Business Mentoring Insights

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  Types of Mentoring Models: One-on-One Mentoring

    Part 1 of our blog post series: Types of mentoring models. Read more

  Thu, Aug, 08, 2013

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  Most Popular Mentoring Blog Posts/1st Half of Summer '13

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  Wed, Jul, 10, 2013

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  5 Important Mentoring Blog Posts

  As we reflect on some of our most popular blog posts this year to date, we can't help but notice some of the blog posts that have had the highest percentage of action taken by our readers. Here are some posts that you may have missed the first time around, but that definitely warrant a second look: Read more

  Mon, Apr, 22, 2013

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  Top 6 Mentoring Blog Posts - Q1 2013

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  Thu, Apr, 18, 2013

• Why Use Mentoring Experts to Create a Mentoring Program

  Creating a structured mentoring program requires a solid understanding of mentoring dynamics. Read more

  Mon, Feb, 11, 2013

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  5 Strategies for a Corporate Mentoring Spruce-Up

  It's the start of a new year and a great time to review your mentoring program, fix what doesn't work, and continue improving upon what does. Here are five "spruce up" strategies to help you do just that. 1. Review participants' feedback, but don't make changes unless they are in keeping with mentoring best practices. For example, you might get comments about the program being too formal and hindering the spontaneity of the relationship. But what's forgotten by those making the comment is that they wouldn't have had the relationship in the first place if a formal structure hadn't existed to support two strangers meeting and building a relationship. Negative feedback needs to be heard, but it doesn't always need to precipitate change. 2. Review struggling pairs and determine next steps. If the issue was a lack of commitment to time and program guidelines, then be clear about whether these people should participate again. This is especially true of mentors (usually mentees participate only once in a program). It's important to have a discussion with the mentor in question if he or she decides to continue in the program. Let the mentor know that if he or she doesn't meet expectations, you will step in and end the pairing. This approach will ensure quality control of your program. 3. Use current participants to market your program to others. I'm often asked how to get buy-in from potential mentors or mentees and my response is to let existing participants do the selling. One great way is to have an informational session where current mentors and mentees share their experiences with prospective members. This is a powerful recruitment tool. 4. Use current participants for training new mentors and mentees. Similar to #3 except in this case, you invite a given pair or number of mentors/mentees to serve on a panel during training to share their experience and answer questions from those who are about to engage in the mentoring relationship. If you do this, have some questions prepared so that you can prompt interaction if you have a quiet audience. 5. Review your matching process. Look at those pairs who didn't do as well as you expected and review what went into those particular matches. What was the deciding factor in making this match, and, in retrospect, was that the correct decision to make? Did you have any concerns originally about this match? If yes, did these concerns manifest themselves in the results? What information was missing that would have helped to make a better match? Should you adjust your profile form to include this information for future matches? Likewise, look at your good matches and review why those matches worked so well. Were certain matches more successful because the information they provided was more comprehensive or revelatory? Should you then ensure that others do the same? These five spruce-up strategies will help your organization's mentoring success. Read more

  Thu, Jan, 10, 2013

• Transformational Mentoring

  One of the books that most influenced my mentoring practice was written in 1999 by Julie Hay called Transformational Mentoring:  Creating Developmental Alliances for Changing Organizational Cultures.   Read more

  Thu, Dec, 13, 2012

• What results can be achieved in a structured mentoring program?

  Though a great deal has been written about mentoring, there is little statistical data supporting its value. Much of the published information available is based on theory alone. Because mentoring is about human relationships, it is more difficult to quantify scientifically. Using interviews and questionnaires, Mentoring complete has evaluated mentoring programs implemented by client companies. The results consistently demonstrate that well-designed programs lead to the acquisition of knowledge and expertise within a trusting and supportive mentoring relationship. For a sample view of what results we achieve check out our case studies by clicking on the button below. Read more

  Fri, Nov, 16, 2012

• Mentoring Training: Why It's Necessary

  Some companies put mentoring pairs together but provide them with no training whatsoever. Other companies are a little bit more professional and will train the mentors but not the mentorees. Both of those companies are undermining their efforts in mentoring by not providing both mentors and mentorees with the knowledge they need to create and sustain an effective mentoring relationship.  There are two critical components when training mentoring participants of a mentoring program: Read more

  Wed, Jul, 18, 2012