Module II: Employee Mentoring (20%)

 The difference between mentoring and coaching

 The levels of mentoring
 Mentoring benefits to the organizations, mentors and mentees
 Mentor’s job profile
 An overall mentor program model

 Mentoring background

Mentoring

 n. the provision of instruction, encouragement, and other support to an

individual (e.g., student, youth, colleague) to aid his or her overall growth and
development or pursuit of greater learning skills, a career, or other educational
or work-related goals.

 Numerous mentoring programs exist within occupational, educational, and

other settings; they use frequent communication and contact between mentors
and their respective protégés as well as a variety of techniques and procedures
to develop productive relationships.

 Mentoring is a reciprocal and collaborative at-will relationship that most often

occurs between a senior and junior employee for the purpose of the
mentee’s growth, learning, and career development.

 Often the mentor and mentee are internal to an organization, and there is an
emphasis on organizational goals, culture, career goals, advice on
professional development, and work-life balance.

 Effective mentors often act as role models and sounding boards for their
mentee and provide guidance to help them reach their goals.

 Mentoring can be formal or informal.

o In an informal environment, mentees set goals, but they are usually not
measurable and the relationships are unstructured.

o For a formal mentoring relationship, there are actionable and

measurable goals defined and set with determined requirements.

Mentor's Role: The role of a mentor is to act as:

o Advisor and coach: provide advice, guidance, and feedback; share

their experience and expertise as appropriate; act as a sounding board
for ideas and action plans
 o Champion and cheerleader: offer encouragement and support to try
new things; help mentees move out their comfort zones; celebrate
successes; help mentees understand when things do not go as planned;
act as a role model for the mentee

o Resource and recommendations: identify resources that will help

mentees with personal development and growth, such as
recommending books, workshops, or other learning tools; encourage
mentees to join networking organizations or introduce them to new
contacts

o Devil's advocate and “truth-sayer”: provide the tough feedback that

mentees need to hear in order to move forward; push mentees to take
risks when appropriate; help mentees consider and weigh potential
consequences of decisions and actions to avoid the pitfalls and
predictable surprises that may occur.

Mentee’s Role: the mentees have their own responsibilities

• identify initial learning goals and measures of success for the mentoring
relationship
• be open to and seek feedback
• take an active role in their own learning and help drive the process
• Schedule and attend mentor conversations
• follow through on commitments and take informed risks as they try new
options and behaviors in support of career and development goals.
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Importance of Employee Mentoring

• A good mentor can help the mentee become more effective at work, learn new
skills, develop greater confidence, and make better decisions for their overall
career growth.

• Mentors report many benefits as well, including satisfaction from seeing

others develop; expanded generational and cultural perspectives;
strengthening of technical, leadership, and interpersonal skills; and continuing
to experience new ideas and insights.

Mentoring Techniques or Models

One-on-One Mentoring: This type of mentoring is the most traditional of all

the types of mentoring. Only the mentor and mentee are involved in this type
of mentoring, and it is usually a more-experienced individual paired with a
less-experienced or much younger mentee.

Group Mentoring: In this model, one or several mentors work with a group
of mentees. Schools and youth programs often apply this model because there
may not be enough time or resources to have one mentor for each participant.
 Peer Mentoring: Participants in this model are from the same role or
department or have shared or similar experiences, whether in their
professional or personal lives. These peers pair up to offer support for each
other. This can be a group or a one-on-one mentoring relationship.

Distance or E-Mentoring: With such advanced technology, the mentorship

relationship no longer has to be face-to-face. Using online software or even
email, participants in this type of mentoring can connect virtually without
losing the personal touch.

Reverse Mentoring: This mentoring relationship is flipped from the

traditional model. Instead of a senior professional mentoring a more junior
employee, the junior employee mentors a more senior professional. This
relationship is usually for the younger or more junior professional to teach the
skills or a new application or technology to the more senior one.

Speed Mentoring: This type of mentoring is a play on speed dating and

usually occurs as part of a corporate event or conference. The mentee has a
series of one-on-one conversations with a set of different mentors and usually
moves from one mentor to the next after a brief meeting. The mentee should
come prepared with questions for advice from the senior level professionals.

 The difference between mentoring and coaching

o Sometimes people use the words “mentoring” and “coaching”

interchangeably, but they do not describe the same type of working
relationship.

o Both share specific goals including employee learning and career development
that leads to peak performance, and the realization of full potential.

o However, they differ in terms of:

 the definition,
 focus,
 role,
 approach, and
 tools

 The levels of mentoring

There are 8 levels of Mentoring recognized by The Mentoring School.

Written by Richard Daniel Curtis in 2018, these levels help to establish the type of
mentor required for situations, but also help mentors to understand the level they are
working at and their developmental opportunities.
Although differences exist between mentoring and coaching, they do share some
comparable characteristics as well:

• Defined roles allow individuals to envision the achievement of desired

goals.

• Working relationships require trust, respect, open communication, and

flexibility.

• Stakeholders include new hires, new managers, and staff promoted to

senior-level positions.

• Training, education, and orientation are necessary.

• Success is best achieved when senior leaders understand the return on

investment, and expectations regarding engagement, performance, and
retention are being achieved.

• The mission is to meet both individual and organization goals.

• An organization is not required to choose between mentoring and coaching

relationship.

• Each one enhances an individual’s ability to contribute to the organization’s

goals.

• Consider how these two activities can fulfill the expectations of individuals,
managers, and senior-level executives, while simultaneously accomplishing
the organization’s employee development and succession planning goals.

• Additionally, consideration for the level of the value that these programs
bring to the table and the benefits people feel will be gained.
 Mentoring benefits to the organizations, mentors and mentees

Mentees have an opportunity to gain practical knowledge and insight from a seasoned
employee who has achieved a level of expertise they aspire to attain. 

Mentors have an opportunity to expand their repertoire of professional knowledge

and skills through their instruction and facilitation of others.

The organization has the opportunity to further develop and disseminate the wealth
of talent, skill and knowledge of its employees.

Benefits to the Mentee:

• Receives guidance and support from a respected member of campus

community.
• Professional development opportunities.
• Increased confidence.
• Increased institutional knowledge and understanding of how the campus
works, how things get done.
 • Greater awareness of other approaches to work.
• Builds a network of colleagues and expanded knowledge of different areas
of the organization.
• Having a confidential sounding board for ideas and challenges.

Benefits to the Mentor:   

                 
• Provides fulfillment and satisfaction of helping others and contributing to
the development of colleagues.
• Extends network of campus colleagues and builds community.
• Supports use and development of key competencies leading to growth.
• Encourages examination of the status quo and alternative possibilities.
• Encourages renewed ideas and perspectives on one’s leadership role.

Benefits to the Organization:

• Facilitates the growth and development of high-potential leaders.

• Demonstrates visible commitment to staff development and continuous
learning.
• Transfers and maintains institutional knowledge.
• Fosters an inclusive, diverse and collaborative environment.

 Mentor’s job profile

The role of a mentor is to act as:

• Advisor and coach: provide advice, guidance, and feedback; share their

experience and expertise as appropriate; act as a sounding board for ideas
and action plans
• Champion and cheerleader: offer encouragement and support to try new
things; help mentees move out their comfort zones; celebrate successes;
help mentees understand when things do not go as planned; act as a role
model for the mentee
• Resource and recommendations: identify resources that will help
mentees with personal development and growth, such as recommending
books, workshops, or other learning tools; encourage mentees to join
networking organizations or introduce them to new contacts
• Devil's advocate and “truth-sayer”: provide the tough feedback that
mentees need to hear in order to move forward; push mentees to take risks
when appropriate; help mentees consider and weigh potential
consequences of decisions and actions to avoid the pitfalls and predictable
surprises that may occur.
 An overall mentor program model
A logic model:

…Is a graphical representation of how a program's resources and activities work toward
creating an intended change.

A logic model serves as a road map that can help programs like [Super Scholars] evaluate
their program at multiple levels, including critical outcomes for youth.

Why is building a Logic Model important for your program?

Building a logic model is a foundational step in program evaluation.

A logic model outlines what your program is trying to achieve and lays the groundwork for
all of your evaluation activities.

One of the more challenging tasks for a mentoring program is defining and demonstrating
exactly how, and under what conditions, the mentoring provided by caring adults is
expected to lead to desired changes in the attitudes, behaviors, and accomplishments of the
youth served.

A logic model is a graphical representation of how a program’s resources and activities work
toward creating an intended change. A logic model serves as a road map that can help
programs like Super Scholars evaluate their program at multiple levels, including critical
outcomes for youth.