MENTORING TOOLKIT. Triple Creek CREATORS OF RIVER

Transcription

1 MENTORING TOOLKIT Triple Creek CREATORS OF RIVER

2 2 Table of Contents Introduction... 4 Definitions and Terms... 4 What Is RIVER?... 5 What Does the MentorConnect System Do?... 5 How Does the MentorConnect System Work?... 6 What Are the Benefits?... 6 What Can MentorConnect Do for Me?... 7 How Can I Make the Most of the MentorConnect System?... 8 Step 1: Log in!... 8 Step 2: Make Connections... 9 How Do I Set Goals? Getting Started in Your Engagement What Does a Successful Engagement Look Like? How Do the Collaboration Tools Work? Welcome Events Resource Review To-do Post Question... 23

3 3 Poll What Are Kudos? Why Give Kudos? Do I Need to Close Engagements? What Resources Are Available? Thank You! Contact Info The material contained in this booklet is by Triple Creek. It is protected by U.S. Copyrights and Trademarks. The Reproduction of this material in any form is prohibited by penalty of law. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without prior written permission of Triple Creek Triple Creek Version 1

4 4 Introduction Welcome to MentorConnect! We re so glad to have you here and to share this powerful tool with you. This guide will serve as a primer for you as you begin your journey with MentorConnect. It will outline the benefits of the system and give you some tips on getting the most out of your own experience with MentorConnect. So sit back, relax, and enjoy the ride! Definitions and Terms To help put some concepts into context, here are definitions of some common terms we use. Competency: A skill, experience or area of interest that can be shared with or learned by others. Advisor: Any person sharing their knowledge with others. Learner: Any person learning something from others. Engagement: A learning relationship involving two or more people, which is focused on a defined set of learning goals identified by the participants. Collaborative Learning: When two or more people learn something together in an established learning engagement. Kudos: Positive recognition provided from one person to another.

5 5 What Is RIVER? RIVER is the name of the software we use to facilitate the MentorConnect program. The MentorConnect system is a robust, easy-touse online tool for creating and managing dynamic learning networks. It helps meet a wide range of social learning needs that employees have, such as: Work-related collaboration Mentoring Peer learning and coaching On-the-job performance support What Does the MentorConnect System Do? Quite simply it: Connects you to learning engagements and people. Provides collaboration tools so you can learn and share with people in those learning engagements.

6 6 How Does the MentorConnect System Work? The MentorConnect system is managed as a web-based software that you access via your company s unique URL. Once logged in, you can: Create a basic profile containing resume type information, such as work history, business unit, job title, etc. Identify the competencies and skill sets you want to learn more about and/or are willing to help others with. Follow or create engagements focused on the competency and skill areas you identified. Use the collaboration tools within your engagements to work with your colleagues as you learn, share, and accomplish learning goals. What Are the Benefits? There are many benefits to leveraging MentorConnect. The list below is a sample, but by no means exhaustive. With that said, MentorConnect provides you with: An expanded social learning network A self-directed process for meeting both short- and long-term learning needs The opportunity to share your expertise with colleagues who can benefit from it Insight into the pros and cons of various career options and paths A sounding board for testing ideas and plans Increased awareness of personal biases, assumptions, and areas for improvement Constructive feedback on professional and personal development areas

7 7 Personal fulfillment from investing in others development What Can MentorConnect Do for Me? Needs It Can Meet MentorConnect can meet a multitude of personal learning and development needs, such as:

8 8 How Can I Make the Most of the MentorConnect System? Step 1: Log in! Set up a profile that allows the system to make custom recommendations based on your needs and skills. From there, you can start or follow an engagement, and collaborate with your colleagues.

9 9 Step 2: Make Connections After completing your profile, you can make connections in several easy ways. Peer Connections: The system recommends peers who are willing to connect with you, have shown interest in the same competencies and are at a similar proficiency level in those competencies. Follow: The home page recommends public engagements that have already been started for you to follow that may interest you based on the competencies you selected when creating your profile.

10 10 Search: This works well if you are searching for a specific person or know that you want to connect with someone with a specific skillset and background. Create: This option will guide you through the process of choosing a learning focus, outlining goals and objectives, and inviting others to join your custom engagement.

11 11 How Do I Set Goals? If you are starting your own engagement, be sure to set SMART goals. Specific: Try to break large, general goals into smaller, more specific ones. Measurable: Determine ways to track improvement, looking for appropriate but simple measures; quality, cost, and time are three basic types of measures. Attainable: Identify if the goal is something that can even be achieved. Realistic: Determine if the goal is realistic in light of time, resources, priority, and motivation of those who would need to be involved. Time-bound: Be sure the goal has a deadline to ensure that action is taken.

12 12 Getting Started in Your Engagement The charts in this section can help you identify key focus areas when getting started in your mentoring engagement. Keep in mind that your meeting goals and agenda will vary depending on the intent of your engagement. The following is simply a guide to help jumpstart your thinking. Meeting Goals 1 st Meeting Establish the relationship and begin building trust. Define the general direction and expectations for the relationship. Meeting Agenda Conduct relational interview. Define learning need and set expectations. Set agenda for next meeting. Relational Interview: Use these questions to find out more about your mentoring partner. Questions: 1. Talk briefly about your educational background and job experience. 2. What is one area of expertise or experience that you feel might be helpful to me or to others? What experiences contributed to your growth in that area? In general, how do you learn best hands-on experimentation, watching others, or reading and reflection? 3. Apart from your parents, who has had a significant, positive impact on your life? When was this? How did this relationship impact you personally or professionally? Describe what opportunities you would have missed without the influence of this person.

13 13 Setting Expectations: Setting expectations is an essential step to a successful mentoring engagement. Toward the beginning of your engagement, spend a few minutes discussing each of the following areas with those in your mentoring engagement. 1. Goals are determined by the learner and are based on learning needs. S/he looks at general competencies and learning descriptions, as well as any specific descriptions unique to the organization. 2. What do we agree are the general goals and initial focus of this engagement? 3. Boundaries highlight the areas you would like to remain confidential, as well as what you are willing to share and be open with. What things will we need to talk about? Is there anything that we should not discuss? What will we assume about confidentiality? 4. Accountability represents the areas in which we will be held responsible for success and failure and, if applicable, how information regarding the learner's on-the-job performance will be passed on to the advisor(s). How can we all monitor progress? In what ways will we hold ourselves accountable? 5. Scheduling helps everyone decide how long they think the relationship will last, as well as when and how frequently you will meet. How often will we meet? When and where? How will we handle if we need to reschedule? Agenda for Next Meeting: Look ahead to the next meeting and decide on a general agenda.

14 14 Meeting Goals 2 nd Meeting Expand the relationship and continue building trust. Clarify the learning objectives and set preliminary goals. Meeting Agenda Conduct relational check-in. Ask questions to establish initial goals. Set agenda for next meeting. Relational Check-In: Use the following questions as a way to check in and continue learning more about your mentoring partner(s). Questions: 1. What happened since the last meeting that was energizing? Why was it so? Did anything happen that sapped your energy? Explain why. 2. What do these experiences illustrate about our personalities, work style, behavioral preferences peopleoriented or task-oriented, introvert or extrovert, etc.? 3. Any questions we should add to our list to discuss at a future meeting? Questions to Establish Initial Goals: First, write down one general area that you want to develop in or learn as a result of your mentoring relationship. Once you have completed that step, look over the following questions and decide on one or two relevant questions to discuss from each section that relate to your above general goal area. The following questions will help you clarify the general goals of your engagement and move you toward more specific action plans:

15 15 Exploring Relevance to Mission, Larger Goals, and Personal Development a. What do you hope to achieve within the next 3-5 years? b. How does this goal fit with those hopes or dreams? c. How can you get paid for doing what you love? d. How does this development area tie in to your job description, strategic initiatives, or personal development plan? e. What are some potential benefits of developing yourself in this area? f. Where does this development area fit into your priorities? g. Who might your development impact (e.g., your team, department, customers, stakeholders, organization, family)? h. What other areas of your work would be impacted if you were to improve your skills in this area? Exploring Specificity and Attainability a. What have you done previously to develop yourself? b. What resources, people or otherwise, do you have access to that could help you in this development area (e.g., for frequent feedback or encouragement)? c. If you were to break this area down into skills and knowledge, what would be some of the most important aspects of what you want to learn? d. What forces are helping you move toward this goal? e. What forces are hindering achieving this goal?

16 16 Exploring Measurability and Time Issues a. What are your current skill and experience bases? b. What level of skill do you need in this area (e.g., familiarity, passing a certification, recognition as an exemplary performer, ability to train others)? c. To what degree are your goals capable of being measured? d. What concrete activities will you be able to do as a result of achieving your goals? e. When would you like to set the first progress check point and what should our evaluation criteria be? f. Is the timeline in our mentoring agreement reasonable for what you want to accomplish? Once you have discussed your chosen questions, determine how this helps clarify your general engagement goals. Keep your goals as specific and measurable as possible, and list any specific outcomes or benefits from this development. Record any action items that you will work on in the next few months of your relationship. Agenda for Next Meeting: Look ahead to the next meeting and decide on a general agenda. Meeting Goals 3 rd Meeting Expand the relationship and continue building trust. Use an Effective Dialogue worksheet to clearly discuss your mentoring question or Issue. Meeting Agenda Conduct relational check-in. Discuss learning objectives using dialogue model. Set agenda for next meeting.

17 17 Relational Check-In: Use the following questions as a way to check in and learn more about those involved in your mentoring engagement. 1. What was the most productive discussion or dialogue you had last week? Why was it so? What was the least productive? Explain why. 2. What do these experiences tell you about your preferences for communication simple, direct, room for explanation, time to reflect before speaking, logical, more personal, etc.? 3. Are there any questions that you feel we should add to our list to discuss at a future meeting? Dialogue Model and Discussion of Learning Objectives: In a mentoring engagement, questioning needs to fit into the natural flow of a conversation and help construct a rich and meaningful dialogue environment. An excellent model for thinking about communication effectiveness is the four speech territories: Framing, Advocating, Illustrating, and Inquiring. Dalmar Fisher, David Rooke, and Bill Torbert first put forth these four areas in their book Personal and Organisational Transformations through Action Inquiry (2000, Varsitybooks.com). As an activity for this meeting, briefly review and discuss the following material on effective dialogue. Keep in mind that you should use the four categories not as a rigid process, but as a general way to clarify purpose and context so that advice, assignments, choices, and decisions can be as focused and effective as possible. Once you have reviewed this information with your mentoring partner(s), clarify any contextual issues that would help you discuss one question, issue, dilemma, or decision related to your mentoring goals.

18 18 Four Speech Territories 1. Framing refers to explicitly stating the: Purpose Dilemma Assumptions associated with a situation This is important because it helps us express intent and gives purpose and reason to this part of the conversation. Framing keeps communication flowing and purposeful. Keep in mind, framing needs to be explicit in order to work, meaning that we have to let others involved in the conversation know what our frame is for this particular communication. Framing statements often start off as: Let me describe the background or The other processes associated with this include. 2. Advocating refers to explicitly asserting an: Opinion Thought Feeling Proposal for action

19 19 This is important because it provides people with a more complete understanding of where we are coming from. That is to say, advocating employs a balancing act that tempers the amount of information we tell people with the number of questions we ask. Advocating statements often start off as: I do not have a chance regarding or I feel frustrated and out of touch with. 3. Illustrating refers to giving an: Illustration Story Example that orients and motivates others more clearly This is important because it helps others involved in the conversation understand the importance of what we are saying. If used appropriately, Illustrating underscores and draws attention to what is important in our communication. Illustrating statements often start off as: This is like the time I or For example. 4. Inquiring refers to questioning others in a way that: Clarifies thoughts or opinions Reveals motivations Establishes current values or priorities Reveals relationships between ideas This area is vital because it allows us to gather the ideas, thoughts, and opinions of others. Often, good inquiring takes the form of open-ended questions that allow the responder to give an explanatory or descriptive answer, rather than a simple yes or no response. The key for asking questions rests in developing questions that call for personal reflection and avoid biased assumptions. For example, Why are IT projects never able to finish on time and within budget? would be better asked as, Why did this specific project fail to meet its objectives?

20 20 Agenda for Next Meeting: Look ahead to the next meeting and decide on a general agenda. What Does a Successful Engagement Look Like? Successful engagements can take concentrated effort and commitment in order to make them thrive. Some keys to making them work include: Responsiveness Demonstrate your willingness to learn from and/or advise others, and be sensitive to and supportive of the goals, needs, and perspectives of everyone in the engagement. Accountability Build trust, reliability, and accountability into the very core of the engagement to help keep it focused and productive. Collaboration Acknowledge that everyone involved in the engagement plays a part in each other s development. Confidentiality Create a safe place to learn by setting up and adhering to confidentiality parameters that make sense for the engagement. Honesty Offer and receive feedback in a free and honest manner and in the spirit of improving. Focus Create a core focus for the engagement to ensure its purpose and goals are clear.

21 21 How Do the Collaboration Tools Work? The MentorConnect system s built-in collaboration tools help you achieve the learning goals of your engagements. You can post documents, share ideas, schedule events, and more! Welcome Use this feature to introduce yourself, learn more about the other participants as they join, increase the comfort level among participants, and better understand each person s background. Events Schedule events directly through the engagement so all participants can easily access the information, sync their calendars, and take part in the meeting.

22 22 Resource Review Upload resources and ask others to review and comment on them to help spark conversation and learning around a particular item. To-do Create to-do s to keep participants on track as the engagement progresses. Example tasks might include creating an agenda, reporting back on a new strategy that you have tried, or researching new technology.

23 23 Post Get the conversation going by posting or responding to comments in order to spur dialogue and learning among the group. Question Ask a relevant question or answer someone else s to begin a dialogue and to generate a growing body of insights that people can pull from.

24 Poll Write and/or answer participant-created poll questions to gather information, opinions, and insight from group members. 24

25 25 What Are Kudos? The Kudos feature allows you to give recognition to the positive contributions of other participants. People can also give you kudos for the great things you do! This feature can also help you learn more about potential connections when you are looking for a new contact. Why Give Kudos? Giving someone kudos: Encourages that person to continue contributing and participating. Helps that person better understand his/her strengths. Allows you to show appreciation to your connections. Gives other potential connections a picture of this person s strengths.

26 26 Do I Need to Close Engagements? It is important to close the engagements that you create at the appropriate time. This allows all parties to assess their participation, learning, and achievements related to the engagement. Use the following questions as a guide for reflection, processing, and closure at the end of an engagement. What did you learn? Did you reach your goals for this specific engagement? How can you apply this knowledge? What behaviors need to change to accommodate what you learned in the engagement? What outcomes might result from changing your behavior or applying this knowledge? What still needs to be learned to reach your long-term goals? What goals do you have for other engagements? When finished with your engagement, please be sure to fill out the engagement survey so that we can continue to bring more value to the program.

27 27 What Resources Are Available? There are several resources available to you from the system. Our FAQ document is a great place to start. It can be found at: The Learning Resources are another powerful tool. You can find these via the more link on your home page. You can also always request help via the support link (see below).

28 28 Thank You! Thanks again for being a part of MentorConnect. This tool is truly made up of the people who join, share, learn, and collaborate. Without you, this social learning community would not exist. Contact Info If you need any support or have any questions about MentorConnect, please contact the MentorConnect program manager at mentorconnect@usbank.com.