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MENTORING ACTION PLANNER TO BE USED WITH MENTORING FOR CPAS Associates, LLC Associates, LLC
MENTORING ACTION PLANNER
TO BE USED WITH MENTORING FOR CPAS
Associates, LLC Associates, LLC
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Introduction
The purpose of this planner is to capture your thoughts and identify your strengths and areas for development as a Mentor. Be SMART: Specific, Measurable, Action oriented, Realistic and Time bound.
Introspection Exercise
Why do you want to be a Mentor?
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_____________________________________________________________________ What is challenging about helping others to develop and gain work-related experience?
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_____________________________________________________________________ What challenges do you like/don’t like while working with others?
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_____________________________________________________________________ From what sources do you receive a sense of job satisfaction?
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How could you support Mentees to develop their skills to be more productive and feel they are utilizing their talents?
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What barriers and obstacles generally hinder people in your office from doing quality work? It is important to identify the working atmosphere or climate.
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How do you think you could help mentees overcome barriers and obstacles that hinder the quality of their work?
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__________________________________________________________________________ Reflection
The mind is slow to unlearn what it has been long in learning. Seneca c.60
Learning is a name superior to beauty; learning is better than hidden treasure. Learning is a companion on a journey to a stronger country; learning is
strength inexhaustible. The Hitopadesa, intro c.500
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Developmental Action Contract
What abilities and characteristics do you presently have that will contribute to you being an effective mentor?
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________________________________________________________________________ What abilities and characteristics do you feel you need to develop to be an effective mentor?
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How will you accomplish your development?
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Insights What do you need to be aware of when responding to and working with your mentee based on your score and skills outlined in the Mentoring Response Assessment? (Evaluative, Interpretive, Understanding, Supportive and Probing)
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Possible Conflicts (people with whom you don’t work well) __________________________
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Guide to Mentoring Establish a safe working relationship and rapport to help the mentee develop. Establish an open climate and a warm, supportive environment to encourage developmental discussions. Give feedback on strengths and areas for development. Ask the mentees to write a Future Goals Report (after the mentoring process is over two or three years from now) describing all of the things they want to accomplish professionally and personally. Include all the skills they will have enhanced, improved, or developed. Describe business development and work specialization (niche), career development, volunteer work, areas of interest and community work. When complete, the Future Report identifies goals to be achieved. Ask mentees how they will accomplish these goals. Write a plan of action that begins to lead toward these future goals. Ask mentees how you, the mentor, can help them to develop. Inquire as to how your mentees are achieving their goals (follow the plan of action). Schedule quarterly meetings. Mentoring Skills Listen without judging. Help to problem solve. Develop alternatives for difficult working situations. Help the mentee recognize alternative ways to develop corrective actions. Advise but do not dictate the action the mentee should take. Encourage. Draw out. Focus on successes, building self-esteem. Guide but don’t direct. Help develop skills and abilities. Be a safe haven to discuss professional and personal issues without judging. Ask questions to identify mentee’s values and attitude.
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Remember mentoring is a pulling out process not a pushing in process. Focus on application (doing). Take notes during your meetings as a referral and a way to see progress and development. Use your wisdom with care and compassion. Remember your job is helping to build the mentee’s future and the future of the organization. Be a role model.
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Mentoring Program Development Plan based on the book “Mentoring Process for CPAs”
by Rex and Mickey Gatto
The Mentee is to receive a copy of “Choose a Mentor” page 50 in the Mentoring Process for CPAs. Mentors are to complete “Mentor Acceptance Sheet” page 51. You will play an important role in the development of your mentee. You are the continuation of their professional and personal development on a daily basis. The process of development is, first and foremost, the job of the mentees but you also have to play a significant role guiding and supporting them as they gain experience. At its best, mentoring will help the mentees gain confidence, helping them to progress in a career path forward. The value of mentoring to a firm is to have people develop a career path within the firm to become a vital part of the future of the firm. You will be involved in a four-phase developmental process as outlined below (initiation, cultivation, separation, and autonomy). The book, “Mentoring Process for CPAs,” will guide you through every facet of mentoring. Throughout this document, you will see page numbers that refer to the specific pages in the book. Please meet with your mentees and discuss their mentoring process. The most important concept that you bring to the process is having a vested interest in your mentee/protégé. An outline for the first meeting can be found on page 49. Please review the Table of Contents in the book. Note that there are four sections to the book: each section is a guide for you to be an effective mentor and to enhance your skills. There are assessments for you the mentor and for the mentee/protégé.
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Section One gives background information about mentoring. Section Two will help you assess your skills as a mentor. Section Three provides assessments and tools for the mentee/protégé. These tools will help you measure the skill level of your mentee. The tools in Section Three can be photocopied to help assess and guide your mentee. Section Four focuses on the firm as an organization, how to develop a succession plan, and ways to improve the firm as a whole. Discussion Points have been written in each of the four phases; it is up to the Mentor to lead a discussion on these points.
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Process Timeline The Process Timeline identifies the four phases of the mentoring process (Pages 44-47 in the book). The duration of the phases depends on the maturity, development and intelligence of the mentee.
Phases Duration Development
Phase One Initiation
Immediately to one year
Mentee gets to know mentor; meet formally once a month, define goals and expectations; development of work-related and people-related skills
Phase Two Cultivation
After three months up to two years
Development of an action plan; development and implementation of skills, increase trust and openness, receive recognition from mentor and from others
Phase Three
Separation
Three to six months after Phase Two
Begins after mentee/protégé has developed confidence: needs to work independently, assumes greater responsibility and opportunities; goals met
Phase Four Autonomy
Ongoing
Mentee/protégé can become a mentor; receives recognition from clients; developed skills; doesn’t need to work with present mentor any longer but can still use mentor as a sounding board
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While this document serves as a guide to effectively mentor, you need to be flexible in your approach and move topics around as you feel appropriate and necessary. Use this document as simply an approach to mentoring: you make the decisions on when to discuss specific topics. After each meeting you have with your mentee you should complete work papers indicating the overview of the meeting and mentee development (pages 72-74) or use the supplement if you have it. Learning Objectives for Mentors Mentors will be able to:
1. Define and discuss the concept of mentoring. 2. Discuss how the mentoring process will benefit a CPA firm. 3. Discuss actions that a successful mentor needs to take. 4. Take assessments to identify their skills and needs and have their mentees do the same 5. Discuss, demonstrate, and implement the feedback process for mentees, so mentees can develop a career plan 6. Utilize all of the developmental mentoring tools to measure the mentees development and success. 7. Enable mentees to grow and enhance their abilities, becoming a vital part of the firm
Phase One Initiation Mentor • Mentor: please read Preface pages 1-4. Read Section One, “Introducing the
Concepts of Mentoring” pages 7-19. (Pages refer to Mentoring Process for CPAs). • Complete Skills Mentor Assessment, pages 21-32 (identify your mentoring style) • Review Mentoring Skills, pages 33-43 (Defines key skills of listening and giving
feedback, establishing a proper mentoring environment, and outlines needed skills) • Read pages 53-55 and be prepared to follow the outline.
Discussion Points: • Review Infrastructure
o Firm’s infrastructure and organization o Firm’s history and cultural development
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• Review operating (partnership/bylaws, etc.) agreement
o Organization chart o Functions of management and committees o Capital structure and ownership o Admission and termination of members (owners) o Member (partner/owner) responsibilities to the firm o Member (partner/owner) retirement/termination compensation o Member (partner/owner) compensation systems o Firm’s vision, mission and long-range goals o Practice philosophy o Service goals o Practice development goals o Community service goals o Firm’s future vision
Mentee Pre-work to the first mentoring meeting • Mentee is to receive a copy of page 52 and respond to each question. Mentee and
Mentor are to discuss the questions and responses. Discuss the best way to work together. Discuss the Mentee Mentor work papers but do not complete them after the first meeting. Wait, and complete them after at the end of all subsequent mentoring meetings.
Second Meeting within a month • Mentee completes the Mentee Assessment (pages 56-67); outlines strengths and
areas to enhance and develop • Mentee and mentor discuss and reach agreement on mentee’s present skill level in
each skill dimension in the Mentee Assessment. Use the meeting to establish a baseline for development.
Write a Development Plan • Agree upon three mentoring skill dimensions that are strengths and/or reasons why
this person is successful. Agree upon three mentoring skill dimensions that are areas for development and what actions the Mentee needs to develop and demonstrate the skills (page 66).
• Determine the priorities of the individual mentoring skills to be worked on. • Define strengths. • Define enhancement/improvement needed.
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• Complete the development plan; both Mentee and Mentor initial; both keep a copy. • Identify and describe special assignment/client projects; building a relationship
with a key partner or manager. • If possible, meet for an update once a month informally (example: lunch or brief
meeting). Continue in this phase until the action plan is fulfilled. • After the meeting, Work Papers need to be completed (Mentee Pages 68-71,
Mentor pages (72-74). Or use the supplemental handout if you have it.
Phase Two Cultivation
Mentor • Continue to review mentoring skills on page 43 before each mentoring meeting to
remind you of your role. • You and the Mentee are to read and discuss the Conditions of Excellence on pages
103-104. Discuss how the mentee can excel in each identified condition Discussion Points: • Personnel policies • Recruiting and hiring • Goal setting, evaluation and advancement process • Compensation and reward philosophy • Staff assignment and supervision policies • Effective utilization of time • Alternative career tracks • Member (partner/owner) and staff responsibilities for service to clients,
supervision of staff and delivery of service to clients. • Career Development • Effective coaching • Targets • Effective use of CPE
Operational and administrative systems • Practice management system • Interoffice charges • Local office vs. firm wide costs • Interaction and philosophy of department locators • Operational and administrative functions
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Mentee • Review and discuss the three strengths and areas for development and corrective
action that was taken. Discuss how to continue to grow and develop in a career progression.
• Mentee can complete “Anatomy of an Accountant” (pages 86-92). • Mentee completes Pre/Post Engagement assessments (as needed) (pages 77-83). • Make necessary agreed-upon adjustments to the plan. • Review status and measure progress in a development plan. • Hold final review to reflect actual accomplishments.
Phase Three Separation:
Mentor • Continue to review mentoring skills on page 43 before each mentoring meeting to
remind yourself of the role of a mentor • Have the mentee complete pre-post engagement work papers (pages 77-85) The pre
could be used on engagements or completed at the beginning of the tax season and then after tax season.
Discussion Points
• Practice Development o Marketing and selling: Firm’s resources, styles and methods o Growth service opportunities o Firm’s vision of future growth
• Quality control o Overview of quality controls by practice areas o Discuss peer review requirements
Mentee • Review status and measure progress in development plan, i.e., Mentee Assessment
and Anatomy of the CPA • Review and discuss each developmental skill in the development plan. Review and
discuss the three to five strengths and areas for development, and corrective actions that have taken place
• Make necessary agreed-upon adjustments to the plan and what needs to be completed for upward mobility within the firm.
• Review to reflect actual accomplishments.
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Phase Four Autonomy
Mentor • Continue to review mentoring skills on (page 43) before each mentoring meeting to
remind you of your role • If appropriate, ask the mentee to complete an “Upward Evaluation” (pages 146-
152) Discussion Points: • Succession planning (pages 99-102) • Discuss criteria for firm ownership • Reconcile partner/manager expectations • Discuss firm’s criteria for ownership and selection process
• Review firm’s financial goals o Introduce to firm’s financial/management reports o Interpret financial reports o Compare firm’s performance to industry o Discuss inter-relation of people performance and firm’s financial success o Expose firm’s budgets and financial plans o Discuss profitability goals o Discuss financial management systems: fee base and source, philosophy
of timekeeping, billing and collection, WIP and A/R management, internal management reports and how to use them, financial models – impact of adding new partners/owners
Mentee/ Protégé
• Complete the “Responsibilities Action Indicators and Business Outcomes” (RAIBO), (pages 106-132)
• Discuss the RAIBO with your mentor • Review Succession Plan • Make necessary agreed-upon adjustments to the plan • Review status and measure progress in development plan
Summary The Investment Time you spend helping and encouraging your mentee is time toward building a stronger firm. You are to be commended for developing the abilities of your mentee and in supporting the future of your firm.
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Communication Notes/Feedback
Comment on your communication and listening ability. Based on your style of asking questions, how do you give people feedback? What do you need to be sensitive to while working with a mentee?
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I am an effective communicator because … ____________________________________
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To become a more effective communicator (in giving feedback), I can… ___________
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__________________________________________________________________________ My listening skills (comments from feedback) are: __________________________________
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I am an attentive listener because … __________________________________________
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To become a more attentive listener, I can …___________________________________
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Career Plan for Mentees How will you focus mentees toward realistic career goals?
Examples of what you can do to develop the mentee skills and business knowledge: help them gain experience, enhance relationships, be able to resolve conflict, create professional recognition, and become a resource to others.
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Setting Goals To Be An Effective Mentor List Mentoring goals, actions and any obstacles you might encounter in achieving your goals.
GOALS/FUTURE ACTIONS OBSTACLES
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Mentor’s Follow-up Action Plan In three months’ time, review your goals and comments throughout this booklet. Assess your mentoring abilities after the first mentoring meeting. Describe what went well in your meeting: ____________________________________
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Describe what you could improve on for your next mentoring meeting: __________
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Discuss your Mentee’s response to the mentoring meeting: _____________________
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Mentor’s Follow-up Action Plan Continued
Action 1 __________________________________________________________________
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Setting Goals for your Mentee List Mentoring goals, actions and any obstacles he/she might encounter in achieving his/her goals. Photocopy as needed. Mentee Name_________________________________
GOALS/FUTURE ACTIONS OBSTACLES
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