Mentoring programs offer companies an efficient and
economical way to manage and develop human assets. A
mentor can transform an average employee into an
exceptional leader. A mentor can guide an up-and-coming
leader through the maze of leadership skill acquisition. A
mentor can even improve the production levels of
low-performers. A mentor cannot, however, make an
individual want to excel. Nor can a mentor simultaneously
boost employee production and groom powerful leaders.
Companies must, therefore, learn how to employ mentoring
programs that make the most of limited resources. This
requires that companies set parameters around the 'who' and
'what' of mentoring.
Mentors can give high potential employees an extra push or
inefficient employees some needed discipline. Both groups
are worthwhile subjects, but companies will find it
difficult to simultaneously implement two distinct
mentoring programs. Before employing mentors, therefore,
companies must determine the subject of a mentoring
program. As a company, you may prioritize leadership
development over workforce productivity. If so, you will
favor a mentoring program that produces top-line managers
over one that yields efficient workers. On the flip side,
a company that struggles to maintain a solid workforce may
prefer to attain a stable employee roster before grooming
employees for management.
Without clear parameters mentoring programs flop. Thus,
once a company decides the subject of mentoring programs,
it must then establish a process with defined objectives.
A mentor for high performers will have an entirely
different role than one whose focus is remedial. This is
because employees in need of discipline typically are not
next in line for management positions. A mentor striving
to turn a productive employee into a productive manager
will focus on the skills involved in overseeing a team. At
minimum, this skill set will at minimum include
communication, decisiveness and big-picture thinking. By
contrast, a mentor for low-level employees will address
such issues as attitude, production, efficiency, and
time-management. Rarely will the skill sets overlap enough
to permit a mentor to effectively work with both employee
groups.
Every mentoring program needs a beginning and an end. The
need to push an employee or groups of employees to the next
level prompts the establishment of a mentor-mentee
relationship. Mentoring could continue indefinitely, but
at some point cost will override benefits. A company must
determine the point at which mentoring will be deemed
complete. It also must define indicators of effectiveness,
the essential pieces of the puzzle. In other words, a
company must have a clear understanding of the end goal,
whether it is performance improvements or leadership
readiness.
Arbitrary time frames are one way to mark an end, but may
prove worthless if a mentee has not achieved the goal in
the allotted time. Instead of concluding a mentoring
program after six months, for example, companies should
explore goal-based mentoring programs. A goal-based
program focuses on an individual's capabilities and
improvements rather than on some specific future date. A
mentor will assess an employee's progress based on the
skill sets needed to achieve the end goal. Every new skill
set that an employee acquires marks a new milestone along
the route to the finish line. Thus, mentoring will not be
complete until every skill set can be checked off the list.
The selection of a mentor is an integral and definitive
component to any mentoring program. A mentor can come from
within the company if a person exists who is both capable
and willing. Otherwise, a company can explore alternatives
such as coaching, or contracting with retired business
leaders. Each option has its own set of pros and cons.
Whereas a mentor from within the company may have to
relinquish duties to fulfill the mentor role, an external
mentor can be costly for an organization. A company must
decide how to best to use financial and human resources to
accomplish the desired objectives.
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Linda Finkle, CEO of Incedo Group, works closely with
leaders and management to create sustainable productivity
and organizational strength. She holds a Master Certified
Coach designation through the International Coaching
Federation. For more information on Linda and Incedo Group,
please go to http://www.MakeSomeDamnMistakes.com
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