Building High-Impact Mentoring

Programs: Ensuring that Mentoring is Not Simply a Series of

Polite but Ineffective Conversations

Helene Lollis, President

Pam Tipton, Executive Director of Consulting

Pathbuilders, Inc.

Today’s Agenda

• Mentoring Defined

• Mentoring in the Workplace

• Barriers and Challenges

• Four Key Elements of Success

• Common vs High-Impact Elements

• High-Impact Programs

Mentoring Process Defined

"Mentoring is a process for the informal transmission of

knowledge, social capital, and the psychosocial support perceived

by the recipient as relevant to work, career, or professional

development; mentoring entails informal communication, usually

face-to-face and during a sustained period of time, between a

person who is perceived to have greater relevant knowledge,

wisdom, or experience (the mentor) and a person who is perceived

to have less (the protégé.)"

(Bozeman, Feeney, 2007)

‘Mentor’ – Definitions & History

• Webster‟s – “A trusted counselor or guide”

• Greek Mythology –

Goddess Athena – an advisor

Took the form of a mortal man, named Mentor

• In organizations – long history

Senior management sponsors

Focus on young professionals

Definition has evolved over time…

PATHBUILDERS

Mentoring – Pervasive in the

Workplace

• Numerous studies note that ~70% of

Fortune 500 firms employ some type of

internal mentoring program

• 75% of Catalyst members incorporate

mentoring into their talent development

programs

Mentoring – A Core Component of

Talent Development

• DDI study cites that 97% of executives

benefited from the advice of mentors

• Participation benefits both the mentees

and mentors developmentally

• Mentors and mentees are more likely to be

promoted and enjoy higher retention rates

than those not participating in mentoring

programs (Gartner Research, 2006)

Benefits of Mentoring Programs

• Demonstrate commitment of senior leaders to talent development

• Leverage the knowledge within the organization

• Create connections that may not happen naturally

• Deliver personal and focused development to key talent

• Build a sustainable talent pipeline

Then, Why Do We Hear These

Comments?

• “Formal programs aren‟t effective, the best mentoring relationships evolve naturally.”

• “My mentor‟s a really nice person, but I‟m not sure what I get out of our time together.”

• “The partnership started out great, but we didn‟t stay with it.”

• “I‟m never quite sure what to talk with my mentor about.”

Barriers and Challenges

• Most programmatic offerings are too informal

• Mentees fail to develop specific goals

• Common expectations between partners are not established

• Scheduling and logistics challenges are overlooked with no guidelines for resolution

• No clear rationale for matching of Mentee and Mentor partnerships

• Mentoring sessions lack substantive focus

• “Polite but ineffective” conversations are the norm

Informal vs. Formal Mentoring

Formal

• Structure drives participation and purposeful discussion

• Creates connections that may not occur naturally

• Clear matching and topical discussions increase engagement

• Has a defined start and stop

Informal

• Connection drives interaction

• Allows natural relationship evolution

• Individuals self-select

• Creates freedom to stop or start

Formality Key for Mentors

• Mentor value proposition linked to clarity of

requirements and outcomes

• High demand on their time – want to

ensure impact

• Clarity of purpose and reward in

supporting a mentee‟s development

• Substantive, focused discussion drives

two-way learning

High-Impact Mentoring –

FOUR Key Elements

• Disciplined Mentee-Mentor Matching

• Effective Mentee and Mentor Training

• Partnership Monitoring and Intervention

• Content to Drive Mentoring Discussions

Common Mentee-Mentor Matching

• Mentees select their mentors

• Committee Matching – with limited

information or knowledge of participants

• Matches driven by function or title

• Applicants reluctant to submit real

challenges and goals into system

• Mentor „needs‟ too often considered

High-Impact Mentee-Mentor Matching

• Matching driven by mentee developmental

goals and barriers to advancement

• Mentees and mentors interviewed and rich

information gathered

• Mentors selected for mentees based on

mentee needs

• Personal information incorporated into the

match rationale

Common Mentee and Mentor Training

• Electronically distributed program

description and guidelines

• Generic phone/webinar program launch

– General in nature

– Rarely partnership or content-focused

• On-line tools available

High-Impact Mentee and Mentor

Training

• Structured roles and responsibilities clearly delineated

• Interactive session with sharing of expectations and practice discussions

• Assessments create common language and jumpstart connectivity

• Mentees provided framework to develop goals for the mentoring time

• Thorough discussion of all key logistical aspects of partnership management

Common Partnership Monitoring

and Intervention

• Often overlooked completely

• Hallway conversations

• Triage of problems as they arise

• Overall gauging of group satisfaction

• Mid- and end-of-program surveys

• Reluctance to address mentor shortcomings

• Acceptance that „chemistry sometimes isn‟t right‟

High-Impact Partnership Monitoring

and Intervention

• Measurement and tracking of engagement of each partnership

– Third party phone check-ins, probing on specifics

– Ongoing surveys and updates

• Interventions to handle partnership problems – logistics, communications

• Working directly with any disengaged participants – mentor or mentee

Common Content to Drive Mentoring

Discussions

• List of topics provided and available online

High-Impact Content to Drive

Mentoring Discussions

• Mentee-mentor common experiences to create common language

• Mentee goals create context for all conversations

• Level-appropriate career development-focused topics outlined for discussions

• Participants equipped with thought-leading questions for mentors and probing questions for mentees

Inconsistent Outcomes?

• Questionable matches

• Ill-defined logistics

• Awkward introductions

• Unclear roles

• Differing expectations

• Varying degrees of engagement

• Busy mentees selecting „topics‟ for discussion

• Loose monitoring of partnerships

• Reluctance to counsel unengaged mentors

• Certain mentees fully embrace and make it work

• Certain mentors align priorities

• Some partnerships work, but…

• High degree of variability in participant outcomes

The Continuum of Mentoring

• Role Modeling, Career Advisors

• Executive Roundtables

• Peer Mentoring

• Group Mentoring

• One-on-one Mentoring

ALL Benefit from Formality –Matching, Training, Monitoring, and Content

High-Impact Mentoring Programs

• Drive program engagement and true

developmental outcomes

• Positively impact retention and

promotion-readiness

• Drive broad understanding of corporate

culture and career pathing

• Drive cross-departmental connections and

job rotations

• Significantly strengthen leadership bench