Building the Business Case for INTENTIONALMENTORING

AN APPRECIATIVE INQUIRY WITH

DR. ANGELA SPRANGER

STEPONE CONSULTING, LLC

Agenda•Why We Are Here – WIIFM• Dreaming

• Designing

•Mentoring• Definitions / History

• Examples

•Objectives of a Mentoring Program• Program Structure

• Content

•Advantages / Benefits of a Facilitated Mentoring Program

•Challenges of a Facilitated Mentoring Program • Managing the Risks

•Effective Mentoring Programs

High-Level Road Map

Discover

•Strengths

•Competitive Advantage

Dream

•Opportunities

•Possibilities / Impact

Design

• Ideal Future State

Deliver

•Plan

•Structure

•Process

DIALOGUE1. HOW CAN OUR GUIDING PRINCIPLES LEAD US TOWARDS A

MENTORING CULTURE?

2. WHAT VALUE WOULD A CULTURE OF MENTORING ADD TO OUR CURRENT STATE?

3. WHAT ARE WE EXPECTING TO GET OUT OF A FACILITATED MENTORING PROGRAM? Discover

• Strengths

• Competitive Advantage

MentōrThe companion of Odysseus, in Homer’s Odyssey, commissioned to train Odysseus’ son Telemachus

Noun: an experienced and trusted adviser.◦ Synonyms: adviser, guide, guru, counselor, consultant, confidant(e)

Verb: to advise or train (someone, especially a younger colleague)

A mentor serves a mentee (somebody who is mentored, mentored person) or protégé(French for protected; apprentice, charge, pupil)

DefinitionsAny higher level employee who can be depended upon to share personal insights and to provide guidance and support that can enhance performance and career development

Intense, long-term developmental relationship

Instrumental relationship focused on sponsorship rather than development

Distinguished from a guide, coach, or peer

Advisory relationship, rather than a helping relationship

Organizationally initiated efforts to match mentors and protégés

History1931 Jewel Tea Company assigned new hire MBAs to a mentor, which was novel in an environment where management development programs focused on training and job rotation

Significant attention 25 years ago due to economic and societal trends

◦ Competitive factors: qualified entry level personnel , labor shortages

◦ Affirmative Action mandates & cross-cultural issues

◦ Large numbers of mergers

◦ Need for better succession planning & management development

HistoryWomen and minorities represented 5% of senior level jobs in corporate organizations in 1995

Today, women make up 5% of the CEOs in the US and 17% of corporate board members for the Fortune 500

Examples1. Minnesota Mutual Insurance Company (12 months, for new hires)

2. ABB Sweden; Trygg-Hansa SP; Ruter Dam (women’s leadership / management development)

3. Ortho Pharmaceutical Corporation (12 months, new hires, assimilation)

4. Clairol Mentoring Program (professional women from different fields / organizations; public service)

5. Pacific Bell (7 months, promising subordinates)

6. AT&T (2 months, minorities and women paired with senior managers)

7. Hughes Aircraft Company (employee networking groups for minorities, & planned mentoring program for new minority employees paired w/experienced managers)

Examples, continuedHoneywell

Apple

Johnson & Johnson

IBM

Allstate

Procter & Gamble

Corning

General Motors

FedEx

Dow Jones

S. C. Johnson

JC Penney

Mentoring as a Best PracticeMentoring programs as part of diversity and inclusion retention initiatives:

Texaco | Xerox | Polaroid | Dow Chemical | Ceridian | Ameritech

Mentoring as a retraining program instead of reduction:

Hewlett-Packard (3 months, surplus positions, new career track)◦ Employee selected new track

◦ Minimal cost to company

◦ Included academic courseware at local college

◦ OJT through new position and temporary assignments

◦ Career mentor worked in selected track, received clear outline of training and learning experiences to use

DIALOGUE1. WHAT IMPACT WOULD A MENTORING PROGRAM HAVE ON OUR

CRITICAL METRICS?

2. WHAT INDIVIDUAL GOALS COULD A MENTORING PROGRAM ADDRESS?

3. WHY SHOULD CURRENT ASSOCIATES PARTICIPATE IN A MENTORING PROGRAM?

Dream

• Opportunities

• Possibilities / Impact

Objectives of a Mentoring Program -Company

Organizational Goals

Recruitment – attract and recruit quality employees (New Managers)

Succession Planning – develop and move high performers into emerging leader jobs

Affirmative Action Plans – move women and minorities into senior roles; increase diversity in middle / senior management

Retention – Decrease turnover, increase organizational commitment, increase employees’ self-efficacy

Organizational Change Efforts – ease cultural transitions, foster innovation and creativity, help transfer the values and culture of parent organization in M&A

Objectives of a Mentoring Program -Individual

Developmental Needs

Ease onboarding and acclimation (new managers)

Facilitate development for individuals who lack access to informal mentoring relationships (women / minorities)

Provide support and challenge to individuals on the fast track (high potential)

What we’re talking about is Inclusion Many corporate diversity programs focus more on creating a diverse workforce and less on fostering inclusion.

People want to “feel that they belong, but also that they are unique” (O’Hara, 2014)

Don’t diminish differences

Share the spotlight – rotate responsibilities

Seek input – ask for associates’ opinions

Empower others

Case Study: CarolReal Estate Agent, Introverted, ignored by other agents; Showed clear potential – What Would You Do??

Lead Broker made it a point to help her feel more included◦ Professional Manners initiative – encouraged everyone to interact more often in order to improve

relations with potential clients (and internally)

◦ Manager required each agent to lead the weekly meeting once a quarter (rotating responsibility)

◦ Each agent required to present / propose an idea to improve a process in the office

◦ Lunch Companions – rotating one-on-one lunch partners

SO WHAT? ONE YEAR LATER: Carol was a key member of the team, overall office sales up 15%, customers reporting higher experience scores.

Case Study: RobertRobert - quiet and shy, working with Type-A colleagues at a software company

Left out of discussions, meetings, and working dinners – missed out on assignments and work projects!

David – senior analyst – realized Robert felt out of his depth. Hired above his skills and interests, being brushed aside by coworkers – WHAT WOULD YOU DO??

Personal small group mentoring by David over several months (coffee chats) – reassigned to a role focused on strategic objectives based on conversations (play to your strengths)

SO WHAT? ONE YEAR LATER: Robert came alive, assumed the leadership of the group, was included in more high visibility groups, maximized his personal fulfillment and his value to the company

Phases of the Mentoring Relationship

Phase 1: Goal Setting

Phase 2: Initiation

Phase 3: Cultivation

Phase 4: Separation

Phase 5: Redefinition

Phase 1: Goal Setting

Phase 2: Initiation

Phase 3: Cultivation

Phase 4: Separation

Phase 5: Redefinition

DIALOGUE1. WHAT IS REASONABLE TO EXPECT FROM A MENTOR? PROTÉGÉ?

2. IN TWO YEARS, WHAT WOULD YOUR ORGANIZATION LOOK LIKE AS A RESULT OF A FACILITATED MENTORING PROGRAM?

Design

• Ideal Future State

Roles of the Mentor

Mentor

Sponsoring

Teaching

Coaching

Protecting

Counseling

Role-modeling

• Varied, nonrestrictive• Goals

• productive input • increased quality and

quantity of output• commitment

Mentor Selection

Advisor

Coach

Role Model

Find participants who are

• authentic,

• transparent about their motivations,

• and willing to share their interests and expertise

How?

• Client feedback

• Peer feedback

• Voluntary information

• Management observation

DIALOGUE1. CRITERIA FOR MENTORS? CRITERIA FOR PROTÉGÉ / MENTEE?

2. HOW DO WE MATCH THEM EFFECTIVELY?

3. HOW STRUCTURED DO WE WANT OUR PROGRAM TO BE?

4. WHAT PROGRAM DIMENSIONS MATTER MOST?

Deliver

• Plan

• Structure

• Process

Participant Matching Methods1) Communal Sharing, where the relationship is primarily based on what the parties have in common, such as friend and kin relationships;

2) Equality Matching, where relationships are primarily based on alleviating imbalances in the relationship, such as co-worker relationships;

3) Authority Ranking, where relationships are primarily based on differences in experience, age, status, or rank, such as manager-subordinate and formal mentor-protégé relationships, and

4) Market Pricing, where relationships are primarily based on ratios of inputs to outputs in terms of cost, effort, time or money, such as coach-trainee or supervisor-temporary contract worker relationships.

- See more at: http://www.shrm.org/about/foundation/research/pages/shrmfdnresearchgordoncotton.aspx#sthash.Myn7D665.dpuf

Dimensions of Program Variation1. Goals

2. Targeted participants

3. Selection and matching processes

4. Orientation processes

5. Level of top management support

6. Degree of structure

7. Frequency of contact

8. Reward systems for participation

9. Resources and Time Allocation

Dimensions of Program Variation10. Fit with Larger Strategic Direction

11. Duration (10 weeks to 5 years)

12. Program Visibility within the Organization

13. Benefits

14. Drawbacks

15. Participant Roles and Responsibilities

16. Evaluation Strategies

Key Program Components1. Link mentoring program to business strategy

2. Be consistent with other HR practices

3. Visible support by top management

4. Comprehensive planning (re: program development, implementation, monitoring)

5. Supportive organizational culture (program fits in the company’s comfort zone)

6. Voluntary participation

7. Mentoring program strategy must include training efforts that foster awareness of mentoring and its role in career development

8. Structural changes that support the initiative (ex. Changes in reward systems, work design, performance appraisal system)

Benefits and Risks…OF A FACILITATED MENTORING PROGRAM

DIALOGUE1. WHAT BENEFITS DO YOU EXPECT FROM A MENTORING RELATIONSHIP?

2. WHAT BENEFITS HAVE YOU SEEN IN PERSONAL MENTORING RELATIONSHIPS, FORMAL OR INFORMAL?

3. WHAT IS THE GREATEST BENEFIT OF INITIATING A FORMAL MENTORING PROGRAM?

Advantages / Benefits of a Facilitated Mentoring Program

1. Level of individual attention, compared to other career development initiatives

2. Ease with which the organization can continue a mentoring program because of the minimal involvement required

3. Reduce the rate at which women and minority leave the company (1995 –twice the rate of white men) which costs in lost training investment costs and productivity

DIALOGUE1. WHAT IS THE GREATEST CHALLENGE IN AN INFORMAL, INDEPENDENT

MENTORING RELATIONSHIP?

2. WHAT PROBLEMS OR PITFALLS HAVE YOU SEEN IN PROFESSIONAL MENTORING RELATIONSHIPS?

3. WHAT ARE THE RISKS OF INITIATING A FORMAL MENTORING PROGRAM?

Challenges of a Mentoring ProgramMismatched pairs

Resentment by nonparticipants

Anxiety (about what’s expected, outcomes, etc.)

Unrealistic expectations

Supervisors feeling their authority is being undermined

Poor information passed to protégé by mentor

Exploitation of protégé or mentor

Shortage of potential mentors

Gender / other diversity issues

Challenges of a Mentoring ProgramScheduling difficulties

Geographic distance

Mentor neglect (by protégés)

Feelings of personal inadequacy (by mentors)

Unrealistic expectations by organization re: program’s impact on deep seated company issues

Managing the RisksOVERCOMING THE CHALLENGES AND GETTING TO THE ADVANTAGES

DIALOGUE1. DO THE ADVANTAGES YOU LISTED OUTNUMBER THE CHALLENGES / RISKS?

2. ON A 100% SCALE, HOW LIKELY IS EACH RISK YOU IDENTIFIED?

3. BRAINSTORM A SOLUTION FOR EACH POTENTIAL RISK YOU OUTLINED.

4. ON A 100% SCALE, HOW VIABLE ARE YOUR SOLUTIONS?

Manage the Risk1. Identify the purpose and goals of the program and develop the

program with these goals in mind

2. Articulate intended outcomes

3. Hold group meetings with participants to gather expectations and build commitment for the program

Manage the Risk4. Train mentors and protégés separately to clarify roles and

objectives / expectations

5. Do follow-up activities: ◦ meet with participants and past participants,

◦ hold visible recognition ceremonies/events,

◦ include rewards

6. have top management recognize and reward participants and mentors

Manage the Risk7. Formal evaluation of the program

8. Identify and define the goals of the program

9. Ensure support from top management – launch with executive participation

10. Carefully and thoughtfully develop the program structure and strategies to encourage and reward mentoring relationships

Manage the Risk11. Identify proposals for learning certain skills

◦ Identify barriers to, and positive influences on, achieving these proposals

◦ Identify the required actions and resources to achieve the proposals

12. Develop monitoring and evaluation processes

Effective Mentoring ProgramsCAN WE DO THIS?

Observable ComponentsCareful Planning

Voluntary Participation

Formal Orientation

Ongoing Evaluation

Built-in Incentives

Top Management Support

Careful Selection and Matching

Strengths-Based Leadership

ReferencesBall, 1989

Barclay, 1992

Berstein & Kaye, 1986

Brown, 1990, 1991, 1993

Burke & McKeen, 1989

Carden, 1990

Casner – Lotto, 1988

Catalyst, 1993

Cunningham, 1993

Eby & Lockwood, 2004

Galen, 1995

Gordon & Cotton, 2011, SHRM Foundation Research

Gray, 1988

O’Hara, 2014

Pew Research Center, 2015

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Your Strengths Coach:Dr. Angela Spranger, SPHR, SHRM-SCP

757.880.8972DrSpranger@gmail.com

Individual and Group Coaching Organizational Consulting

Available

Agenda•ASB Identity

•Why We Are Here – WIIFM• Dreaming

• Designing

•Mentoring• Definitions / History

• Examples

•Objectives of a Mentoring Program• Specific Model for a 5-Phase Facilitated Program

• Program Structure

• Content

•Advantages / Benefits of a Facilitated Mentoring Program

•Challenges of a Facilitated Mentoring Program • Managing the Risks

•Effective Mentoring Programs

High-Level Road Map

Discover

•Strengths

•Competitive Advantage

Dream

•Opportunities

•Possibilities / Impact

Design

• Ideal Future State

Deliver

•Plan

•Structure

•Process