Competencies
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Mentoring
Mentoring Principles, Skills and Attitudes
Formal mentoring is a powerful staff development tool that ensures professional development, sustainability and inclusiveness in the workplace. Knowing how to make the best use of mentoring enables consultants to pass on their knowledge and skills to mentees who will also be able to mentor others.
Mentoring facilitates and enhances the development of all staff. It is a core element of consultant development. Mentoring skills are essential for building the capacity of personnel at all levels.
A successful mentor needs to be on the lookout for culturally sensitive ways to encourage mentees on the journey of professional development.
Is able to describe the formal mentoring approach (purpose, roles, expectations).
Is able to mentor others successfully.
Is able to support their mentees in sensitive ways.
Growth Activities
The following activities have been identified to achieve comptency in Mentoring in levels from Learner to Expert.
Read an article on cross-cultural mentoring and explore 3 websites that offer resources on mentoring.
Read the e-booklet Robust Mentoring.
Discuss your expectations about mentoring with your mentor. Discuss and clarify roles and responsibilities in your mentoring relationship.
Reflect on your previous experiences in mentoring (formal or informal) and explain how they have shaped you.
Read an article about the use of questions in cross-cultural situations. Discuss your learnings with your mentor.
Read 3 articles or watch 3 videos that talk about Active Listening.
Look at some templates of a formal mentoring agreement.
Explain why it is important for a mentor to be sensitive and supportive.
Read a book on formal mentoring and discuss your questions and reflections with your mentor. Explain how the book offers relevant insights for your work.
Try to mentor someone in 1 competency.
Assess your strengths and weaknesses as a future mentor, identify 5 strengths and 3 weaknesses. Discuss with your mentor how to work on the skills where improvement is most needed.
Familiarise yourself with a Mentor-Mentee Confidentiality Cheklist and discuss it with your mentee.
Try to fill in a formal mentoring agreement with your mentee. Discuss with your mentor what you found difficult in the process.
Reflect on and discuss with your mentor how to give feedback in a cross-cultural situation.
Make a list of things you need to keep in mind in order to give effective feedback in your context.
Give 3-4 examples of how to demonstrate sensitivity and support towards a mentee in your context.
Talk with your mentee about whom they could mentor either in your organisation or outside.
Research and read the mentoring policy in your organisation.
Be the primary mentor to someone else. With their feedback and the help of your mentor, assess your mentoring skills and choose 1 area to improve. Make a concrete plan for working on that area.
Make a list of things you have learnt from your mentee so far. How can you let him/her know that you are also learning from him/her? If you find that you haven't learnt anything from them, think about what you could ask them to teach you.
Make a list of things you have learnt from your mentee so far. How can you let him/her know that you are also learning from him/her? If you find that you haven't learnt anything from them, think about what you could ask them to teach you.
Under the supervision of a primary mentor, mentor one person in a specific area. With their feedback and the help of your mentor, assess your mentoring skills and choose 2 areas to improve. Make a concrete plan for how to work on those areas.
Introduce your mentee to an influencial person you know in your domain.
Encourage and support your mentee to set up their own mentoring relationship.
Ask your mentee to give you feedback on your mentoring relationship. Identify 2 ways for how you could be more supportive and encouraging.
Publish your knowledge and insights about mentoring in your particular context.
Help others learn about formal mentoring.
Help support and stregthen the mentoring programme in your organisation.
Be the primary mentor to someone else. With their feedback and the help of your mentor, assess your mentoring skills and choose 1 area to improve. Make a concrete plan for working on that area.
Ask one of your mentees to co-present and/or co-publish with you.
Help your mentees to demonstrate sensitivity and support towards their colleagues. Help them identify 2-3 ways they can support their colleagues more.