People First - July 2006

Mentoring for Success

Why and How?

by Mark Keays

The concept of mentoring has existed for hundreds of years. The benefits of mentoring are that it provides people being mentored a safe way to air concerns, learn new skills and hone those they already possess. Additionally, mentees gain insights about themselves and they get advice, as well as confidential and unbiased support.

Mentoring is an excellent way to capture the corporate knowledge that resides only in the minds of the mentors. In many organizations today, managers have increasingly large numbers of individuals nearing retirement age whose replacements have not been trained or prepared. They may also have key employees in critical positions, and need to ensure they have someone ready to take over those important responsibilities if individuals decide to leave the organization.

Identifying good mentors is not always an easy task, because organizations need to make sure mentors have the type of personality that will allow them to work effectively with the people they are mentoring. Several questions should be addressed before considering someone for a mentorship:

Does the individual have the patience to be an effective mentor?

Does the individual have the time, and is he or she willing to share that time with the mentee?

Does the individual possess the knowledge and people skills to be an effective mentor?

Will the person be objective and non-judgmental?

Not only is personality critical in identifying good mentors, but mentors need to be able to share their knowledge in a manner that encourages the people being mentored to seek out their mentors to share their issues and concerns.

Good mentors must listen effectively and share their ideas and information in a manner that can be absorbed and effectively processed by those being mentored. This usually requires asking questions and encouraging initiative, rather than telling people what to do. Mentors should be provided with some clear guidelines as to the expectations of the mentoring program and the amount of time that may be spent working with those being mentored.

A mentoring program’s success also depends on the caliber of the employees selected as mentees. As with mentors, several questions need to be answered.

Is the individual willing to listen to the mentor and ask questions?

Does the employee have the ability to learn from the mentor and put that knowledge into action?

Is the individual able to dedicate adequate amounts of time and energy to the project?

As with any program, clear guidelines need to be developed that clarify the length of and value of the mentor program. The following questions must be considered:

How much time can the mentor and individual being mentored spend in the mentoring process?

Will individual productivity goals be adjusted or decreased during the mentoring period?

What are the outcomes or expectations of the organization of the mentoring program?

A good mentoring program can provide an organization with great returns. It can help people perform at a higher level and prepare them for advancement. Ultimately, the primary objective is to keep an organization prepared for the loss or retirement of key employees.

Mark Keays
Mark Keays is president of Desert Management Services, a Las Vegas-based management consulting firm, and a faculty member of the University of Phoenix, where he teaches in the areas of organizational change, human resources and management.