Mentoring:  Four Essential Elements

Article by Jennifer Britton, Potentials Realized | Mentor Roadmap

©Jennifer Britton 2014, All Rights Reserved

Mentoring plays a key role in the development of talent within organizations, and is often overlooked or underutilized. Increasingly organizations are viewing it as an important part of their succession and talent management process, in addition to being a useful approach during onboarding. While many mentoring programs focus on growing the next generation of leaders, mentoring programs can also support career transition across industries and diversity initiatives within organization. Mentoring plays an important role in building relationships across and organization and/or industry.

Throughout the mentoring relationship mentors provide opportunities for the protégé to learn based on real life experiences. A powerful tool for understanding organizational culture. Mentors also help protégés understand really how things get done, and the politics in an organization. Mentors can be a powerful, and positive, person in your network.  How might mentoring benefit your organization?

As you start to establish mentoring within your organization and formalize a mentoring process, there are several areas you will want to consider. These include:

Clarify the roles and responsibilities of mentors and mentees/protégés - In successful mentoring relationships expectations are clear. The roles and responsibilities of both the mentor and mentee are discussed at the start of the mentoring conversation. Pairings know who will be initiating meetings, and what type of support each party wants and can provide to the other. Mentoring can benefit from a clearly defined start and end to the process. Early on create expectations round how frequently partners should meet for. As part of the process of mentoring it can be useful to hold a short kick-off session, which may also involve some training and expectation setting for the wider group of mentors and protégés.

Have mentees set the goals - Having two or three specific goal areas in focus helps to structure the mentoring conversation. Mentees should spend time at the start of the process to identify and share with the mentor key areas they would like support in. It will also be useful to have the portage set the agenda each conversation. Some mentors may ask protégés to email focus areas few days before the session, whereas others may be more comfortable addressing the mentees needs in the moment.

The life cycle of the mentoring relationship has several distinct phases. In the first meeting, mentors and mentees will want to share more about their background, and their expectations for mentoring process. At this time is also very useful to identify together when, where and how you will meet. Be clear with each other on what’s going to work best for both of you. Some compromise and flexibility may be required on both of your parts. Another alternative may be to schedule some of your meetings by phone or skype, particularly if you are situated in different offices or geographic locations.  Discussion around topics such as confidentiality is also important as the mentor will likely be sharing real examples based on their experience.

As you get to know each other and connections progress, check in around what’s working well with the mentoring relationship and what is not. It is important to be honest and frank with each other, particularly if expectations are not aligned.

As the mentoring relationship comes to a close, build in time to have the mentee identify their learning from the process. We often say that mentoring is a two-way street and hopefully mentors will learn as much from their experience as well. As a mentor, consider what your greatest learning has been throughout your conversations. At the end of a mentoring process in your organization it can be useful to bring mentors and mentees together, even virtually, for the sharing of lessons learned, best practices and other evaluation feedback. This can feed forward into the next cohort of mentoring conversations. Several of the protégés may opt to become a mentor in future program rounds.

Core Skills in the Mentoring Process

There are several skill sets which enhance the mentoring process. As a mentor, lead with core skills such as listening and powerful questions. Mentoring is not just about sharing your experience, it is also about supporting the mentee with new insights and perspectives around their work. Listen closely for what they need. Do not assume you know.

Mentoring is a conversation to support the mentee in also identifying what they know and where they want to go.  In asking questions it is often useful to lead with a WHAT? For example, “What’s another perspective around that ?”OR “What did you learn from that experience?”. WHAT questions invite conversation and dialogue, whereas WHY questions may put people on the defensive, and HOW questions often lead us into process and thinking about how things are done.

Other core skills which mentors may use include sharing observations and providing feedback. Sometimes mentees may also want you to be an accountability partner.  Others may want to be acknowledged. Ask what they would like from the mentoring process and what role they would like you to play. Finally inquire about the approaches they would like you to incorporate - providing stories, leading you to resources, providing links to best practices.

In closing, successful mentoring partnerships benefit both the mentor and mentee. It is an underutilized approach for growth and development. Consider how you can expand mentoring within your organization or industry.


About the Author

Jennifer Britton, MES, PCC, CPT is the founder of Potentials Realized, a performance improvement company focusing on leadership development, teamwork, and coaching skills training. We have designed award winning mentor programs, and provide Mentor Program Support and Training through the Mentor RoadMap ™ . Jennifer  is the author of Effective Group Coaching (Wiley, 2009) and From One to Many: Best Practices for Team and Group Coaching (Jossey-Bass, 2013). For more information about mentoring skills training and support contact Jennifer Britton at (416)996-8326. You can visit us online at Potentials Realized.com which includes the Teams365 blog for Leaders, and the MentorRoadMap.com.  You can email us at info@potentialsrealized.com.

Jennifer Britton, MES, PCC, CPT
Potentials Realized | Teams365
Growing Team Leaders One Conversation at a Time(TM)
Leadership Development | Coaching | Retreats
(416)996-8326

Join us for an upcoming public offering of the Teams365 Team Leader Foundations program - online learning modules geared to sharpen your skills as a team leader. You can also join us for a 4 or 6 month Teams365 group coaching program geared to take a deeper dive into your strengths and capacity as a leader  - starts Tuesday October 15 at 5:45 pm Eastern by phone.

Planning, and exploring strategic issues, is a key issue for high performing teams. High performing teams know where they are going and have a shared sense of what those key performance targets are.

Over the last few months I have shared a number of core strategic planning tools, some of which you may already be familiar with. When is the last time you spent time as a team planning and creating a shared action plan, speaking about what's needed from all of your perspectives?

Check out the past posts on:

Strategic Issues Mapping - Teams365 post #85. Click here to read.
The SWOT - Teams365 post #84. Click here to read

If you haven't done so, schedule some time this fall to look at both the immediate and more strategic planning process. You may want to incorporate some of the other team development processes we have discussed this year - identifying and exploring strengths, developing skills in the area of difficult conversations, or creating a shared set of team agreements.

Some leaders may find that they can do this themselves, or they may want some support from an external facilitator. Contact us to explore how we can support your team planning event.

Potentials Realized - Leadership | Teamwork | Coaching Skills Training for Leaders
Supporting Team Leaders One Conversation at a Time(TM)
Teams365 Blog
(416)996-8326

View our 12 minute presentation on the upcoming Teams365 Team Leader Foundations online training starting Friday October 3rd or Wednesday November 5th, and Coaching Groups (Tuesdays 5:45 - 6:45 pm ET October 14th) starting this fall.

This week's essential leadership read is Primal Leadership by Daniel Goleman, Richard Boyatzis and Annie McKee.  It is a stellar read for anyone who is interested in the topic of Emotional Intelligence (EI) and the leadership competencies which relate to EI.

Emotional Intelligence has been one of the many themes here at the blog this year. It is such a critical focus for team leaders today due to the importance EI skills play as we move through leadership ranks, and how these skills supersede our technical skills.

Primal Leadership explores the main cornerstones of EI including Relationship Management, leadership styles. and change.

Even if you have read the book before it's a great opportunity to pick it up again.

Jennifer Britton
Potentials Realized - Leadership | Teamwork | Coaching Skills Training for Leaders
Supporting Team Leaders One Conversation at a Time(TM)
Join us for the Fall Teams365 Coaching Group or an upcoming module of the Team365 Leader Foundations program

As we move to close off on another month, take a few minutes to take stock of the month of September. As we got back to work and school this fall, take note of:
1. What you want to celebrate?
2. What your major achievements have been?
3. What projects are a priority moving forward?
4. What you really need to wrap up?
5. What you need to leave behind.

A reminder that this is an opportune time to take some notes around things you have noticed about team member achievements - the positives and not so positives - for performance reviews. Of course, don't just wait to share it then, provide your team with both positive and constructive feedback. When was the last time you did your one on ones?

Potentials Realized - Leadership | Teamwork | Coaching Skills Training for Leaders
Supporting Team Leaders One Conversation at a Time(TM)
Teams365 Blog
(416)996-8326

View our 12 minute presentation on the upcoming Teams365 Team Leader Foundations online training, and Coaching Groups starting this fall. Our next Coaching Group starts Tuesday October 14 at 5:45 pm Eastern by phone, and the Teams365 Team Leadership Foundations Modules will be running this fall on Fridays from 7:15 - 8:15 am Eastern.

It's Friday and time for another Check it Off Tip! These are geared to get you moving into action.

Today's Check it off tip is a reminder of the Pareto Principle. The Pareto principle states that we get 80% of our results from 20% of our activities.

I originally introduced this tip back in January as our 7th tip of the year. You can read that blog post here.

Questions to consider:
As you think about your achievements this year, where are you getting the bulk of your results?
What activities are leading to those results?
What is the 20% you want to put a focus around?

Potentials Realized - Leadership | Teamwork | Coaching Skills Training for Leaders
Supporting Team Leaders One Conversation at a Time(TM)
Teams365 Blog
(416)996-8326

View our 12 minute presentation on the upcoming Teams365 Team Leader Foundations online training, and Coaching Groups starting this fall. Our next Coaching Group starts Tuesday September 23rd at 5:45 pm Eastern by phone, and the Teams365 Team Leadership Foundations Module starts on Fridays at 12 noon ET on September 26th. Calls will be held on September 26, October 3, 10 and 17. 

We have had many inquiries about the Teams365 Team Leadership Foundations Modules, a series of ten four-to-six week classes which focus in on skill development in key leadership areas such as : - Team Leader Foundations
-Emotional Intelligence
- Coaching Skills for Leaders
- Time Management and Personal Productivity
- Facilitation Skills
- Conflict Resolution
- Relationship Building
- Virtual Team Leadership

The program is geared for new and aspiring and experienced team leaders who may have never gone through a formal training process. Classes are delivered online by phone or web. You can take one or all of the series. We can also bring the series to you for groups at your organization.

Upcoming fall




Click here for more information on the overall program, and you can download a program outline for the first of the series - Stepping Into Your Team Leadership  which starts Friday October 3 at 7:15 am ET by phone. The next offering of that program will be Wednesday evening from 6:45 - 7:45 pm Eastern starting November 5th.

I hope that you will join me this fall! If the times offered do not work, please let us know. WE may be able to set an alternative meeting time.

Jennifer Britton
Potentials Realized - Leadership | Teamwork | Coaching Skills Training for Leaders
Author of Effective Group Coaching (Wiley, 2010) and From One to Many: Best Practices for Team and Group Coaching (Jossey-Bass, 2013)
Supporting Team Leaders One Conversation at a Time(TM)
Contact us to discuss how we can work with you to create an exceptional team or organizational retreat, or how you can work better across differences with the Everything DiSC
(416)996-8326

Many readers have indicated that you have been enjoying the weekly series which have evolved over the course of the year.

Every Friday I bring to you Check it Off Tips - Ideas and Questions to get you into action Saturday I bring to you an Essential Leadership Book suggestion.

On Thursdays for the rest of the year I will be bringing in Team Building Ideas and Questions for you to reflect on, and also share, with your team.

Our first one is a reminder of what Management Guru Peter Drucker always said - What doesn't get scheduled, doesn't get done. Today's tip is an encouragement for you to actually schedule in time for planning and team meetings.

When will you plan? Individually? With your team? Schedule it in now!
Where are your team meetings scheduled. If these aren't scheduled already select some dates and communicate with your team.

Stay tuned next Thursday for the next Teams365 Team Building Ideas and Questions Tip!

Jennifer Britton
Potentials Realized - Leadership | Teamwork | Coaching Skills Training for Leaders
Supporting Team Leaders One Conversation at a Time(TM)
Contact us to discuss how we can work with you to create an excptional team or organizational retreat, or how you can work better across differences with the Everything DiSC
(416)996-8326

Today's quote comes from All In, a book by Adrian Gostick and Chester Elton, which we included on the Essential Leadership Reads list a few weeks ago.

High performing teams are ones who know their differences and are able to effectively work across these differences. What research continues to show is that teams who bring complimentary strengths are stronger.

Throughout the year I've been pointing to various assessments, resources and tools which will help you as a team dialogue around what makes you unique - as individuals and as a team. Some of the ones I have spotlighted since the beginning of the year are:

StrengthsFinder 2.0  - read more about what I have written about strengths this year here.
VIA Strengths - click here for more info
Everything DiSC  - click here fore more info
Five Behaviors of A Cohesive Team - Click here for more info

Regardless of what resource you use to identify what makes you unique, it's important to have dialogue to notice where the overlap is, where the gaps are, and how you as a team want to work across differences.  An essential part of the team building and/or team coaching process is about identifying how the team is unique and what roles each team member can play.

Questions to consider:
What does each team member uniquely bring to the team?
What are the differences which exist? How does this help you? Hinder you?
What gaps exist?
What do you need more of  on this team?

Interested in exploring your team strengths and/or styles more? Contact me to discuss what this could look like through a retreat or team coaching process.

Jennifer Britton
Potentials Realized - Leadership | Teamwork | Coaching Skills Training for Leaders
Supporting Team Leaders One Conversation at a Time(TM)
Contact us to discuss how we can work with you to create an excptional team or organizational retreat, or how you can work better across differences with the Everything DiSC
(416)996-8326

Today's post is a link to an article I wrote several years ago on Team Building Tips: Take Your Team from Great to Extraordinary. In it I cover 10 tips and focus areas team leaders can have dialogue with their team around.

Click here to read the article online. You can also download a copy of it here.

As you read through these ten ideas, which ones have you completed already? Which ones do you need to put some attention around?

Team development is one of the tasks many new team leaders feel uncomfortable with. Armed with questions and a few facilitation techniques, new team leaders can confidently open up the dialogue with their team.

We have three upcoming opportunities for you to develop some strength and skills in this area:
1. The Teams365 Stepping Into Your Leadership Capacity module which explores your strengths and style as a leader. It's also the first of the Teams365 series of virtual learning modules, geared to equip you with new skills, tools and insights. Our next public session will start on Friday October 3rd at 12 noon ET, running for 6 weeks. Calls are one hour each. Learn more about the program here.

2. The Facilitation Skills Intensive which will be delivered online on Wednesday evenings from 6:30 -8 pm Eastern/New York for 10 weeks starting on October 8 and running to December 10th. This is a virtual train-the-trainer program and will be of interest for those who may need to facilitate group and learning interventions virtually. You also benefit from not having to travel to participate.

3. The Group and Team Coaching Intensive - Geared for those leaders who may be playing more of a coaching role within their organization, I will be holding a two day in person training program in Toronto, CANADA on Group and Team Coaching. This program will run November 1-2, and is approved by the International Coach Federation for 15 hours of CCEs. Click here for more information. Early bird rate ends September 30th and spaces are limited.

Jennifer Britton
Potentials Realized - Leadership | Teamwork | Coaching Skills Training for Leaders
Supporting Team Leaders One Conversation at a Time(TM)
Contact us to learn more about our team retreat services or the Everything DiSC
(416)996-8326