Reading bank

Unit 2
1 Read the text quickly and find the following information.
1 What needs to be done in order to write a report.
2 Professor Ayelet Fishbach’s role in the research.
3 A personality trait all police officers should possess.
4 Kathy Kram’s area of expertise.
5 A cheap and common type of training offered to junior
staff by companies.

2 Read the text again and decide if these statements are true (T) or false (F).
1 Research by the Chicago Booth School of Business 3 Research by the Boston University Questrom School of
shows that lack of confidence is sometimes a reason Business found that simple advice-giving can actually
why we cannot do a task. If this is the case, then helping weaken the learning process in the workplace. For
someone else to do the same task will increase our advice-giving to be effective it needs to be combined
confidence and allow us to complete the original task. with asking questions so that the learner finds their own
2 Research by the Cambridge Judge Business School found solutions.
that police officers in high-pressure roles often asked
their senior colleagues to mentor them. This help from
the senior officers reduced the levels of stress that the
police officers felt.

3 Read paragraphs 2 and 7 again and decide from the context which definition (a–c) matches the word and phrase
in bold.
1 procrastination 2 align their actions with their values
a when you cannot do a task because you do not have a do tasks that are appreciated and valued by other
clear instructions team members
b when you receive criticism from your co-workers b bring what they do into line with their personal ideas
about the quality of your work about how to behave
c when you delay doing something because you do not c develop their self-confidence and develop new skills
want to do it

4 Try to complete these phrases without looking at the text. Then read the text again and see if you were right.
1 the act of mentoring someone else may, in some 3 Sometimes mentors give advice when it would be
circums es, be the secret to solving a problem more helpful for the ment to be asked th ght-
that the mentor str es with themselves prov ing questions.
2 the act of giving fee ck to junior colleagues can 4 advice-giving can underm learning and
reduce anx y and improve the mental health of development if the recipient is not encouraged to
mentors – particularly those in high-pressure jobs examine their own beliefs, attitudes and patterns of
be iour

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 Reading bank

Mentoring changes the mentor, not just the mentee

1
A usually competent co-worker is struggling to write a difficult – but not impossible – report.
Despite clear instructions and deadlines, he has not even started, and his delays and excuses are
holding up the rest of the team. His peers are growing impatient and resentful; it is time to
intervene. Do you a) lose patience and write the report yourself; b) offer the slow starter advice
5 and instruction; or c) ask him to mentor another colleague, perhaps someone more junior?
2
The most obvious – and seemingly sensible – course of action would be to offer him
instruction. A likely reason for his procrastination is lack of knowledge – he simply does not have
the information or skills to write a report: gathering facts, turning notes into continuous text
and so on. The least-sensible move, surely, would be to ask him to mentor another colleague.
3
10 But the least sensible options are sometimes the best. A study by behavioural scientists at the
University of Chicago Booth School of Business suggests that the act of mentoring someone else
may, in some circumstances, be the secret to solving a problem that the mentor struggles with
themselves. What our slow starting co-worker really needs to do – and what will finally set him
to work – is to recover his confidence. And the best way to do that might be to ask him to advise
15 someone else. In other words, those who lack motivation may need to give advice rather than
receive it. ‘The first question to ask is, why is the person not doing something?’ says Professor
Ayelet Fishbach, co-author of the research. ‘Is it because they don’t know how? Sometimes, but
often there is another explanation: the task is too overwhelming, and they have lost confidence.’
4
Chicago Booth’s findings come at the same time as similar research from Cambridge Judge
20 Business School. Here, behavioural scientists found that the act of giving feedback to junior
colleagues can reduce anxiety and improve the mental health of mentors – particularly those in
high-pressure jobs.
5
That study, in the Journal of Vocational Behavior, focused on people working as policemen and
policewomen. Their job requires mental strength in challenging situations combined with
25 pressure to be efficient. But despite the pressure of their roles – including threats, abuse, quick
decisions and the risk of death – police officers tend not to seek support from other officers,
particularly senior ones, fearing the shame associated with mental health disorders. However,
the researchers found that through mentoring other junior colleagues the police officers gained
a sense of connection. These findings have implications far beyond the police force. ‘This could
30 help organisations address the serious and costly workplace issues of anxiety and mental
health,’ says co-author Thomas Roulet.
6
Other researchers have a more mixed idea of the value of mentoring, given that it needs to be
done well to be effective. For example, Kathy Kram, professor of management at Boston
University Questrom School of Business, argues that asking someone with a problem to mentor
35 other people might not be the best idea. The mentor might think that their role is to give
instruction, whereas in fact it is to get the mentee to work out their own way forward. She says,
‘Sometimes mentors give advice when it would be more helpful for the mentee to be asked
thought-provoking questions.’ Those questions should be ones that help them think deeply about
their problems and hit on their own solutions.
7
40 Secondly, says Prof Kram, ‘Mentees may follow the advice given, but not necessarily learn
about themselves, their unique qualities and how best to align their actions with their values.
Research suggests that advice-giving can undermine learning and development if the recipient is
not encouraged to examine their own beliefs, attitudes and patterns of behaviour in the process.’
8
So, we know that mentoring is a powerful and relatively inexpensive way for employers to coach
45 and nurture junior staff who need help to climb the career ladder. But now we also know that it builds
confidence and mental strength in the mentors themselves. Done well, it can be life-changing.

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