing/developing capabilities in mentees.
 Mentee-Specific Skills (need by mentees): acquiring
mentors, learning quickly, showing initiative, following
through, and managing the relationship. We believe that adults and
youth can learn and use these skills with mentors.
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10.  The mentor is the foundation upon which an effective
mentoring alliance is built. Your major role as a mentor is
to assist your protégé in acquiring those skills and
competencies necessary to succeed. Specifically, you
should:
 Assist in the professional growth and development of your
protégé
 Accept your protégé as a legitimate co-worker who has
potential for high performance
 Legitimize your protégé with the organization and with
other colleagues
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11.  Communicate with your protégé in an open and honest
manner
 Give sound, constructive and critical reviews of your
protégé's progress toward established goals, free of
judgmental bias
 Serve as a resource to your protégé in handling problems
that may arise
 Be an advocate for your protégé by acting as sponsor
 Introduce your protégé to professional/career
opportunities and advancement .
A word of caution: There is a fine line between
SUPPORTING and PUSHING. As a mentor you are an
enabler, not an assuror of success.
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12. As Mentors and Coaches in Professional Development;
 We need to recognize and build on their experiences
 We need to provide encouragement and recognition of
effort
 We need to provide job-embedded experiences
 We need to be sure that they have an ample opportunity
to study others who are leading in various roles, serve as
positive role models of leadership ourselves
 We need to provide them appropriate feedback and
foster reflective conversations
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13.  What role does your organization expect you to play as
a mentor?
 What role do you expect to play as a mentor?
 What role do you think your protégé will expect you to
play as a mentor?
 What are some possible role conflicts and what do you
think might be done to resolve these conflicts?
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14.  A mentor should feel like an advisor, someone on your side;
loyal, interested, trusted and most importantly, experienced in areas
that you may not be.
Mentoring can be done by someone senior to you or on an equal
footing, but who helps steer your career through both the good and the
difficult times.
A mentor can almost be seen as a wise, experienced friend or favorite
aunt or uncle type person.
A mentor leads by example and is a role model.
Mentoring helps you see the big picture and understand the politics of
the organization you work for.
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15. There are a few important things that will help you make
The most of your mentor.
 Meet with your mentor on a regular basis
 Set clear objectives
 Rely on your mentor for guidance, not answers
 Be honest
 A mentor isn't a dumping ground
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16.  The Career Assessment & Objectives Questionnaire should
be completed by the Protégé prior to the first meeting and
discussed with the Mentor in order to determine an Action
Plan. Protégés should be honest and realistic about their
needs and objectives, and Mentors will need to recognize
what they can deliver before committing to a particular
outcome. ACP recommends the remainder of the initial
quarter be spent building a relationship between the
Mentor and Protégé in which both parties get to know each
other beyond their professional experiences and career
goals. The best mentoring relationships are built around
trust, mutual respect, and open communication.
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17.  Establish a Top-10 list of realistic and achievable goals to be met over the course of the
mentorship
 Devise a complete yearlong Action Plan with strategies for meeting each benchmark
 Discuss current events, news, politics or other areas of mutual interest
 Go over the intangibles of professional success, such as attire, grooming, organizing your
desk/office, and managing your free time
 Talk about mentors or role models each of you has had in the past and how they
impacted your life or career
 Describe the most challenging moment in your career and how you dealt with it, or
discuss “Things I learned on my own that I wish someone had told me”
 Sign up for a class or workshop together at a local college or library
 Set up “Shadow Days” to allow the Protégé to observe the Mentor at work
 Read a book, periodical, magazine, or journal or watch a movie together and discuss
 The Protégé can discuss his or her experience in the service to help the Mentor gain
general knowledge about the military
 Try doing a new sport or activity together, or attend a sporting event together
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18.  Mentor or Coach
 Job-embedded experiences (Chairing Committee, leading professional
development, developing a budget, leading a staff meeting, observing
supervisor)
 Goal Setting through the appraisal process
 Professional Development (course work, workshops)
 Participation in a cross-department or office work group
 Joint project or event
 Job shadowing
 InternshipLeadership Discussion Group
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19.  One of the critical roles of the mentor in the
initial stages of your relationship with your
protégé is profiling – getting to know him or her.
 During this process, your job will be to skillfully
ask your protégé a series of questions designed to
ascertain their current level of functioning and
relevant background history.
 When profiling is conducted correctly, the
knowledge received from the activity can serve as
the foundation for building a solid mentoring
relationship.
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20.  Academic Background
 What types of academic subject matter has the
protégé been exposed to?
 Where was the protégé educated?
 What content areas does the protégé desire to learn
more about?
 What are the protégé's academic strengths? Areas of
weakness?
 Life Experiences
 Has the protégé had other work experiences?
 What life experience has the protégé had that makes
him/her unique?
 What mechanisms does the protégé use to cope with
stressful situations?
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21.  Cultural Background
 What stance does the protégé take on issues of assimilation?
 What cultural values does the protégé hold that are different/similar to yours?
 How does the protégé interact with those of different cultural backgrounds?
 Has the protégé had to deal with discrimination? How did he/she handle the
situation?
 Workplace Knowledge
 Does the protégé understand the organizational climate of the organization?
 What is the protégé's work/leadership style?
 What other types of work experiences has the protégé had?
 Value System
 What is the protégé's work ethic?
 How effective are the protégé's time management skills?
 What place does corporate integrity hold in the protégé's value system?
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22.  Effective mentoring requires time and effort on the
part of the mentor. You will get the most benefit out of
a mentoring relationship when you are proactive and
responsible. You can help your mentor out by:
 Communicating regularly and efficiently
 Being helpful and supportive in return
 Keeping trust levels high through confidentiality
 Holding yourself to professional standards
 Staying positive
 Addressing problems as they arise
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23. Determine how a mentor could best help you,
and what you wish to learn. Set specific learning
goals, whether they are tactical (learning how a
particular job is done) or strategic (learning
what and why something is done). Also set a
specific time period to achieve your goals.
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24. Effective mentoring requires that everyone
involved be committed to learning. Once you
have determined your goals, you must also:
 Accept responsibility for your learning
 Be open to new ideas and ways of learning
 Communicate effectively
 Accept feedback and act on it
 Cooperate
 Be able to ask for help when you need it
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25. How to think strategically:
 Consider the big picture
 Recognize patterns and trends
 Honor priorities
 Anticipate issues
 Predict outcomes
 Have smart alternatives to fall back upon
 Deal with issues
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26.  Knowing the hands-on skills necessary.
 Making sure strategic goals are met.
 Performing each task with quality and efficiency.
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27.  Interview your mentor about strategic versus tactical
approaches to your job.
 Ask your mentor to help you develop strategic approaches
to your job or learning activities.
 Ask your mentor to be frank about your strengths and
weaknesses.
 Do a self analysis using past projects or learning activities.
 Research the literature and report to your mentor.
 Shadow someone with a reputation for being strategic and
learn from them.
 Network with your manager and your peers.
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28. In many cases the Protégé will benefit from being
introduced to others within the Mentor’s
corporation, whether it be to learn about different
lines of work, or to meet others who may be
considered role models and offer alternative
perspectives in line with the Protégé’s objectives. Ideally,
the Protégé will be introduced to three other
professionals from the Mentor’s corporation during the
quarter so that three “significant discussions” of one hour
or longer may be achieved during this time period.
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29.  I have worked with many people in various
employment situations and environments and have
often felt the pride of watching someone else grow in
their confidence and job skills.
 I have often felt the satisfaction of helping and guiding
them.
 Serving as a mentor doesn't show up in many job
descriptions, but it should.
 Mentoring others to learn and grow in their careers is
one of the most rewarding aspects of professional
life, and one that often goes unheralded.
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30.  We should each take the time to guide someone in
their career development, to be a no nonsense
sounding board and answer-guy, to encourage them to
reach new heights.
 When you invest in someone else's success, it becomes
your own success, too.
 And there are abundant rewards to be gained watching
someone succeed after you have "invested" in them
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